I became forever terrified upon discovering “
Take This Lollipop,”
an interactive video that launched two weeks before Halloween, yet
still continues to haunt millions on the Internet. After giving the
application permission to access my information (something my generation
often doesn’t think twice about), a blue lollipop appears on the screen
with a razor in the middle. Slightly concerned, but mostly intrigued, I
click the piece of candy.
Let’s take a tour of the video.
1. Hallway
After clicking on the lollipop, you're led down an eerie hallway.
A Walkthrough of "Take This Lollipop"
View As One Page »
As of this morning, “Take This Lollipop” has been liked by 9,976,146 people, making it the
fastest-growing Facebook application ever — a result the video’s creator never expected. Jason Zada is also responsible for “
Elf Yourself,” a viral online campaign for Office Max that has earned than 164 million views.
“I’ve never seen anything grow this fast that isn’t hugely supported
by something,” says Zada, who hoped around 100,000 people would enjoy
his side project. He threw the script together in about 30 minutes, and
with the collaborative efforts of his production company,
Tool of North America, and developer Jason Nickel, completed the interactive video in four weeks. It was simply a side project for Halloween.
“I just wanted to scare people. It’s kind of a horror movie that has
no blood, no guts, but there’s this person that you don’t want looking
at your information,” says Zada. “And that to me was the scariest of
all.”
Scary indeed. Ironically, you cannot share your experience with the
video on Facebook, the most powerful sharing network in the world.
People can only see their own information and photos in the video.
However, some have uploaded their own reactions to the video on
YouTube.
Those top four videos have each outdone Zada’s original 100,000-view
goal, creating an additional viral layer. Zada unintentionally created a
snowballing viral sensation.
“It really started as a social experiment — the old adage ‘don’t take
candy from strangers,’” explains Zada. “People did the hard part for me
— they convinced each other to try it. You have this lollipop that you
know you shouldn’t take, but if your friends tell you to try something
that’s potentially really scary, would you do it?”
Although much of the video’s press coverage has addressed the issue of invading privacy online, Zada feels otherwise.
“There are a lot of headlines that it’s scary, how social media is a
scary place. On one hand I guess so, but Facebook is very secure — it’s
not like your information is being put out there against your will. You
have to create your profile. You’re in control of the information you
put out there.”
Facebook privacy
is not a new concern. But the fact that more than 9.5 million people
choose to take that stranger’s candy is something to think about. Is our
generation reckless with that choice, or are we just more trusting?
from:
Mashable.com