Jesus Christ! Social media nativity video goes viral (again)

By TJ DIMACALI, GMA News

Published December 22, 2011 12:05pm

What would you do if you received a text message from the Archangel Gabriel telling you that you'll be giving birth to the Son of God?

Why, consult Wikipedia, of course! And while you're at it, fire off a quick email to your husband... You two definitely need to talk.

Or at least that's how things might have gone, had social media been around in the first century.

It's the Christmas gift that just keeps on giving: a 2010 YouTube video which frames the traditional Nativity story in the context of contemporary social media is going viral again just in time for Christmas this year.

Made by Portugal-based digital marketing studio Excentric PT, "The Digital Story of the Nativity" playfully recounts the events leading up to the birth of Christ, played out through Google searches, Wikipedia entries, Twitter posts, and Facebook likes.

"Joseph we need to talk. I am going to be pregnant. Xoxo. Reply ASAP," an apprehensive "Holy_mary@gmail.com" says in an email to "joseph.carpenter07@gmail.com".

A quick search for directions on Google Maps —Joseph was careful to check the "Avoid Romans" box— and the couple were off to Bethlehem for the annual census. It's a good thing that FourSquare was around to help find accommodations. And finding gifts for the baby shower was a snap for Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar: they bought theirs off Amazon. Early apprehension In a 2010 interview with CNN, Excentric President Miguel Figueiredo said that the video was made in an effort to show potential clients the power of social media —a controversial idea at the time, he admitted.

"This is something very powerful for brands. In Portugal, there is a lot of step back to this. People are afraid to do this sort of thing. So we decided to do this for our sake," he said.

But Figueiredo was confident that the video would help his clients see the light.

"We took the story that everyone knows and (our clients) could follow it to learn, especially for people who are pretty far from the usage of (social media) tools, and take them step-by-step through the benefits of each of these platforms," he explained.

At the time of the interview, the two English-language versions of the video had earned a combined 1.4 million page views within a week since they were posted. One year later

Fast forward one year later, and it's still going strong with over 10 million page views for just a single video. In the Philippines alone —where the video is now going viral thanks to the country's large Catholic population— most people with Internet access also have a Facebook account. The country has one of the largest populations of Facebook users in the world and recently ranked 6th worldwide in terms of social media engagement. Earlier this year, in recognition of the ubiquity of social media in Filipinos' daily lives, GMA News Online published a similarly whimsical article on what the 1986 People Power revolution would have been like if played out through Facebook. All over the world, the past year has also seen the widespread use of social media as tools for social change —key weapons in everything from the Arab Spring uprisings to the Occupy Wall Street movement. In a world that is now much more receptive to the power of social media, "The Digital Story of the Nativity" is all the more touching and resonant. — HS, GMA News

Tags: socialmedia, facebook, twitter, google, wikipedia