The 'Harlem Shake' is the latest in a long line of YouTube viral video sensations. Every day more users are uploading their versions to YouTube.

The unanticipated success of the Harlem Shake caused Billboard to begin using data from YouTube views as one of three measures used to calculate the authoritative Billboard Hot 100 music chart.

With Billboard on board, it is undeniable that YouTube is a formative element in not only shaping our modern day cultural trends, but also in generating worldwide popularity for many recording artists.

Last year's popular hits 'Gangnam Style' and 'Somebody That I Used to Know' credit their video virality for their success.

The Harlem Shake internet meme was established in a video uploaded on February 2 by five teenagers from Queensland, Australia known to the YouTube universe as The Sunny Coast Skate.

Meme participators upload a video of various groups of people performing a comedy scene accompanied by a short excerpt from the song 'Harlem Shake' by American DJ and producer Baauer.

Generally, the videos last between 30 and 32 seconds and feature part of the electronic song. The user-uploaded clips typically begin with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video cuts to the entire crowd doing a crazy dance for the remainder of the song.

So just who is uploading these videos?

Versions have included people in parks, subways, libraries, and other public spaces as well as offices, restaurants and private homes. Uploaders come from all over the world.

The Simpsons camp released their own version on Friday, dubbing it the "Homer Shake". In it, the family can be seen on the couch while youngest Simpson, Maggie, dances wearing a futuristic helmet.

The Miami Heat made a locker room version of the 'Harlem Shake' for their fans last Thursday.

But it is not just celebs jumping on the Harlem Shake bandwagon. The Colorado College Ultimate Frisbee team is being investigated by the FAA after filming a version of the meme aboard a Frontier Airlines flight last week.

And nine Michigan teenagers have been reprimanded this week for shooting a 'Harlem Shake' video of their own in their classroom at Union High School in Grand Rapids.

But is the Harlem Shake all just good clean fun? Youth activists in Egypt have used the popular YouTube hit in an unusual protest for change in their country. The young protesters filmed themselves "Harlem shaking" in opposition to the country's new Islamist rulers.

The Harlem Shake is technically very easy for fans to reproduce. It consists of a single stationary camera shot and one jump cut. Nonetheless, the easy concept allows fans flexibility in creating their own unique version while still maintaining the basic elements. In its simplest form, it could be made with two people; more complex versions have involved much larger groups including crowded stadiums.

Funny, easy to produce, and with endless possibilities: we should not expect the 'Harlem Shake' fad to disappear any time soon.