In honor of the 10^th annual National Dog Day, we at JESS3 present our ten favorite dog videos.

Yeah, we know the internet is made exclusively for cat videos, but we’ll let dogs have this one.

#10: Rocky the French Bulldog Puppy Jumping

This video is a nonstop rollercoaster of suspense: does Rocky know it’s playtime? Will he ever jump? How can any of us go back to real life after watching this video?

#9: Gus vs. Pool

In the battle between a dog and his plastic kiddie pool, there can only be one winner.

#8: Dogs in Slow Motion

Surprisingly majestic, bizarrely adorable, completely addictive.

#7: French Bulldog Puppy Can’t Roll Over

It’s important to let French Bulldogs learn how to roll off their backs on their own, without help, in case they one day find themselves upside-down without anyone around. It’s also important that we record that learning process, because it is hilarious.

#6: When the Dog Stays at Home Alone

The cutest little rule-breaker since that monkey spy from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

#5: Linus the Boxer Loves His Baby

An eight minute video would be too much for most dogs to handle. Not Linus. He needs every second of those eight minutes to truly love that baby.

#4: Dog’s Dreams Come True

That dog is going to fetch every single one of those balls. It might take days, it might take weeks, but with God as his witness, he will fetch all those balls. We could all learn a thing or two from that dog.

#3: Yoga Time with a Cute Chihuahua

Terrible form. You call that bhujangasana?? You’re lucky you’re cute, dog, because you’ll never make it as a yoga instructor.

#2: Brave Kitten Stands Up to Dog

That kitten is going to be president someday, and it will have this dog to thank.

#1: Corgi Flop

And on the sixth day, God shortened the legs of the majestic Corgi, so that we may enjoy YouTube videos of their bellyflops. And it was good.

Our thinking is that at one point someone pulled a prank and the prankee got really mad. To cover his/her butt, the pranker was just like, “But that’s what I’m supposed to do today. It’s, uh, April Fools’ Day.”

In that spirit, here’s a roundup of our favorite April Fools’ Day gags of 2013.

Google Nose

What does a ghost smell like? Google Nose knows. In the tradition of a long line of genius hoaxes, Google released this ad for their newest product that offers “the sharpest olfactory experience available.”

The YouTube Contest Ends

On Sunday, YouTube uploaded this clip, which excitedly explains that after a terriffic turnout, the company is ready to review all the footage (70 hours every minute over the last 8 years) entered into their “Best Video in the World” contest. They’ll announce the winner in 10 years.

Vimeow from Vimeo

The most adorable prank ever? The details of the feline takeover are outlined on the Vimeo blog. Our favorite detail is that “Following is now called Patiently Stalking.”

Sony for Pets

Another cuddly April Fools’ joke! Sony announced their Animalia line this morning, which features tech options for pets.

Upload via Snail Mail

Imgur got in on the analog trend this morning, by adding the option to mail in uploads.

Scope Bacon

Scope started this one early — last Wednesday — and judging from the comments section on their sponsored Facebook posts, most people fell for it. Good one, Scope.

A Special Message From The President

We won’t ruin this one, just click play. The official white house YouTube channel is doing it right.

Watching the ones below reminds us of the unbridled creativity of childhood (and of this). Enjoy!

Up in 60 Seconds

A Pixar favorite, Up’s plotline is surprisingly tenderhearted. The sweded version takes out the gooey long stares between man, dog and klutzy boy, and pares the movie down to comic one-liners — SQUIRREL! — and funny images of doll houses being carried away by balloons. A pretty accurate swede, we’d say.

Pacific Rim Trailer

If the original trailer is too scary for younger viewing audiences, we recommend showing your tots this version. Sea monsters made of painted green cardboard and googly eyes might take away some of the thrills, but it replaces them with ingenius hilarity. We were just left with one question: how many bags of packing peanuts did they have to buy to produce that mini ocean?

Jurassic Park Sweded

We know what you’re thinking: these guys beat you to it in remaking one of the most legendary blockbuster hits of all time. They do it quite well too, capturing memorable scenes such as Attorney Gennaro’s death by T-rex, and the groundbreaking moment when we discover that yes, raptors can, in fact, open doors.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate…Bathtub?

