By Agence France-Presse

SYDNEY, Australia–Footage apparently showing the man tipped to become Australia’s next prime minister eating his own ear wax has proved a hit on Internet video sharing website YouTube.

The clip of opposition Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd has been posted three times on the YouTube website and attracted more than 200,000 web browsers.

While Rudd enjoys a massive opinion poll lead heading into the November 24 election, the news website news.com.au suggested the footage “could do more damage to [his] election chances than any policy blitz.”

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By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, yes the guy behind all those spoof songs, is infecting people with his own dose of a viral video posted on YouTube. Aptly titled, Virus Alert, Weird Al’s video (posted three days ago) is about, er, the computer virus and its impact on mankind.

Mike Abundo writes in the b5media Technology channel:

For nearly a decade, Weird Al Yankovic has successfully appealed to geek culture. Over the last year, that success has only exploded with his clueful use of the rising social media. His latest video Virus Alert features a game tie-in, a Gmail visual reference, and a nod to social media pioneer Newgrounds.

Here’s the video.

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

IT started as a joke. But just over the weekend some Filipino activists have started uploading a new mobile phone ring tone as an act of protest against the controversial $329-million national broadband network project.

The ring tone, which is based on a satirical video clip posted on YouTube, pokes fun at some personalities linked to the controversial project, now known as the “ZTE deal.”

Jose De Venecia III, the proponent of losing bidder Amsterdam Holdings Inc. (AHI), has accused Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos of allegedly trying to bribe him to get out of the deal. De Venecia, son of current House Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr., also alleged during a Senate hearing that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo also told him to “back off” from the deal.

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By Associated Press

CLAREMONT, California–Here’s a dream-come-true for Web addicts: college credit for watching YouTube.

Pitzer College this fall began offering what may be the first course about the video-sharing site. About 35 students meet in a classroom but work mostly online, where they view YouTube content and post their comments.

Class lessons also are posted and students are encouraged to post videos. One class member, for instance, posted a 1:36-minute video of himself juggling.

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