The Web Uncovered

Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so.

About Seth Godin

Seth Godin is an entrepreneur and blogger who thinks about the marketing of ideas in the digital age. His newest interest: the tribes we lead. Full bio and more links

“Seth Godin may be the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age,” Mary Kuntz wrote in Business Week nearly a decade ago. “Instead of widgets or car parts, he specializes in ideas — usually, but not always, his own.” In fact, he’s as focused on spreading ideas as he is on the ideas themselves.

After working as a software brand manager in the mid-1980s, Godin started Yoyodyne, one of the first Internet-based direct-marketing firms, with the notion that companies needed to rethink how they reached customers. His efforts caught the attention of Yahoo!, which bought the company in 1998 and kept Godin on as a vice president of permission marketing. Godin has produced several critically acclaimed and attention-grabbing books, including Permission Marketing, All Marketers Are Liars, and Purple Cow (which was distributed in a milk carton). In 2005, Godin founded Squidoo.com, a Web site where users can share links and information about an idea or topic important to them.

“[Godin] is a demigod on the Web, a best-selling author, highly sought-after lecturer, successful entrepreneur, respected pundit and high-profile blogger. He is uniquely respected for his understanding of the Internet.” Forbes.com

Creating fake websites is a means towards several ends.  While some implementations are funny or catchy, some can be unethical and even illegal.   A Fake website is a website whole sole purpose is something other than what would seem to be the obvious.  One such example is the ever famous petsORfood.com, a website that pretends to sell unwanted pets for food, including species on the endangered species list.  It’s totally believable with its extensive online content, complete with order forms and checkout.

Why create fake websites?  There are two main reasons why you might consider this.  Firstly, by creating content that has virality potential, you could set up PPC ads and then just sit on the ad revenue.  While it may not turn into a cash cow, it could give you a nice side income.  Another reason why some people create fake websites is to create a reputable link to their site.  Not only could it bolster traffic, but it has positive SEO effects as well.   Find a list of such websites here.

The Takeaway:  

While creating a funny or unbelievable fake website may advantageous, make sure you are complying with FTC regulations regarding misrepresenting yourself.  Furthermore, avoid lawsuits from refraining from lying about medical matters.  Finally, consider the use of these fake websites as jokes, if yours isn’t in good humor or obviously a hoax once scrutinized, you may need to reconsider your own ethical limits.

While posting a single video on Youtube is a rather straightforward endeavor, running a multi-video campaign across many viral video sites has become increasingly complicated as both the scope possible and number of viral video outlets proliferate.

That’s where Vidmetrix comes in.  Firstly, you can upload your video, tags, description, and title once on their server, and then, after inputting your information from sites like Youtube, Myspace, Revver, Sevenload, etc, it will automatically upload it to each site you choose.  This makes executing a massive campaign a much simpler endeavor.

But it gets better!  Vidmetrix also keeps track of views and comments from each site, which it includes into a database that you can view or export.  You can even add links to the same video at sites that you uploaded before you started using Vidmetrix for uploads, or from one of the smaller sites that Vidmetrix does not yet support.  Their easy-to-use interface allows you to chart views of your videos based on day, week, month, or by site.  A catch?  It’s free!

The Takeaway:   Not only does Vidmetrix makes it easier for your to execute your campaign, but they give you the ability to see what videos and which sites are attracting the most attention, giving you better insight for future targetting.  Also, Vidmetrix has even better analytical tools as part of a paid service, which can become very necessary with larger viral video campaigns.