Staging the chocolate river scene in a bathtub filled with murky brown liquid is a little questionable, but the theatrical presentation of this nearly one-man show (doesn’t he look like Andy Sandberg?) won us over.

Feature Swedes

If the dedication of re-creating a trailer shot-by-shot doesn’t impress you, there have been two notable instances of movies sweded in. their. entirety. First, the original swede, the 2003 remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The teenage crew worked on this lovingly for seven years.

Then there was Toy Story remade with actual toys, which is really cool and impressive at first, but then gets a little creepy.

Tell us, what sweded films are your favorites?

While the world was buying Cokes, Coke watched and took note. What they found hit YouTube and went viral. With over a million hits, Coke flipped the negative connotations of public surveillance and caught people around the world in acts of kindness and whim.

Grown-ups wielding their toy swords:

The Good Samaritan:

A peacemaker:

Everyday heroes:

Music addicts:

The power of love:

And a universal reminder:

The “you-are-what-you-do-when-no-one-is-watching” philosophy applies here, little did they know that… someone did watch and now a lot of people are watching. Who knows what we would’ve seen had people known they were going to be on YouTube in a video collage to Roger Hodgson.

Hopefully Coke will track them down and give them all free cokes (and hugs). Cheers!

Re-posted from Forbes.

Leap Year combines many of JESS3’s favorite things: the internet, entrepreneurs, and drama. The online series, sponsored by Hiscox USA, tells the story of a few friends who lose their job; instead of collecting unemployment and hitting the want ads, these characters take their lives into their own hands and try to become successful entrepreneurs. The ten-minute webisodes chronicling the group’s antics concluded last night as the show finished its first season. I sat down with Wilson Cleveland, the producer and actor in the series (Derek) to get a behind the scenes look at the first season, their partnership with Hiscox, and a sneak peak at what’s to come.

Jesse Thomas: Why did you decide to do a web-series versus another medium?

Wilson Cleveland: I’ve worked on over 20 original web series as either a creator/producer, writer, actor or marketer. The web allows you to tell stories for specific audiences. TV only has so many time slots available, which is why even on specialized, genre cable networks the programming errs on the broader side of niche. The Hiscox insurance offering we were promoting targets freelancers and startups with 10 employees or less that operate within the IT, finance, business consulting, marketing and HR services verticals. Leap Year was created to first entertain this hyper-targeted audience of entrepreneurs while remaining broad enough to appeal to a general audience. Each character works in a vertical industry Hiscox specializes in covering.

Jesse: How did you decide on the unusual length for the episodes?

Wilson: The episode length isn’t so unusual, actually. One of the recurring comments we get from fans is “I wish the episodes were longer.” When I created The Temp Life for Spherion in 2006, the average YouTube video was two or three minutes long. The medium has grown up since then and with it the audience threshold for longer-form content. Additionally, many people don’t watch web video online anymore. This is why you’re seeing Hulu, Netflix and YouTube producing and/or acquiring longer-form original programming. If Leap Year gets picked-up, I’d love to make it 30-minutes per episode.

Jesse: How do you balance your roles as producer, production company owner and actor in the series?

Wilson: I usually act in the shows I produce and it’s a lot of work, but I love it. Leap Year would never have happened without our production company partners at Happy Little Guillotine Films. Yuri Baranovsky who directed, co-wrote with his brother Vlad AND plays my half-brother Aaron had a much harder job than I did during production. My work as executive producer was typically done off set so when I was on set I was there to act. Fun fact, though: in the scene where Derek reads the email from his assistant that she’s quit, I was actually emailing with Craig Bierko finalizing the travel itinerary for him to shoot his scenes as Andy Corvell. The team at HLG is gifted at what they do so there was never a time on set where I had to stop being an actor and put the producer hat on.

Jesse: What do you think drives the show’s popularity?

