I was brought up in the South where politics was a subject that was considered impolite to talk about at the dinner table. In general, I think that’s probably a wise piece of advice and perhaps that line of thinking is what prompted me to consider deleting my latest blog entry where I discussed the Sarah Palin hoax (I was sort of kidding about the hoax part). If your blog is not a political blog is it polite or even unwise to talk politics on your blog??
I’m not one of those people that preach my political views to everyday life. If you talk to me long enough you’ll probably get the idea that I’m more liberal but it’s not because I’m bashing a certain party or shoving my politics down your throat. I think most people are rather surprised when they find out that I majored in politcal science. When I was in college my political science professors were not allowed to tell us their party affiliation or personal political views for fear of bias in teaching. It therefore became a goal of almost every poli sci major to figure out what each professor was before we graduated.
I now wonder if I should have adopted that philosophy and kept quiet on my political views in this blog. But then I thought why wouldn’t I share that information?! It doesn’t make what I say about blogs or the web world any less valid. We are embarking on a very important election here in the U.S. and every voice counts right now. I’m going to let the cat out of the bag on this blog and occasionally sound off politically when I feel inspired to do so. It’s with pride that I say, “I’m a democrat and I’m voting Obama.” It’s time for a change people.
I can’t wait to hear what the family will say when I go home for the holidays. I have a feeling someone’s going to break that no politics at the table rule.
As my favorite (democratic) poli sci professor would say at the end of every class, “Good luck everybody.”
Viral marketing; yeah you’ve heard of it. It sounds like something the ordinary person might want to steer clear from but for most of us in the web industry it’s the holy grail of marketing techniques. So what is it exactly and how do you accomplish such a feat?
Viral marketing is not new, it’s basically the old word of mouth scenario webified. The most common example of viral marketing is a YouTube video – exhibit A- William Hung-really-bad-American-Idol-dancer/singer. These video Internet sensations typically fall into two categories.
The smelly milk syndrome:
Remember that old SNL skit where the milk goes really bad and the person who accidentally has the rancid encounter convinces others to “try it?” That’s one example of viral marketing… “You’ll never believe how much of an ass this person makes of themself; you gotta watch it!” Another example of this phenom. is the YouTube video of David Hasselhoff (a.k.a “The Hoff”) and his late night drunken encounter with a hamburger (how painful was that to watch?!?).
Unquestionable hilarity:
Then there are videos that go viral because they are without a doubt, hysterical. One of the best examples of this is a video on the Web site Funny or Die of “The Landlord…Pearl.” That toddler’s got all the makings of a star; if you haven’t seen it stop reading right now and watch that video.
But videos are not the only things that go viral. Emails, Web sites, search engines and even browsers can go viral.
Yes, even emails can go viral which is why most everyone can laugh if you ever say that you know a prince in Nigeria who is willing to give you all his money if you simply provide him with your bank account information. I’m not sure how long Snopes has been on the scene but they have been an incredible service debunking some of the more ridiculous emails. When in doubt about an email chain letter…snopes the hell out of it.
So how does one dip into the chalice of the viral holy grail? First things first – you have to have a good product. Okay, I’m not saying that watching a wasted Hoff muster down a hamburger at 3am is necessarily a good product but, it reeks of smelly milk syndrome with the added benefit of humiliating a celebrity. And for some disturbing reason people love their standardized gossip…celeb gossip, that is.
Making a Web site go viral is a little more challenging but if the product is good it can be done. The main challenge here is to find someone who knows the right channels to market. Social media Web sites work in your favor here.
For example, have you ever received a friend request from a stranger in the web industry that seems just legitimate enough that you end up accepting it? Those are the people that are extending their networks as much as possible so they can plant the viral seeds. Each time they do a status update about their site or publish a new blog post they get to broadcast it to their “friends” and sometimes their friend network can be in the thousands. Not a bad idea, if executed with caution and temperance.
Another method that I think is really useful is the power of the “linkerati.” I love that term but can’t claim credit. I was at SEOmoz conference where Rand Fishkin referenced that term and followed up with some good tips on how to approach the linkerati.
The linkerati are people with mega link prowess/authority and have a very large readership; Michael Arrington of TechCrunch is one, Rafat Ali of paidContent is another. There are a lot of linkerati out there, get to know who they are in your web space and do your best to impress …just remember courtesy goes a long way.
I think one of the main take home messages of this post is to have a good product before you dump a lot of time and money into trying to go viral. If you have a good product users will notice and inevitably recommend it to others and if you’re savvy enough to go viral you can make sure that more people catch “the bug” earlier on in the game.
feel inspired to do so. It’s with pride that I say, “I’m a democrat and I’m voting Obama.” It’s time for a change people.
