Parodies are fun, aren’t they? Once upon a time they were the preserve of comedians, TV shows and other professionals in the media and entertainment industries. But today with social media tools at our disposal, anyone creative and savvy can make a parody for all of us to enjoy.

You’re no doubt one of the millions who watched The First Kiss video this week:

It turns out that this charming clip is part of a marketing campaign (which doesn’t make me angry, in fact I admire them).  And it’s spawned quite a few parodies already. This gorgeous one below is a must-watch for dog lovers:

And then there’s the tummy-raspberry (called zerbert in our household):

The award-winning Dumb Ways To Die video also motivated people to make their own versions – not always a parody, either, but just their own take which in the case below included children:

You can find many, many versions of Nyan Cat, with the amazing variety  including the two below:

Of course, parodies don’t only relate to video.  One more recent example of parody-slash-tribute relates to the most-retweeted selfie of all time, when Ellen DeGeneres shared a selfie with other stars of the screen at the recent Oscars award ceremony:

If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

Twitter Australia quickly responded with this:

Right back at you @TheEllenShow! #oscars pic.twitter.com/HYu2mAtqFV

— Twitter Australia (@TwitterAU) March 3, 2014

And Adelaide’s Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood shared a few group selfies at a meeting of lord mayors from around Australia:

#LordMayorSelfie @StephenYarwood @kfonglim @RobertDoyleMelb @LisaScafPerthLM @CloverMoore @Team_Quirk @AldDamonThomas pic.twitter.com/iiNHRqJSLF

— Stephen Yarwood (@StephenYarwood) March 6, 2014

Parody accounts on Twitter can also be immensely popular – but that’s the topic for another blog post.

Do you have any favourite YouTube or Twitpic parodies? Please share in comments below …