Wilson: As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve always loved shows like Shark Tank and The Apprentice, but I could never relate to the contestants because they are usually fairly established business owners before going before Cuban or Trump. I found myself thinking if there were a show I could relate to and find escape in, a show that was like a scripted sitcom version of Shark Tank, I would watch it. Clearly I wasn’t alone in that because Leap Year’s biggest fans seem to be entrepreneurs excited by a show essentially about them that is funny, but more important it’s realistic. I’ve had a lot of known startup founders tell me what a great, unique idea Leap Year is, so I guess we’re filling a need.

Jesse: What’s your inspiration for the quirky situations you put your characters into?

Wilson: The quirky situations were established before anything else. In order for Hiscox to demonstrate the various real-life risks their various insurance products cover, we needed to play them out. Many new professional services business owners have no idea just how many risks they face on a daily basis and if they do, they’re likely not thinking about it or believe it could happen to them. It’s one thing to tell an IT consultant he or she could face a big insurance liability if their server gets stolen; or warn a freelance publicist against the dangers of lying to an editor on behalf of a client – It’s another thing to SHOW them in the context of a piece of entertainment they’re already enjoying.

Jesse: How autobiographical is Leap Year?

Wilson: I’m pleased to say that for me personally, not at all. However, I know people who have found themselves in similar situations. Let’s just say I not only play ‘Derek,’ but I know the person the character is based on.

Jesse: Many draw comparisons between your show and Entourage. Do you see similarities?

Wilson: I’ve always called Leap Year “How I Met Your Startup” when talking to TV and entertainment execs because the genesis of the concept came from combining “Shark Tank” with “How I Met Your Mother.” Entourage is a great show that I’m going to miss after this season so if people want to compare Leap Year to Entourage, that’s fine with me.

Jesse: Wilderness Downtown (Google Chrome experiment) has set the tone for a modern music video experience. Could you see Leap Year doing anything with enhanced storytelling techniques?

Wilson: Absolutely. This season we experimented a bit with enhancing the storytelling via social media channels like Gowalla, Foursquare, Instagram, etc., but I’m a sucker for bleeding edge storytelling like Wilderness Downtown.

Jesse: What are your hopes and dreams for the show after this year?

Wilson: My immediate hope is for Hiscox to green light a second season. The dream would be at least two more seasons of ten 30-minute episodes accessible to a global viewing audience across platforms and devices. And a pony.

Jesse: Talk to me about your product placement strategy for this season and what’s on the horizon?

Wilson: Hiscox is a dream client because they understand the benefit of keeping the brand out of the content itself and opt instead for “presented by” credit at the beginning of each episode. This is a storytelling vehicle funded by PR vs. an advertising vehicle. The brand isn’t mentioned once throughout the entire series. We shot the Gemini Corp scenes at Hiscox’s San Francisco office, but that’s the extent of the brand integration. In fact, Mashable gets a number of mentions throughout the series but that had everything to do with making the storyline realistic for the target startup audience. Hiscox, like most of the brands we work with, is more interested in telling a story about what they do as opposed to who they are, which the audience appreciates. Should there be another season, I’d love to partner with an incubator like TechStars, Y-Combinator or Ashton Kutcher’s Grade-A Investments and integrate them and some of their portfolio startups into the Leap Year storyline. At the end of this season, the gang successfully completes the demo for a new video conferencing product so it would make sense for an incubator to invest in that opportunity.

Jesse: How do you manage your level of creative control with funders working with you?

Wilson: It varies by client, but typically once the brand’s message is firmly implanted, the rest is up to us. Our clients hire us for a reason so there’s usually a high level of trust. Hiscox was amazing to work with because once they signed off on the important story points they gave us the freedom to bring it all to life.

Jesse: How did you and Hiscox begin working together?

Wilson: CJP Digital Media is part of CJP Communications, the PR/marketing agency that has represented Hiscox for a number of years. When CJP was asked to pitch Hiscox USA to promote its new Small Business Direct offering, we knew how crowded the ‘small business’ marketing landscape was so we led with the Leap Year idea. We believed an original scripted web series would help Hiscox cut through the competitive clutter and — so far so good — that’s been happening.

Jesse: I love the guest stars! What are some of the dream guests you want for next season and beyond? Chris Sacca, Mark Cuban, Zucks, Bill Gates?

