Comments on: Viral Marketing, A How To http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/10/01/viral-marketing-a-how-to/ public domain playground. friendly entities welcome. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:37:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: james http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/10/01/viral-marketing-a-how-to/comment-page-1/#comment-6715 james Mon, 03 Oct 2005 20:31:56 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/10/01/viral-marketing-a-how-to/#comment-6715 Well, I'll tell ya.... years before I ever came anywhere near a computer or e-mail or surfing the Net, I read about viral ideas-- possibly in the L.A Times Book Review. And I wholeheartedly agree with the "science" behind promoting ideas virally. But I was thinking of it in personal terms, like coughing on someone in line at the grocery market and getting them sick. I began to see that the best way to promote my ideas was to "cough" all over people in public. I think the prevalence of "shallow ideas" quickly taking speed online stems from the fact that there is no real risk to being exposed to these types of viral ideas while online. It's one thing to get a bug or a worm that cripples your computer... but an idea infecting you? The Internet provides insularity from that. If someone is talking to you in the flesh and making you re-assess your ideas on certain matters, it leaves a greater impression than someone sending you a chain e-mail. The imprint is stronger in the personal encounter. For all the cool and deep shit that goes down online, there's still an air of frivolity to it all-- I mean, how many times must bloggers hear "Man, you must have a LOT of free time" from friends and acquaintances? If you were to stand on a soapbox in the town square and talk about the things you talk about, you might be seen as a kook, but at least you'd get credit for getting your message out to the people. Not so with the Internet. It's frustrating, to say the least, because the Internet has the best potential to reach a mass audience out of all the current media forms. Well, I’ll tell ya…. years before I ever came anywhere near a computer or e-mail or surfing the Net, I read about viral ideas– possibly in the L.A Times Book Review. And I wholeheartedly agree with the “science” behind promoting ideas virally. But I was thinking of it in personal terms, like coughing on someone in line at the grocery market and getting them sick. I began to see that the best way to promote my ideas was to “cough” all over people in public.

I think the prevalence of “shallow ideas” quickly taking speed online stems from the fact that there is no real risk to being exposed to these types of viral ideas while online. It’s one thing to get a bug or a worm that cripples your computer… but an idea infecting you? The Internet provides insularity from that.

If someone is talking to you in the flesh and making you re-assess your ideas on certain matters, it leaves a greater impression than someone sending you a chain e-mail. The imprint is stronger in the personal encounter.

For all the cool and deep shit that goes down online, there’s still an air of frivolity to it all– I mean, how many times must bloggers hear “Man, you must have a LOT of free time” from friends and acquaintances? If you were to stand on a soapbox in the town square and talk about the things you talk about, you might be seen as a kook, but at least you’d get credit for getting your message out to the people. Not so with the Internet.

It’s frustrating, to say the least, because the Internet has the best potential to reach a mass audience out of all the current media forms.

]]> By: Avi Solomon http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/10/01/viral-marketing-a-how-to/comment-page-1/#comment-6679 Avi Solomon Sun, 02 Oct 2005 15:08:25 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/10/01/viral-marketing-a-how-to/#comment-6679 The response to this post validates your suggestion, but I hope I turn out to be mistaken:) The response to this post validates your suggestion, but I hope I turn out to be mistaken:)

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