Person To Watch

In a growing age of technology, it can be hard to make sense of it all. One person who tries to do this is Kevin Allocca.


Allocca is a 2006 Boston College graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is originally from South Florida, where he grew up with his grandmother. and currently lives in Queens, N.Y.


Allocca was hired by Google Inc. in 2010 to be the YouTube “Trends Manager.” His first project was www.youtube.com/trends, where he blogs about contemporary YouTube video hits. With the current popularity battle between Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” he shows the viewers a chart comparing the viewership over the past six months, with “Call Me Maybe” taking the top spot overall, but “Gangnam Style” having a recent jolt in views. Allocca researches which videos are the most popular at the moment and thereafter shares his findings. For example, a search for “fireworks” skyrockets up 5 million during the week of July 4. One of Allocca’s favorite things to do is to see which videos are most popular in countries around the world. In one post, he compares which videos are trending in Ghana, Malaysia, and Peru.


In addition to www.youtube.com/trends, Allocca has also worked at www.youtube.com/presents, which provides live music, performances, and interviews. In late 2011, Allocca sat down for an interview with country-pop singer Taylor Swift. In the lengthy 40-minute interview, he took viewers’ questions and asked the singer about her current status and upcoming album.


Allocca also runs a Twitter account (@shockallocca), where he tweets links to popular videos daily. His bio simply states, “I am the Trends Manager at YouTube and I like turtles.” With more than 4,000 followers, Allocca is able to reach a large audience and keep his viewers up-to-date on current trending videos.


Allocca was a double major in communication and film studies. He first worked for The Huffington Post where he got his first experience in the field of what would eventually become his position at YouTube. A few years ago, his trends manager position would not have even existed, which just goes to show how quickly the tech world is evolving.