First there was the cadbury gorilla.
Then there was Susan Boyle.
In the internet world it's called 'going viral'; where something spreads exponentially through cyberspace. Sometimes it's done deliberately (like the cadbury gorilla) and its creators have definite marketing goals. Others, like Susan Boyle, are a bi-product of a successful medium (such as television) that has been transplanted into the world wide web.
Either way, both (supposedly) direct traffic back to their source; generating interest, discussion and most importantly for them, revenue.
Historically, there has been another formula that uses the same principle. It's called the pyramid scheme. And one company that has been closely associated with this form of marketing is Amway. Although it has never been officially prosecuted for pyramid style marketing, Amway's approach employs an undeniable similarity; the recruitment of workers whose subsequent recruitments will financially benefit the original recruiters.
If we were to translate this into today's online world, then I guess our 'recruiting' would be all those emails we'd forward, videos we'd embed, files we'd upload....
But where Facebook's viral capability gets scary is best demonstrated in an app that was written for last year's 'Triple J's Hottest 100'. I unfortunately 'missed the bus' on this one so never got to witness it but I was told, with good authority, it showed you which songs your friends had voted for.
For the musically inept like me, this is a harp from the heavens. Ask me what's in the latest 'top 40's' and I'll give you a blank stare, free of change. If I had discovered this app before the hottest 100 had been announced, I would have done a good ol' sticky-beak at how my friend's were voting. Now I doubt I'd have recognised more than 20% of the artists BUT I would have THEN done my research. I would have listened to what they were voting for and then put a vote in myself. In which case I would have gone from a musically inept nobody with no idea to a voter. Amazing how educational the internet can be, right? Scary too.
Especially given the enormity by which 'Mumford and Sons' won by. I'm probably going to be disowned by several people for asking this (and let it be said I really do love "Little Lion Man"), but how many 'nobodies with no ideas' do you think voted for their song simply because their friends did? And how many of their friends voted for "Little Lion Man" simply because their friends did too? And how many of their friends voted for "Little Lion Man" simply because those friends did?
It seems 'going viral' has taken another step forward and developed a new edge. One where it's no longer just pyramid scheme marketing, where we're not just forwarding on the latest email, where we're not just 'spreading the virus'. Now we're actually shaping that virus.
And that virus has the capacity to vote.
Shit, what's next?
Then there was Susan Boyle.
In the internet world it's called 'going viral'; where something spreads exponentially through cyberspace. Sometimes it's done deliberately (like the cadbury gorilla) and its creators have definite marketing goals. Others, like Susan Boyle, are a bi-product of a successful medium (such as television) that has been transplanted into the world wide web.
Either way, both (supposedly) direct traffic back to their source; generating interest, discussion and most importantly for them, revenue.
Historically, there has been another formula that uses the same principle. It's called the pyramid scheme. And one company that has been closely associated with this form of marketing is Amway. Although it has never been officially prosecuted for pyramid style marketing, Amway's approach employs an undeniable similarity; the recruitment of workers whose subsequent recruitments will financially benefit the original recruiters.
And Facebook seems to be a real leader here. It has gone from spreading those inane and unbelievably annoying 'pirate vs ninja' applications to those ridiculously self-propagating 'Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback?' fan-pages.
But where Facebook's viral capability gets scary is best demonstrated in an app that was written for last year's 'Triple J's Hottest 100'. I unfortunately 'missed the bus' on this one so never got to witness it but I was told, with good authority, it showed you which songs your friends had voted for.
For the musically inept like me, this is a harp from the heavens. Ask me what's in the latest 'top 40's' and I'll give you a blank stare, free of change. If I had discovered this app before the hottest 100 had been announced, I would have done a good ol' sticky-beak at how my friend's were voting. Now I doubt I'd have recognised more than 20% of the artists BUT I would have THEN done my research. I would have listened to what they were voting for and then put a vote in myself. In which case I would have gone from a musically inept nobody with no idea to a voter. Amazing how educational the internet can be, right? Scary too.
Especially given the enormity by which 'Mumford and Sons' won by. I'm probably going to be disowned by several people for asking this (and let it be said I really do love "Little Lion Man"), but how many 'nobodies with no ideas' do you think voted for their song simply because their friends did? And how many of their friends voted for "Little Lion Man" simply because their friends did too? And how many of their friends voted for "Little Lion Man" simply because those friends did?
It seems 'going viral' has taken another step forward and developed a new edge. One where it's no longer just pyramid scheme marketing, where we're not just forwarding on the latest email, where we're not just 'spreading the virus'. Now we're actually shaping that virus.
And that virus has the capacity to vote.
Shit, what's next?
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