Back when YouTube debuted, there were no such things as influencers. It was simply a way to share videos of you and your family. Of course, being such a new and powerful service, there were a few incredible standouts. It's hard not to positively reflect on Tay Zonday, the singer of "Chocolate Rain." And of course, "Charlie Bit My Finger."
The latter was a video featuring two young brothers. Harry was just 3, while Charlie was 1 — and teething. An innocent moment caught on camera was watched by 880 million people, becoming one of the most viral videos of all time.
The family has never forgotten the notoriety gained by the video. And they've decided to sell it as an NFT. Here's what that means.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a little hard to understand. But in a nutshell, it's the ability to own a digital clip or piece of art. Even certain tweets have been sold as NFTs. People choose to auction their work and give ownership to someone else, often removing the image or video from the internet in the process.
Hard to understand, yes. But it's also a little dicey in figuring out what qualifies as an NFT. But owning an internet relic might be worth big bucks. In a way, it's almost like Charlie and his family are retiring their ownership of the clip.
Charlie, Harry, and their family released a statement about the transaction. "The beloved clip has become a household name and holds a special place in the hearts of many. Now, the iconic video will be removed from YouTube and one person will have the opportunity to own it in its new form as a 1/1 NFT, memorializing them in internet history forever. The NFT winner will also get the opportunity to create their own parody of the video featuring the original stars, Harry and Charlie," their website read.
The family also noted that the short video was only meant to be viewed by family. They had no idea it'd blow up the way it did. "The 56-second video takes you on an adorable rollercoaster of joy, pain, love, and laughter, plus all the facial expressions to boot. Harry and Charlie, now 17 and 15, are soon entering adulthood and embarking on the next chapter of their lives, the perfect opportunity to embrace the next iteration of the internet," they said.
It's interesting to think that the video has made an impact throughout a majority of the boys' lives. These days, Charlie is known best for streaming on Twitch, meaning he's still pretty tied to the internet. The video has also financially supported the family throughout the years. It might not have been monetized back when it first went viral, but adding advertisements has helped the family while the video continues to be a hit.
Mom Shelley Davies-Carr did an interview with The Times back in 2009, which LADbible refers to. She knew that the accents would add to the appeal of the video. "Susan Boyle has never had the hits we have had," she said. "The video got on to a college networking site in the U.S. and from there it went viral. I think the British accents have helped make it so globally viewed."
The family reportedly bought a house with the money they made from the clip. Dad Howard Davies-Carr, who uploaded the video to YouTube, admitted to ABC News that it was meant to be viewed by Harry and Charlie's grandfather, who — as grandparents do — would have gotten a kick out of the funny yet endearing moment between the boys.
"To me, it was just a lovely moment," Howard said to the news outlet. "I went to YouTube to take it down. There was no need for it to stay on YouTube any longer. At that point, I realized that it had a few thousand views and then pretty much every day it was almost doubling in the number of views it was having, which I thought was rather strange. You know, why are all these people watching our video?"
At that moment, Howard fully realized what it meant to go viral. "I had to make a decision: Is this something that we accept is us and do something more with or is it something we just park and say, 'That's really nothing to do with us,' and then everybody else will be exploiting it and making money from it?" he said. When the growing video hit 50 million views, he figured it was time to partner up with YouTube.
But Howard offered a helpful piece of advice for any other family who unknowingly went viral. "There are an awful lot of unscrupulous people out there who will try and take advantage of people that don't understand what they have," he said. And that's true. What was once a funny family moment ended up paying for private school for the boys.
While this situation is unusual, surely Charlie and his family are very happy for the opportunities that one bite brought for them. They've also still managed to live somewhat of a private life, which is an added benefit. It's a good level of celebrity for a young family — everyone knows who you are, and your media brought joy, but you aren't hounded by the public.
The auction will start on May 22, 2021. The Charlie Bit Me website has a spot where you can register your email if you're interested in purchasing the video or learning more. But for those of you who can't get enough of Charlie's cheeky moment, you might want to watch it now before it becomes harder to find online.
