The speed of the tweet has drastically improved the ease for odd stories to circulate from an original source to the masses.
Stories and videos that would have gone untold decades ago are now turning people and incidents into YouTube sensations through social media.
Here are three stories from the year that probably would have been consumed far less or at least far more slowly had they happened decades ago.
3: WATCH: Kansas City, Mo., Police officer dances in the street with local kids
The story: A police officer working toward building rapport with community children took the curious route of challenging kids to a dance off in the middle of a street. So naturally someone filmed the contest.
Judge for yourself who is the victor.
Why it went viral: The combination of children and an adult in uniform willing to look goofy made this an easy story for people to consume.
2: Couple leaves $100 tip for terrible service
The story: A couple noticed a waiter struggling with more tables than he could handle. But instead of complaining about the lack of service, the couple put down a $100 tip on a $66 bill.
Click here to find out more about the story.
Why it went viral: Everyone can relate to the internal debate about how much to tip when service is less than stellar. Unique situations good and bad tend to receive a lot of attention, even in this case where the tippers were not professional athletes.
1: AMAZING VIDEO: Cat saves boy from dog attack in California
The story: A 4-year-old boy was playing on his bicycle when the neighbor’s dog caught the boy off guard and bit his leg.
But the boy had a feline hero. His cat, Tara, jumped to the rescue. Click the link to watch the video for yourself.
Why it went viral: Animal videos are great, but a cat saving a small child, come on, who isn’t going to love that?
Eric Pfahler is a national digital producer for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on twitter at @Eric_Pfahler or email him at eric.pfahler@scripps.com.
