Social Media: Who's Hot, Who's Not - The Viral Garden
Mack takes a look at the rankings of the top Social Media sites. YouTube continues to kickarse. I hope they keep hanging on, but some other smaller sites have a more sustainable model. How will they make money? That's the billion dollar question.
Blog Traffic #2: Excuse Me, Who Are You? - Okdork.com
Noah makes a case for finding a narrow, but engaging topic for your blog. I listened and started a puppy dentistry blog. It didn't work.
Blog Interview with Jeremiah Owyang - Marketing Nirvana
Part 1
Part 2
Mario and Jeremiah delve into the wonderful world of corporate blogging, and trust me, we're all better for it.
Why the Agency.com YouTube Pitch Ruled - Experience Curve
I've been squarely in Karl's corner throughout this whole agency.com fiasco. I see it like this, on a scale of 1 to 10, they get 10 points for having some big ol' balls, and a 5 for execution, which gives them an average of 7.5. Not too bad. (5 comes from 1 pt for going viral and 4 pts for whenweroll blog).
On being human... - CK's Blog
CK makes the case for the humanization of Apple in their newest ad campaign. Really, I would consider myself not a fan of the new campaign, but the point of the post couldn't be more spot on. Sometimes products are treated as if they are just the things we own, when really, they are the things that define who we are. They're an extension of our own personalities, desires and needs, and should be marketed/treated as such.
Get it while the gettin's good!
Glad someone was in my corner :-) I think we're in the minority, but I still stand by my analysis. Agency.com was in trouble business wise and had to make a "bold move", i think it will be good for their business, and in the end the content of that movie doesn't matter at all, what matters is the story around how they made a viral video.
Posted by: karl long | August 08, 2006 at 09:42 AM
Right on. I'm pretty sure you would get a resounding hell yes! from agency.com if asked if they would do it all over again.
I just wish I had thought of it. I probably would have added more fist bumps, though.
Posted by: paulmcenany | August 08, 2006 at 12:24 PM
Sorry to crash the fistbump party here, but the execution was more of a 2 out of 10.
"and in the end the content of that movie doesn't matter at all,"
Well, I guess time will tell if the content mattered or not. Personally, I feel the content of anything I produce matters. But that's just me.
Oh uh, I hear the Debby Downer music playing... ;)
Posted by: David Armano | August 09, 2006 at 10:40 PM
Way to ruin all the fun, asshole! :)
Anyway, I will say this. I'm starting to sour on the whole thing, and here's why. They got their executional points from me mostly from the blog. They had a bunch of people laughing at them, and instead of recoiling, they decided to laugh with them.
That being said, the blog is nose diving for me. They had an opportunity to take it further, past the fist bumps, and let us get to know the people behind the caricatures. The video gave them a megaphone, but they did nothing with it to further their voice. In the end, they've treated this as a linear campaign that will die when the buzz dies.
A company playing in the viral space should understand that buzz created by a video or whatever isn't enough to build a relationship or sell product, at least not in the long-term, but it is an opportunity to open a conversation. And from the looks of it, they've taken this opportunity, and done nothing but become a link aggregator.
So, bottom line, they're down to a 6.5 overall, because you still gotta respect them balls.
Posted by: paulmcenany | August 10, 2006 at 12:06 AM
:)
Well, I would have to agree with your assesment of the blog. They should have hired someone like you to help see them through this.
I think the blog shows that their balls may be shrinking in real time. At one point, they had a picture of the team bowling and they took it off the blog hours later.
Their part 2 of all this had better be good, because if it isn't people like you and karl who applauded the effort from the beginning might lower their score to a "5". Which equals mediocrity. Which is what they were trying to avoid with this whole thing in the first place.
Posted by: DA | August 10, 2006 at 08:26 AM
"Noah makes a case for finding a narrow, but engaging topic for your blog. I listened and started a puppy dentistry blog. It didn't work."
LMAO!
Reminds me of several months ago when I read on some no-name blog that 'Next week we will launch our next successful blog. It will need 2 things: An audience, and links.'.
And yes, he was serious ;)
Posted by: Mack Collier | August 10, 2006 at 06:04 PM
David- I'm starting to think their is no part 2 in their plans. If there is, they're being overly patient in letting the rest of us in on the secret.
Mack- I fear that audience and links were not the only two things they were missing. :)
Posted by: Paul McEnany | August 10, 2006 at 08:32 PM
Content is King, you swine. If content doesn't matter, why didn't they just do a video about making a video?
Ooops. That is what they did. The idiots.
Just my two million cents worth.
Posted by: steven e. streight aka vaspers the grate, on the edge of evening | August 12, 2006 at 10:11 PM
P.S. I love Sufjan Stevens and I own his "Illinoize" CD. Pure Brian Wilson type genius.
Posted by: steven e. streight aka vaspers the grate, on the edge of evening | August 12, 2006 at 10:13 PM
Steven- Make sure you check out Sufjan's The Avalanche, too. It's incredible.
Posted by: Paul McEnany | August 12, 2006 at 11:03 PM