Web sites may seem useless, but they can make you famous.
Take it from Matt Haug, freshman journalism major, who is a cyberstar right here at the College. He appears in an online video made by his friend Gary Brolsma, dubbed the "Numa Numa video." It features Brolsma lip-synching to a Romanian pop song called "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-Zone. Flailing his arms and moving his eyebrows, he's become the newest talent since Ashlee Simpson. Brolsma's video features clips of his friends and random pictures like feta cheese and a slab of meat. Haug, with brown hair and glasses, is the third to appear in the video and makes his entrance by popping out of a Chinese food box.
Originating on the Web site newgrounds.com, "Numa Numa" has even reached the writers of "Rolling Stone" magazine. It's appeared on the "Today" show, on abc.com and in the New York Daily News and made its way onto VH1's "Best Week Ever." It's become one of the most viewed videos on the web, with over one million hits on one Web site alone.
Haug himself didn't have anything to do with the production of the video. That was up to Brolsma, who made it in his house in Saddle Brook with pictures he had of various people. He said he is rather surprised by all of the fame.
"I've always been just another face in the crowd and now I have people I barely know asking me if I'm the guy in the video. It was pretty surprising how quickly it took off," Haug said.
Of why it was made in the first place, Haug said it just "appealed to our sense of humor."
Haug isn't the only one stunned by the amount of publicity. On the site where it first started, there is a quote to the fans from the author himself: "Holy crap! One million views! You people are crazy!"
"Numa Numa" can be viewed in its entirety on Ebaumsworld.com.
