I do not blog with my hand; he who blogs with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I blog with my mind.

(sorry for stealing your quote, Pam)

Robot Shopping Cart
I think we have a new Terminator spin-off show. Here is the premise: After John Connors once again foils the evil cyborgs, the terminators shake their fists at the heavens then send back a flaming pair of pants. The flaming pair of pants marries a shopping cart and moves in with the homeless people under the bridge. From their it plots destruction of the human race...but not before a series of 'Leave it Beaver' type follies make us all laugh and think.

Mario Theme Played with RC Car and Bottles
I am now very afraid of the Nintendo corporation. I never thought video games had any effect on the youth of today. But, after watching this video I believe it does.
Although it is pretty amazing....we are DEVO!

How Not to Make Homemade Ice Cream
I don't blame these guys. Dry ice is one of the greatest miracles of nature. I have personally used it for all kinds of evil purposes. Putting it in the toilet made for a very special Halloween. But, I never thought of using it to make ice cream. Now I am glad I haven't.
The best part of this video is the guy's reaction.
Ben & Jerry were never this stoned.

Tea Partay
This is an older video, but I really like it. I have shown this video to many, many people and thought it would appropriate for a viral marketing blog. In fact, here is a stupid story:

"T'was the night before Christmas...
And the family was huddled around YouTube.
After watching videos of A-Rod's hamburger helper hand in 2004...
We watched this video and laughed...and laughed...then had sugar plums soaked in vodka."

Ok...so it doesn't rhythm. But this happened. The family got together on Christmas Eve (had quite a few drinks) and we watched all kinds of YouTube videos. If you think that sounds lame, we then all sat around singing to my father's Mitch Miller album. It was a perfect Sam Rockwell Christmas.

Stupid Canadiens' Chant -with a Boston flair
Well...the Boston Bruins just lost to the Canadiens. The series is now 3-1. It doesn't look good for the big bad Bs. I can't say I am surprised or upset. I have not been a big hockey fan since the last strike. But...the Canadiens' fans have to be told how stupid their European type chants are. Luckily I don't have to...this video says it all.
I love Boston fans. Even in the urine steamed bathrooms of the Boston Garden our New England sense of sarcasm & ridicule comes out.

Diese blog Eintragung ist WUNDERBAR!

More goofiness (that only a Hasselhof could love)

Showdown
This is funny because it hits close to home. No, not because I just had a blow-out with my brother (it has been years since we drew firearms on each other), but because I just had a conversation with a buddy about this. This is one of those movie cliches that makes me laugh everytime I see it. It is similar to when guys get blown out windows after being shot, or that no one ever has to reload during a shootout.

Previously on Lost : What?
My hatred of the TV show 'Lost' is widely known, and this video captures that hatred perfectly. I hate shows that are confusing just to be confusing. Oh...they think giving only a little piece of the story away per episodes makes for thrilling TV...it doesn't. Try moving the story along quickly and having enough creativity to think of new story arcs...DUMB.
Now I'm angry. F*** Sayid!

Land Of Confusion
My entire life now makes sense. I used to love having birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. But this video explains my love of bad pizza, heavy metal, video games and insatiable lust for Genesis songs.


Laser Music
I think Harmonix ripped this off when they made Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Imagine flailing about wildly...reaching out into the deepest part of the night...lost in the music (while in your mother's basement). Also, imagine the hours of fun your friends would have ridiculing you. Good Times.
My only other comment is why do they not have the Cantina song from the original Star Wars? That would Rock!
"Turn it down they say, and all I can say when they tell me turn it down is...NO. No-no, no-no, NO" What song is that from?


Hockey Bear
Let's play a little 'choose your own adventure' for this one.
You have just watched this video and thought:
a) It's a Paddington Bear come to life (turn to page )

b) The fall of Communism has been hard on the good folks of Russia (turn to page 3023 of your marxist handbook)

c) The greatest sports upset in history; 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team -The Miracle on Ice!

