7 YouTube videos that led HBO astray
HBO is creating an Internet TV show called "Hooking Up" which will feature seven YouTube-famous personalities. Philip DeFranco and Kevin Wu? Yeah, we'd never heard of them — but their videos and those of five other lucky videographers picked by HBO have generated a total of 35 million views. Why would HBO, known for high-quality productions like The Sopranos, Sex and the City and The Wire, risk tainting a brand people actually shell out money for on their monthly cable bills? HBO parent Time Warner should have released "Hooking Up" on the AOL-owned social network Bebo, and let HBO stick with content worth paying for. Here are the videos that landed their stars, inexplicably, an HBO deal:SXEPhil, "Doda Elektroda has some huge......": 4,871,621 views
Jessica Rose as Lonelygirl15, "My First Kiss": 2,645,339 views
KevJumba, "Ask KevJumba": 3,868,597
Kevin Nalts, "Farting in Public": 5,565,515
Michael Buckley, "Britney Spears & Paris Hilton new tape w/ OSAMA?!": 4,514,905
Charles Trippy, "Boobs Are Awesome!": 1,034,687
Cory "Mr. Safety" Williams, "The Mean Kitty Song": 12,413,649