Kony2012 was reported to be the first cause-based video by a nonprofit to make YouTube's annual list of top videos.
While trends in Google searches provide insights into what people are interested in learning about, YouTube hits tend to be “a reflection of pop culture,” according to Allocca.
Fourth place on the YouTube list went to a “Call Me Maybe” video in which stars, including Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, ignited a lip-synching rage.
An “Epic Rap Battles of History” series episode that pitted a pretend Barack Obama against a Mitt Romney impersonator in a rap-powered debate came in fifth on the YouTube list.
The Top Ten list included a stunt in a Flemish town square to promote a television channel; “dubstep” violin by Lindsey Stirling; comedian Emmanuel Hudson; a father's reaction to his daughter's Facebook post; and Felix Baumgartner's free-fall from about 39 kilometers (24 miles) above the Earth.
YouTube is also seeing trends in how people are watching videos, with smartphones, tablets, and online social networks becoming preferred viewing venues, according to Allocca.
People watch more than four billion hours of video monthly at YouTube, according to the Google-owned video-sharing service.
Ratings for top videos factored in searches, remixes, parodies and other factors along with numbers of views.