Power of YouTube

This video is a gift...from me to you. I have had this song in my head for days and I just wanted to share it with you. Thanks YouTube...for bringing my nightmares to life.

Back in the Saddle

I'm back in BlogWorld. I spent the past week+ in WestWorld, things got ugly there, so I am glad to be back. I have missed many viral videos, but there have been some that I really liked and have shown to many people. So here are some that I have personally spread:

1.Boston Dynamics Big Dog
I though this was a joke at first. I thought it was a couple of dudes in an old fashion horse costume. But it is real! The crazy part is how the thing reacts to being kicked and how it handles itself on ice. Watch this video and tell me it does not remind you of the Terminator. DAMN YOU, SKYNET!!!

2.Bathing with Bierko: John Malkovich
Rub-a-dub-dub two hunks in a tub! This is exactly my sense of humor...it makes me laugh every time. I have been a fan of Craig Bierko since playing Max Baer in the film Cinderella Man. This is one of those things that is funny because they are downplaying the absurdness of the situation....I have now seen more of Malkovich then I care to ever have scene. BTW...Malkovich has a place in Cambridge, MA. I saw him at the Summer Shack at Alewife 2 years ago.

3.Bard Spring Break
I would like to confess...I have done this. I have been that guy. The only time I really feel alive is when I am expressing myself though the majesty of song.

1000 miles to Graceland

March 11th, Tuesday

5. Spider-Man Cartoon Parody
I must have missed this episode when I was young. Spongebob has nothing on the old spiderman cartoons. I do miss getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. It was like Christmas morning every week. Now we have entire channels devoted to only cartoons. Ba-Humbug!

4. Ms. Philippines
I think I maybe writing about beauty pageants for my international marketing class. It is interesting to see how small our world really has become. I had no idea that beauty pageant contestants are as dumb in other countries as they are in the U.S. Maybe we should start outsourcing to other countries. But there could be problems with outsourcing to other countries. Because these pageants are using English, which is not the native language, their quality of stupidity will never be as high as ours.

3. Kidney Philanthropist
Here I go...doing my part for viral marketing. This video is from one of my favorite fake news sources - The Onion. If you are unfamiliar with The Onion, check it out NOW! http://www.theonion.com/content/index
I have loved this site for years (check out the horoscopes too) and now it is my responsibility to spread the buzz.

2. Runnin’ with the Beatles
This is pure Genius! Anything that combines my love of the Beatles with my love of Van Halen's 1984 album has got to be good. But this goes beyond good. Who ever made this spent some real time and effort to combine the two videos, ala Forrest Gump style. The interesting part is that I saw this on the same day that I heard the entire Beatles catalog is being released on iTunes. How's that for an example viral marketing?

1. Zombie Strippers
A few year ago a friend of mine asked what my zombie plan was. I thought it was an interesting question. As we become adults it is wise to plan for emergencies; like fires, or being laid off, or in case the government accidentally release a virus that turns people into Zombies. I thought long and hard about it. I had many different plans. One of them was, obviously, to hold up in a strip club. There are no windows for a zombie to break into, there is plenty of booze and music for entertainment, there are plenty of armed bouncers...and, oh yeah, strippers. But after watching this video I see the error of my ways. Damn.
From a viral marketing point of view it is becoming obvious that movie trailers are benefiting from Internet videos. I don't know of any traditional television channel that would ever show this trailer. But I think the target audience for this type of movie is computer geeks. So all is well.

Shifting from 5th to 2nd

I did that once. Weeks after buying my first manual transmission I was getting off the highway and accidentally shifted from 5th to 2nd gear. Needless to say, my eyeballs near popped out of my head. And, dear friends, that is what I am going to you. I'm going to pop those peepers right out of your skull. I will also ease up on the drama...it is unbecoming of me.





