How Common Craft’s viral video became a YouTube hit

When a rough-around-the-edges educational video went viral, success quickly followed

When Lee LeFever, partner in the Seattle-based video production firm Common Craft, and his wife and business partner Sachi, decided in 2007 to find a better way to teach people about social media via YouTube, they didn’t have a master plan for taking over the world.

“We thought we’d just have some fun. We didn’t think it would change our lives,” LeFever says. The LeFevers were running a successful consulting company, advising companies on building online communities. Frustrated over the difficulties of explaining social media basics to their clients, Sachi LeFever had a brainstorm: Use simple paper cutouts and hands against a whiteboard to illustrate their messages. “Our goal is to fight complexity with simple tools and plain language,” says the Common Craft Web site.