First there was “David After Dentist,” where a drugged-out toddler hallucinated after a visit to the dentist while reppin’ The Swamp in a Gators T-shirt.
Now, it’s all about “Awkward Kristin.”
Kristin Giannas, a UF telecommunications graduate from the class of 2010, was unaware for the first six seconds that she was in the background of a WUFT broadcast aired in November 2008.
Noticing a bright light and the intense glares of everyone around her, Giannas, with a UF sweatshirt and unkempt hair, froze like a deer in the headlights and had the epiphany that she was caught on camera. Instinctively (and awkwardly), she ducked for cover behind a copier and just a few seconds later is seen on the floor in the corner of the shot.
The video has been deemed YouTube gold: It was featured in “Good Morning America’s” Play of the Day last Friday, was shown on “Anderson Cooper 360” and is also on Huffington Post Comedy online.
As of Wednesday, the video had 2.1 million views since its posting in November 2010.
Giannas doesn’t know how or why the video got so popular so suddenly. Her best guess is that perhaps the views boosted after someone posted it on Reddit, the Web’s rank-and-file website.
But she’s not bothered that the camera caught her gaffes — or that they've received national exposure. She’s taken this viral oopsie with a grain of salt and a smile.
“I was humbled and excited,” Giannas said. “That was just one of many awkward moments I’ve had.”
Giannas, who has been in front of the camera instead of behind copiers for two years now at TV-20 here in Gainesville, says there’s no hard feelings towards her friend and original poster, Andi Babineau.
The story goes that Babineau, another UF alum who used to be in charge of the bloopers and highlights reel for the telecommunications banquet, came across the clip one day two years ago and decided to post it to YouTube.
Giannas explains in her blog post what was going through her mind that day: She was what her friends and coworkers refer to as “Kristin in the zone,” where she focuses solely on the task at hand. The day of the telecast, Giannas spent five hours in a dark room cramming for an exam, as UF kids do. When she came out of the dark to make some copies, her 30 seconds of fame was forever captured on film.
I asked if she would participate in a Web Redemption spot on King of the Interwebs Daniel Tosh’s Comedy Central show “Tosh.0.” Giannas said she’d happily oblige.
“You just got to be yourself, do what you’re doing, and you’ll be fine,” Giannas said.
When asked what was next for Awkward Kristin, Giannas said she was looking for a job.
“My contract [with TV-20] is up in May, so this is definitely not a negative,” Giannas said. “My work speaks more than ‘Awkward Kristin.’”
My advice is to call “Good Morning America” for her next gig. Who knows? There could be some talk show in the near future with Awkward Kristin. She might be famous, but we’ll always remember her as the beloved girl who hides behind copiers.
Posts in Hyperlink appear on Thursdays.