My point is that I am shifting gears in this blog. We will still be moving in the same viral marketing direction but at a different pace...a more fun pace. Are you sick of my car metaphors yet? Me too.





This came about because I recently discovered the G4 network. And specifically, a program called 'Attack of the Show'. This program features all kinds of gadgets and innovations from the high tech world. Basically, news for geeks. One of the show's segments is called 'Around the Net' where they highlight the days top 5 viral videos. I am going to present these videos and add my own comments about each one. In the immortal words of Flounder from the movie Animal House - "Isn't this great?"





March 10th, Monday


5. Street Fighter II Hall of Fame Commercial

Maybe I am showing my age, but I don't get it. This video is not amusing to me. I was not into Street Fighter nor modern G.I. Joe's. I was into this kind of G.I. Joe:
(Ohhhhh.....yeah)
But for those of you into this kind of thing, I can see how this video could trigger fond memories and may make one re-interested in both brands.

4. LOL Colon Hyphen Right Parentheses
Wow! Look how far our new internet lexicon has taken us. Right back to Johnny Cash in the '60s. I believe they said this guy is 69 years old (no jokes please...that's gross) and boy is he hip. What made my laugh the most was that he is obviously somewhere in middle America and has probably just gotten out of that sweet RV where he drinks cheap beer and writes stupid songs without the fear of his tyrannical wife forcing him to get back to the Wal-Mart where he greets customers.

3. Magpul Industries SHOTSHOW
FRIGGIN' AWESOME! If it was not for viral marketing I would never have known this product existed. Only in the U.S. of A. could a solution be found to one of my greatest fears. Dig this. You are helping you father work on the engine of a Dodge Charger at midnight and suddenly those damn commies invade, ala Red Dawn style, what do you do? I used to stay awake at night trying to solve this riddle. But somebody smarter than me has it all figured out. God Bless America.

2. Puppies Get Revenge On Marine
I have mixed feeling about this one. But anyway you slice it...I don't like it. The original video is gruesome and awful, but what is the purpose of this video? Is it to make light of a bad situation? Then that is in bad taste. Is it to shine a hard hitting lefty view on the subject. Well...you failed. I now hate St. Bernards and Dalmatians.

1. New Speed Racer Trailer
WHY?! Obviously this trailer is promoting the new Speed Racer movie. And as far as viral marketing of the project goes...they did a good job. It was on the G4 network embedded in a show. But the original show was a campy, badly animated Japanese Anime. Does this really need to made into a movie? I can buy all the episodes on DVD for $19.99. Really, people?
So who wants to go see it with me?

It is a new tomorrow

So, kiddies.....let's start this blog with a quick definition of viral marketing.

Viral Marketing is a "marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing messages voluntarily."

Knowing this we realize that most entertaining segements of the internet happen to be a form of viral marketing. I think this started back in the day when people would email jokes to one another and then forward them on to many others (remember the catepillar and the french fry from that episode of the Office?). Notice that this was a period of time when sexual harassment policies became more prodominate. That was my fault....sorry.
But this brings up a good point, viral marketing kind of snuck up on us. And in fact it keeps sneaking up on us...that is what makes it so powrful.

The year was 1997...or 1998...possibly later (I don't remember...at Prince's request I partied like it was 1999 for quite a few years), anyway I was sitting in my office staring out the window when I received this video (all your base are belong to us): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItugh-fFgg
Wow...this was funny and weird and I sent it to all my friends...we had a good laugh. A few months later I saw the words "All you base are belong to us" written on the windows of a building in Harvard Square. I was amazed. It had developed a cult following. But I didn't think any deeper than maybe a few nerds (like myself) had a good laugh themselves. But looking back...it made me feel good. I thought I was part of some inside joke. And isn't that the purpose of marketing? I connected with this catch phrase on a level that I didn't even realize. I was hooked...

I think it is just a head cold

This blog is about the affects of viral marketing.
More rantings and ravings to come...