The viral I am currently seeding. It is promoting an MTV Flux competition.
Friday, 29 June 2007
Thursday, 28 June 2007
A 'Grand' Idea
View the Viral at
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/691202/mannequin_fun/
GuerillaScreens Seeding Project
I am a seeder. I don't plant flowers, gooseberry bushes or oak trees though, I plant viral videos.*
The process of uploading a viral is undoubtedly a guerrilla activity. Corporations across the world invest trillions in the distribution of digital advertising across the web, so wrestling peoples attention to 'free' content is always going to be a challenge. Seeding is essentially a process of machine gun firing paint balls into a forest....at night. You have to hope your bullets don't hit too many trees! You also have to hope the paint ball explodes properly!
That being said there are methods you can employ to ensure your viral has the best chance of exploding!
The Internet: Whenever I sit and contemplate the internet, I am reminded of the beginning of Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. Where he succinctly explains that we are each wholly insignificant, yet incredibly lucky and special. An interesting paradox to those of us that struggle with ego! The fact is that anything you put on the internet automatically becomes insignificant. (Although tell that to apple after the web-rumour about the i-phones late arrival dropped their share price.) The fact stands though, in the sea of information that is the web, content is secondary. It can barely be heard above the noise of creaking servers. It is like a preacher stepping out onto Oxford Circus hoping to be heard during the evening commute when the only discernible topic for everyone else is movement.
There in lies the secret of seeding; movement. The successful viral moves with the currents. From large uptake sites to the abandoned western towns. Take the message everywhere. Only then will you meet the individuals you need.
Individuals and the Myth; The great myth of the internet is that everyone will pass on what they see. They won't they are too lazy, busy, selfish, lonely, stupid and naive. No the internet is still run by individuals. Those that love it. Seeding a viral is a battle to find these people. These 1/5000 people who 'know' the web. They give the preacher a pedestal, a voice. Web 2 only makes this more true, yes everyone has there own digital social space but it is still a society of leaders and followers.
Blog; I created this blog so that I could write stories and submit them to RSS feeds. So the messages I have to seed reach more people. GuerillaScreens is the start of my own commercial web project. So if you want to learn more about seeding, creating viral videos please feel free to contact me at guerillascreens@hotmail.co.uk. Plus look out for my website http://www.guerrillascreens.com
Right. Hopefully the story above will be coming to an RSS feed near you!
GuerillaScreens
*Viral Videos; The term viral video refers to video clip content which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites. Viral videos are often humorous in nature and may range from televised comedy sketches such as Saturday Night Live's Lazy Sunday to unintentionally released amateur video clips like Star Wars kid, the Numa Numa song, The Dancing Cadet, and The Evolution of Dance. (stolen from Wikipedia.)
The process of uploading a viral is undoubtedly a guerrilla activity. Corporations across the world invest trillions in the distribution of digital advertising across the web, so wrestling peoples attention to 'free' content is always going to be a challenge. Seeding is essentially a process of machine gun firing paint balls into a forest....at night. You have to hope your bullets don't hit too many trees! You also have to hope the paint ball explodes properly!
That being said there are methods you can employ to ensure your viral has the best chance of exploding!
The Internet: Whenever I sit and contemplate the internet, I am reminded of the beginning of Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. Where he succinctly explains that we are each wholly insignificant, yet incredibly lucky and special. An interesting paradox to those of us that struggle with ego! The fact is that anything you put on the internet automatically becomes insignificant. (Although tell that to apple after the web-rumour about the i-phones late arrival dropped their share price.) The fact stands though, in the sea of information that is the web, content is secondary. It can barely be heard above the noise of creaking servers. It is like a preacher stepping out onto Oxford Circus hoping to be heard during the evening commute when the only discernible topic for everyone else is movement.
There in lies the secret of seeding; movement. The successful viral moves with the currents. From large uptake sites to the abandoned western towns. Take the message everywhere. Only then will you meet the individuals you need.
Individuals and the Myth; The great myth of the internet is that everyone will pass on what they see. They won't they are too lazy, busy, selfish, lonely, stupid and naive. No the internet is still run by individuals. Those that love it. Seeding a viral is a battle to find these people. These 1/5000 people who 'know' the web. They give the preacher a pedestal, a voice. Web 2 only makes this more true, yes everyone has there own digital social space but it is still a society of leaders and followers.
Blog; I created this blog so that I could write stories and submit them to RSS feeds. So the messages I have to seed reach more people. GuerillaScreens is the start of my own commercial web project. So if you want to learn more about seeding, creating viral videos please feel free to contact me at guerillascreens@hotmail.co.uk. Plus look out for my website http://www.guerrillascreens.com
Right. Hopefully the story above will be coming to an RSS feed near you!
GuerillaScreens
*Viral Videos; The term viral video refers to video clip content which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites. Viral videos are often humorous in nature and may range from televised comedy sketches such as Saturday Night Live's Lazy Sunday to unintentionally released amateur video clips like Star Wars kid, the Numa Numa song, The Dancing Cadet, and The Evolution of Dance. (stolen from Wikipedia.)
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