Wilson: One of my favorite things about making this show was seeing how much fun our ‘guest founders’ Gary, Guy and Adam had on set. These guys rarely get to do things like be funny on a scripted comedy. I would love to get Ashton Kutcher on the show. His evolution from actor/producer to actor/producer/founder/investor is fascinating to me and I think it would be cool to have “Ashton the actor” play a version of “Ashton the investor” in a comedy about startup life. He’s also a big proponent of storytelling vs.”story-selling” in web video. We had a great cameo idea for Kevin Rose this season, so we’d love to try and get him if we get picked up for season 2. Alexis Ohanian, Ben Lerer and Ricky Van Veen are naturally funny guys so we’d love to write something for them. I sent Naveen Selvadurai the episode where Jack teaches Olivia how to check-in on Foursquare and he loved it, so I think he and Dennis Crowley would be great. The Glenn Cheeky character in episode 9 is loosely-based on David Karp, who did an episode of our #MyStartupStory interview series. We’re huge Tumblr fans so the door is always open for Mr. Karp. As for ‘Zucks,’ I’m actually interested in Randi because she’s a new founder herself, much like the characters on Leap Year. I would love to have more women founders in general like Caterina Fake, Gina Bianchini or Melanie Mccloskey. The Olivia and Bryn characters are very strong so I’d like to balance that with the ‘guest founders’ next season.

Google prefers “project” to “product” because G+ is a work in progress. The potential of Google+ is that it represents an amalgamation of  Google tools, including Gchat, Picasa, YouTube, Video Chat, Buzz, +1, and Search. As Google tools become more modular (or widgetized), G+ may integrate them to help aggregate social activity, news, and friends. G+ can be the foundation on which Google builds the future of the social web. If they do that, the competition should take note.

Early opinion of G+ is extremely positive according to a poll of Mashable readers. Less than 10 percent of respondents either gave G+ a shrug or decried it as a useless Facebook copycat, while a majority either find it “nice” or “love it.” (Thirty-two percent are withholding judgment until they get their hands on one of those sought-after invitations.)

As you would expect from Google, G+ offers plenty of fun web technology to play with. The ability to drag and drop friends into “circles” is ahead of its time, and more user-friendly than Twitter‘s Lists or Facebook‘s Friend Lists. And the tool was not made without a touch of whimsy, such as turning friends into a cloud of smoke upon removing them from a Circle.

From a design perspective, G+ is also beating out its competitors at Twitter and Facebook. For instance, there is no indication that users of G+ will have to interact with the tool through intermediary products like HootSuite and Tweetdeck. The layout of G+ is super-streamlined and unembellished with an overwhelming supply of suggestions and features.

Of the few features on offer, perhaps the most fun is “Hangouts,” which permits users to video chat with up to 10 friends. In addition to the design improvements, Hangouts bests Facebook’s Group Chats simply because your Gmail contacts are vastly superior to your Facebook friends. Like Hangouts, other G+ features also integrate well with preexisting Google products. For instance, photos rely on Picasa and videos play on YouTube. I am withholding judgment on “Sparks,” though, which appears to be a thumbnail recommendation engine. (Others, however, are calling it perhaps the most underrated feature of G+.)

Not so fast though, Google: Facebook is still the place to be. One thing to keep in mind is that social networking is a digital party; we go where our friends, family, and clients go. For social networks, that place remains Facebook. In the short term, that means that Plus may not take off. Rather, it may go down in history as Buzz 2.0, a product that felt like something Yahoo! might have released in its heyday. That assessment may be entirely outdated, however, when G+ integrates documents, questions, events and games.

When will that be, though? One of the biggest risks that Google took with G+ was a relatively public Beta launch. Using G+ feels like like jumping behind the wheel of a car still on the production line. A look back at the rise and fall of Facebook and MySpace, respectively, shows the now-dominant social networking site rising to its throne only once it allowed outside developers the opportunity to create value for the platform through engagement apps. In other words, the Farmville developers of the world deserve their share of the credit for hoisting Facebook to the top of its class.

