Matt Harding

Recently named as TIME magazine's "#1 Viral Video of 2008," Matt Harding's inspiring, universally appealing videos have reached over 30 Million viewers around the globe.

At 26, Matt Harding quit his job as a videogame designer and spent his life savings on a trip around the world. He took a friend's suggestion to perform his terrible dancing techniques in the various exotic settings he visited. In 2005, his "Where the Hell is Matt?" video became an internet sensation, which prompted Stride, a chewing gum brand, to sponsor his continued travels.

The following year he visited all seven continents to make his second video, which became an even bigger success. Inspired by a visit to Rwanda where he danced with a group of children, Matt returned to his sponsor with the idea for a third video in which he would recruit people in every place he visited to join in and dance with him. Thousands answered the call, and the third video became the most successful one yet. Matt's videos have now been viewed over 30 million times.

Matt's work has been profiled in dozens of major newspapers around the world; including the New York Times, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune. His video has been shown on Oprah and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He's made appearances on The Ellen Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, among many others.

By far the most unexpected acknowledgement came from NASA when they chose Matt's third video as their "Astronomical Photo of the Day." It was described as "a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species."

Matt speaks about his travel experiences and what it's like to become "famous on the internet," but the core of his message is about taking a wild leap into the unknown and learning to collaborate with serendipity. He has brought his talk to Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Yahoo!, as well as students of all ages.