What is the worst viral video attempt of all time?

I have seen a lot of terrible attempts of viral videos posted on YouTube by companies with marketing budgets big enough to feed an army. Amongst the painful memories one particular attempt stands out in my mind; The Sony "All I want for Christmas is a PSP" campaign. For some reaon this one has been burned into my mind.

Sony wanted to capture consumer evangelists expressing how all they wanted for Christmas was a PSP through videos on YouTube. Sony essentiall hired a bunch of actors to pretend like they were true consumers that would appeal to an attractive PSP market and man did it blow up in their face! This movie is literally one of the most pathetic things I have ever seen, I got a little sick half way through so I had to take a break.

What is the worst viral video campaign attempt you have ever seen? Can anything get worse than this?

Second Life Losing some Popularity

Second life is no longer the new hotness - LA Times just released an article titled Virtual marketers have second thoughts about Second Life.
Ouch. Sorry SLer's........

Nielsen Uses Time Spent on Site as New Number One

In a nod to the success of emerging Web 2.0 technologies like AJAX and streaming media, one of the country's largest Internet benchmarking companies will no longer use page views as its primary metric for comparing sites.

Nielsen/NetRatings will announce Tuesday that it will immediately begin using total time spent by users of a site as its primary measurement metric.

Scott Ross, director of product marketing at Nielsen/NetRatings, said the change was prompted by a continuing increase in the use of AJAX, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, which allows a Web site to refresh content without reloading an entire page, and to the growing use of audio and video streaming.

"It is not that page views are irrelevant now, but they are a less accurate gauge of total site traffic and engagement," Ross said. "Total minutes is the most accurate gauge to compare between two sites. If [Web] 1.0 is full page refreshes for content, Web 2.0 is, 'How do I minimize page views and deliver content more seamlessly?'"

For example, he said, MySpace may have 10 to 11 times more page views than YouTube, but myspace.com users spend only three times more minutes on the site, Ross added. Therefore, measuring total time spent on a site will make it easier for advertisers to mold their ads to how users are actually accessing content, he said.

"On YouTube there will be more ads flowing in based on duration (on videos)," he said. "The more time I spend on YouTube ... [advertisers] will figure out a way to monetize that."

SpaceTime Beta, The 3-D world of Search.

Recently I stumbled across a new 3-D web browsing technology called “Space Time Beta". Powered by a 3-D interface, this browser enables users to retrieve a visual stack of search engine results and quickly scroll through them with the click of a mouse. As I continued to try out this new engine, one big question came to mind. Is 3-D browsing technology is simply a flashy search enhancement, or is it possibly future of search.

First of all, traditional metrics that have been the backbone of SEO strategies for engines like Google and Yahoo still are still the rule in this new ‘visual world’ of search. A SpaceTime Google search still relies on the same factors that have controlled the traditional algorithm of search such as keyword placement, link-ability, and content structure. So how does this new search technology stand apart? 3-D web searching essentially over-rides the traditional post search selection process where browsers click forward and backwards, into and out of sites in search of the content they are seeking.

A visual search however, enables users to see the home page immediately after they type in their search term and hit enter. So Instead of making a site selection based primarily on the chronological order of search results and relevant keywords used, the user evaluates a site on its visual design and content structure; an evaluation process that typically follows a two click process searching now happen with one click.

So, although many of the traditional measures of SEO still apply; developers and designers need to place more emphasis on creating sites that are visually appealing and contain relevant content. In the visual world of browsing, it will be imperative to create eye catching page designs that have a clear ‘Why to Buy Statement’ in order to maximize site traffic. Within 3-D browsers companies will no longer be able to hide behind chronological search selection methods that play a large part in driving users to their page.

To answer the larger question at hand, it is hard to determine if 3-D searches will play a large role in the future of search. But in the event they have a largescale impact; building a visually appealing difference will be the ultimate driver for success in the potential new era of search.

Check it out...http://www.spacetime.com/home.php

Nice MicroSite!

I was flipping through the channels a couple of nights ago when I came across a new series called "The Green". The show was pretty cool, but what was really impressive was the Microsite dedicated to promoting it. What is "The Green" ?

The Green is a series of documentaries entirely dedicated to promoting the environment. In addition to the series of regularly scheduled television shows, The Green will be using a microsite to provide online content aimed towards building a community of environmental awareness. “ The destination is designed to be both edifying and entertaining, with an emphasis on information, practical advice and community building. (Sundance Channel 2007) The Green site is an excellent example of community web building. Since the Green is aimed at building environmental awareness and is not promoting a particular product or brand it makes a sincere attempt at engaging users through compelling content. The central page features “This week” on The Green, which is a series of video-clips mini clips previewing released or soon to be released full-length series.

The Green is comprised of several different sub-categories of shows each with their own page that has blogs, podcasts, webisodes, photo posts and other media tools to get users involved.
The most interesting feature of the site will be the soon released “eco-mmunity”.

“Welcome to a carbon neutral online community that provides you with the tools to discover, list and contact eco-conscious individuals and businesses from across the globe. Welcome to a digital forum for sharing information and ideas; a new way to problem solve both locally and globally; a center for learning about the critical issues discussed on The Green and a conduit for taking action on them. ECO-MMUNITY is designed to be whatever you grow it into, that’s because real ‘community’ blooms with each new member that joins in.” (Sundance Channel 2007)

The ECO-MMUNITY will feature a “Green Map” where you can search for green people, places, and things that are all over the world. It will also allow you to list your green business or businesses you feel others should be aware about. ECO-MMUNITY will also feature an interactive aspect that will let users do things such as take quizzes, play games, and other activities. This site will also provide ‘eco blogs”, vlogs and emails that highlight some of the hot-points being discussed on these forums.

Check it Out!
The Green http://www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen

Digital Influence Blog

Welcome to the digital influence blog. This blog was designed to discuss the evolution of the social web and some of the new tools that are re-defining the digital world as we know it today. In short, the atmoshpere of the online world has changed. A channel that was once crowded by click-throughs, ad banners, and spam; the internet has turned into a community that listens less often to the enterprise but instead to users like themselves. Why has this happened?