The missed opportunity with G+ is that it may alienate early adopters with a product that feels unfinished. Can Google build a better Facebook? That remains to be seen. Whether they can build it before users of G+ abandon this new platform is another question entirely.

Timing is another issue for G+. Mark one for Facebook, whose timing was superb. Lacking the momentum that Facebook owns, with all of our relationships already stored there, Google looks a dollar short and a day late. Well, maybe not a dollar short.

What G+ really represents is another series of shots fired in a larger struggle. My prediction is that in the next five years, Bill Gates will pass control of Microsoft to Zucks over at Facebook. Google and MicroBook will then compete in the world war of digital, buying up brands like Sony, Amazon and Netflix in battles over who will control the media through which we watch movies, listen to music, read books and, of course, socialize.

Disclosure: JESS3 proudly works with three brands mentioned in this post: Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

“It’s like riding a bike” — you never forget. In Owen’s case, millions of YouTube fans will never forget his first bike riding experience. In the euphoria of his accomplishment, Owen vocalized his enthusiasm and new found, self-assurance: “If you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike … if you don’t … just keep practicing. You will get the hang of it — I know it. If you just keep practicing.”

Owen became an instant YouTube sensation and an inspiration to millions with his words of wisdom and unwavering self-confidence. I was particularly moved, as Owen put into words the excitement I have for JESS3 and what we’ve accomplished by hard work and perseverance.

We caught up with both Owen and his dad (who recorded the video) to learn more about the amazing kid with the amazing speech:

Why do you think practicing is important?
It’s important to practice, because it helps you believe in yourself. You have to practice to get better at things.

How does it feel to finally ride a bike?
It feels good, because I like to ride my bike.

Who inspires you? Do you have someone that you admire?
I don’t know what that means. (Then with some explanation) My dad, and the President, and the flag, and my mom, and my grandparents.

Why do you think it’s important for people to follow their dreams?
Because they have to. So they can have a journey to their lifetime, and believe in themselves, and they can buy more gear for biking.

What is your next big goal? What are you working on now?
To be famous, which I am. Learning how to drive a car. Maybe I could build a rocket to Mars.

We wanted to hear from Nick, Owen’s dad, (who has his own fame as a well-known bartender and bitters distributor) about what Owen is like on a daily basis and what this whole experience has meant for their family.

Does your son inspire you?
Absolutely. I know I’m not the only parent to ever experience that, but Owen is   truly a special kid, and I’m so lucky to be his father. He’s inspired me to be a better person, a better father, and a harder worker. Everything I do is for him.

Who pushed Owen to persevere through the bike-riding difficulties? Was it self-motivation?
Both his mom and myself. It was like pulling teeth for a few weeks. I started to doubt myself a bit and wonder if I was pushing him too hard. I would pull out his pads and helmet and he would start to cry saying, “I don’t want to learn how to ride a bike, sell my bike.” He didn’t understand why anyone would ever take training wheels off their bike, because they’re just going to fall. And then it all clicked. He was so excited, and that’s right when I captured that video, but it was an all-day amazement. We had lunch right after that and he was still in shock: “I just can’t believe I did that. I’m never going to doubt myself again Daddy!”

This experience seems to have instilled a great amount of self-confidence in Owen. How do you or will you continue to encourage this mindset?
Positive mental attitude is something that both myself and his mother practice with him on a daily basis. This is a great example for us to use when the next challenges in his life come up, and hopefully a great tool for others as well. Owen is a special kid with a big heart, so a lot of that excitement comes directly from him.

How does it feel to have a son that has inspired so many to follow their dreams?
This last week has been pretty silly. This is a small glimpse into our special boy’s
persona, and it’s great to think that so many others are enjoying who he is as well. And if at the end of the day other kids took their training wheels off, or a few adults took their “training wheels” off, we’re happy that we could share this moment with the world. It’s always great to be responsible for the smiles and laughter of others.

Thanks again for the inspiration Owen and Nick! Thumbs up for rock and roll.

Check out his hilarious new passion project, Jersey Short:

I think Martin makes a lovely Snooki, but I won’t be eating pickles anytime soon.

Play along on the Desperados YouTube Channel here.

How many times did you replay this video? C’mon, be honest.