Gangnam style video makes You Tube change technology !!

Located on the border of Andhra Pradesh,  nearer Srikakulam is Ganjam District that  came into existence in 1936.  The district is named after the old township and European fort of Ganjam situated on the northern bank of river Rushikulya which was the head quarter of the District.  Thousands of miles away is a similar sounding – ‘Gangnam District’ in  Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam literally means "South of the (Han) River".

In my website, I have a statcounter through which I get details of no. of visitors – hourly as also total; popular pages,  came from, keyword analysis, search engines, visitor paths, visit lengths, recent page load activity, recent visitor map; Country/State/City/ISP details and the like.  When a visitor visits my  webpage with the installed HTML and Javascript code, their anonymous details are sent to StatCounter to be recorded.  Obviously, You Tube and all other famous sites also have such stat-counters powered by various sites. This post is about how You Tube is made to change their counting tool from a 32 bit integer to 64 bit integer………… not due to any technology – but due to sheer numbers – a particular video being watched by millions forching the change.   The  32-bit integer  can take care up to maximum of  2,147,483,647 (two billion one hundred forty-seven million four hundred eighty-three thousand six hundred forty-seven)

– while the 64 bit integer can support up to : (9,223,372,036,854,775,808)!

The reason is ‘Gangnam style’ video of  South Korean singer Psy's Gangnam Style exceeded YouTube's view limit, prompting the site to upgrade its counter. Psy's song, reportedly refers to an upmarket neighbourhood in Seoul; the video pokes fun at the consumerism of Gangnam, an affluent suburb of the South Korean capital Seoul.  In it, the portly Psy dances as though he is trotting on a horse, holding the reins and spinning a lasso in a manner that has sparked a global dance craze.  The dance has sparked numerous copycat versions, being performed by a diverse fan-base.   

The song and its accompanying music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture since then.  It has already  become an international sensation and the present news only adds to its popularity. "Gangnam Style"  is the 18th K-pop single by the South Korean musicianPsy. The song was released in July 2012 as the lead single of his sixth studio album Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1, and debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Chart. On December 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the firstYouTube video to reach one billion views.   Apart from being so popular, it is also a source of parodies and reaction videos by many different individuals, groups and organizations.

To Cricket lovers, it was portrayed by Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and other West Indian Cricketers in many of their matches, especially after their title win in T20 WC in Sri Lanka. The team burst into happiness - Pollard, Gayle, Russel, Sammy,  Bravos, Charles, Ramdin  and more were dancing in the outfield.

Now YouTube states that this video - its most watched ever - has been viewed more than 2,147,483,647 times ~ and to further keep track of new viewers, they have moved to 64 bit integer which will support up to nine quintillion.  Can you imagine – what it is ……..

For us : 1 lakh is 6 digits :(1,00,000) and 1 Crore is 8 digits (1,00,00,000) and how do you say : “ 9,223,372,036,854,775,808? ” (19 digits)  – it is : Nine quintillion, two hundred and twenty-three quadrillion, three hundred and seventy-two trillion, thirty-six billion, eight hundred and fifty-four million, seven hundred and seventy-five thousand, eight hundred and eight.

On 1 December, You Tube  posted a statement saying: "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer... but that was before we met Psy."………….. really interesting and have you watched Psy performing ‘Gangnam style” ??

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

5^th Dec 2014.