2016 Top Stories Countdown — No. 1: ‘The Bully’ Goes Viral
- Editor’s Note: This is the final post in a series counting down the top 10 Kane County Connects stories of 2016.
If the No. 2 most-read Kane County Connects story of 2016 (Cubs Win! Cougars Helped!) was a joy for its subject matter and serendipity, this story was all of that times 10.
Like many of the best stories, this one started with a tip. Judge Clint Hull sent an email regarding an anti-bullying video that a St. Charles seventh-grader had put together with a little help from his dad and mom.
” ‘The Bully’ video never ceases to amaze me — it has had an incredible impact,” Hull said via email this week.
As of Thursday (Dec. 29, 2016), “The Bully” had 699, 568 views on YouTube.
Kane County Connects can’t take credit for the video’s success and popularity. That’s all about the talent and creativity of Jonah Maxwell, who wrote the script and directed the video with help from his dad and mom. All we really did was help prime the pump.
But there’s simply no doubt that the anti-bullying message and the quality of the video resonated. The article on Kane County Connects has 18,106 page views (so far), and Facebook posts were followed by many comments of congratulations and praise.
When Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen came up with the original idea for Kane County Connects, he wanted to put together social media platforms that would celebrate some of the good things that happen every day in Kane County. One of the content categories he chose was youth achievers.
This iteration of Kane County Connects is grateful for the opportunity to share those stories.
In retrospect, the No. 1 most-read-story of 2016 might also be the year’s No. 1 story for fulfilling our mission. Schools, public safety, youth achievers, education, community service — all of these are enhanced when Kane County connects.
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UPDATE: ‘The Bully’ — St. Charles 7th-Grader Writes, Directs a Powerful YouTube Video
2016 Top Stories Countdown
- No. 10: Middle School Student Threatens Shooting
- No. 9: Free Wood Chips!
- No. 8: Kane County Mourns Loss of Steve Chidester
- No. 7: The Curious Incident of the Great Galesburg Zephyr
- No. 6: Kane County’s First Modern Roundabout
- No. 5: Car Crashes Into Home on Farnsworth
- No. 4: Emergency Rail Repairs Close Randall Road
- No. 3: Kane County Resumes Electronics Recycling
- No. 2: Cubs Win! Cubs Win! (And Kane County Helped)
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