The Harlem Shake

The Harlem Shake is this year’s Gangnam Style and Call Me Maybe. Short and easy to replicate, the meme went viral at the beginning of February and has since been seen by millions.

Cision US tracked the lifecycle of the viral video using Cision Social Media. In the spirit of the subject it then went global, albeit it with less dancing. On 1 March, Tom Heyden published a piece on the BBC News Magazine using Cision’s research.

For an alternative analysis, Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe explains why the video is so successful and what it means to society.