Video 2.0 makes the entire world your extended (dysfunctional) family

In one of the most entertaining viral-video web memes I’ve seen in a while, the band OK Go has nailed the ironic indy-culture meets backyard DIY aesthetic in a video called “A Million Ways”. In it, the four band members dance a well-choreographed but hilariously low-quality set piece (watch it here) whose popularity has inspired imitation across the nation.

But the twist is, now a contest for user-uploaded imitations has videos pouring in from high-school talent-show entrants, college fraternities, and other american idol rejects far and wide. My favorite so far is a surprise black-tie wedding performance, with the father of the bride as the dance troupe leader.

What’s so interesting to me about this goes beyond the simple idea that web2.0 makes everyone an amateur publisher. People are forming social identies and new kinds of community relationships on the web. Watching the wedding video, I laughed along as if I were at an extended-family skit comedy contest - I am a voyeur/participant, in on the joke.

New applications like the dating site engage.com (which gets individuals to participate as matchmakers in the online dating process and is funded by half.com founder Josh Kopelman among others), mybloglog.com (which manages the “recent readers” badge off to the right), and swaptree (which i’m watching with great interest) are moving beyond myspace and spinner rims for your blog, and instead fashioning innovative experiences and fantastic new opportunities for user-to-user relationships.