“We’re Still Babies at It”: BuzzFeed Video’s Strategy Relies on Identity, Emotion, and Sharing Content as Communication

By: Caroline O’Donovan | Nieman Journalism Lab

A year ago, Ze Frank — Internet “virologist,” creator of the beloved the show with zefrank, and online video pioneer — was tapped to head BuzzFeed’s video department, based in L.A. Since then, Frank has been striving to create video content with the same impossible-to-ignore qualities that BuzzFeed’s lists have become known for. With 2.5 million subscribers and around 500 million views, Frank has made some progress, and in a webinar last week, he attempted to describe the elements of social video, both in terms of how to create the content and how to release it into the world.