The word ‘viral’ isn’t one that’s regarded with any enthusiasm by right-thinking people. It brings to mind nasty skin infections and that ominous feeling you get when you realise your nether regions have been itching for way too long to be healthy. Or so my sources at the National Firecrotch Institute tell me.

But the online community, being the positive subculture that it is, has reclaimed one of mother nature’s sweatiest adjectives and put it to better use. Viral videos are short clips put on to the internet for the amusement of all, usually involving violence, pain, humiliation, idiocy, or all of the above.

But I’m sure you already know this. If you haven’t wiled away at least couple of hours enjoying a hefty dose of midget wrestling, menacing rodents, and peanut butter jelly time, then you probably don’t have a computer. Or else you haven’t figured out how to use the internet properly yet. You simply don’t appreciate the internet if you haven’t seen “2 girls 1 cup”. And no, I’m not linking to that. But here’s a clip of someone reacting to it. You have been warned.

So viral videos have been making the rounds since the hazy days of Star Wars kid and earlier. And they’re showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, the viral kingdom is no longer the sole preserve of hysterical androgynous queens and incompetent martial artists. Famous actors and comedians are getting their hands dirty too.

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay have even set up a site dedicated to viral videos, called Funny Or Die. As well as hosting the usual home-made shenanigans, the site features exclusive internet skits from great comedians. From Ferrell’s own The Landlord, to the thespian masterclass that is Acting With James Franco, there’s some comedy gold here. My personal favourite? The screensaver series, in which the likes of Paul Rudd, Justin Long and the mighty Craig Robinson create mock screensavers to entertain the world’s beleaguered office workers.

And it’s not just for fun anymore. Viral marketing is the new stratagem du jour for getting the attention of the internet obsessives, who are numerous and powerful, but far too cynical to be hooked by traditional advertising. Thus we have Cloverfield’s massive viral campaign, posting mysterious teasers displaying the release date and creating MySpace pages for the film’s characters. The Dark Knight’s marketing team waged a months-long campaign to draw in the nerds, including internet scavenger hunts, codes to break and sites where visitors could “vote” in Gotham City elections. Advertising a new Batman film to internet fanboys sounds a bit like advertising water to a goldfish if you ask me, but with The Dark Knight raking in nearly $450 million at the US box office alone, you can’t argue with the numbers.

So do we even need traditional advertising for movies anymore? Are we all so connected that the director can just film a two-minute skit on his mobile and sell his/her movie that way? Does this spell the end for gravel-voiced-guy-who-talks-over-trailers? Ben Stiller seems to think so.

P.S – Please add comments with links to your favourite viral videos. Because sharing the bizarre and mean-spirited things we find hilarious is what the internet is all about.

FUN FACT: There are 12 links in this blog. Neat!