Viral Video Watch – September 20th, 2010
Posted by Jan in 
Today’s viral video is the sequel to one of the all time viral video greats: OK Go’s famous treadmill video for their song “Here it Goes Again”.
The video, a continuous shot performance by the band’s four members, was released yesterday and at the time of this writing seems to be expanding so fast the view counter is actually broken (745 at the time of this writing). Will they do it again? A combination of quirky choreography and dogs, a known Achilles’ heel of the internet community, suggests that this video has nowhere to go but up.
Google Docs App: Bad News for Blackberry
This morning, Google announced that there will soon be releasing a Google Docs app for the iPhone and Android. The fact that an app is being released is not the news story here, but rather the story is that the app is not coming out for Blackberry.
If you work closely in a team at work and are always sending documents back and forth with your coworker, but you’ve never used Google Docs, it’s high time you start. It’s quite wonderful, since it allows you and others to edit the same document simultaneously. The fact that we will soon be able to do it on our mobiles is just another step the business world is taking towards the full virtual (or mobile?) office.
Although it may not seem like that big of a deal for Blackberry, keep in mind their market share has been steadily declining and are very close to being officially “struggling to compete”.
Friday Morning News
It’s Friday, and most web traffic will be virtually gone by about 1:30pm. So here’s the latest Social Media news to keep you entertained.
Foursquare – Foursquare has unveiled it’s College/University program, which basically allows students to share notes and information about classes, as well as reward them with badges for being at the library and such. It’s only available at 20 schools in the States for now, but a new school page can be added easily by any student who signs up. Is it me, or does this seem to come about 3-4 weeks too late?
iPad – Katy Huberty from Morgan Stanley is claiming that the iPad is partially to blame for the mass decline in labtop sales over the past half year. Of course, her data is based on a study of American consumers, and there are other tablets out there not made by Apple. But one has to wonder whether this means consumers are simply over the notebook, or if they are waiting to see if tablets will take off before making their next purchase. Full Article Here from Fortune.
The Fighter – Movie coming out in December featuring Mark Wahlberg as a washed out boxer and Christian Bale as his over-emphatic half brother. Now before you call this the most original movie concept ever, watch the trailer which reveals the entire plot.
See you Monday.
Viral Video Watch – September 16th, 2010
Today’s hot viral video has been accelerating at a rate of over 1 million views per day, since it’s launch on the 14th. DC shoes has gotten incredible exposure from this video due to it’s extreme appeal, something its customers, extreme sport enthusiasts themselves, find valuable. Not to mention the fact that no guy in his right mind would watch this video without telling his friends…
Is Digg getting buried?
With the recent launch of Digg version 4, the once invincible social media Goliath may finally be on its last legs. And fittingly, many speculate the social news site bound to take the throne is the much smaller, user driven Reddit.
Digg’s version 3, in effect since 2006, propelled the site to massive success, with valuations of up to $250 million by some and an offering of over $200 million from Google in 2008. But it was ridden with problems. Certain power users and groups of Diggers could effectively control the coveted front page, dramatically altering the dynamic of any company seeking to pay for adspace. It was clear that Digg needed a change, and that change eventually came with the launch of Digg Version 4.
The new version, in addition to containing a good deal of outright mistakes like a recommended user list, but the architecture of the site was altered too much for many of the dedicated users. While optimizing the site for more traffic, Digg also changed some features to make the community more accessible to mainstream users.
The result? Many of the once dedicated Diggers were alienated from their favorite social news site. Many transferred directly to the competition, reddit, after hearing about it through social media platforms like twitter. Reddit’s community centered site structure drew many Digg “refugees” after the change.
What is the implication for social media today? This shows that smaller players can dwarf companies with massive staffs and funding (Reddit is run by a 6 person team) by getting close to the community. In web 3.0, the end user is the ultimate bottom line
Viral Video Watch – September 15th, 2010
Today’s hot viral video is not very new. In fact, it’s been on YouTube since December 22nd, 2005, which is only about a month after the video sharing site launched. BUT, it’s a video we feel all must see, especially those who are fans of classic cinema, and more notably, Orson Welles.
The New Twitter: Yay or Yawn
Yesterday at its headquarters in San Francisco, Twitter unveiled the new design that will soon be available to all of its users. The design will allow users to easily share photos and videos, in an effort to circumvent Facebook as the main source of social interaction in the online community.
Rather than try and explain exactly how it works and how Twitter wants you to use it, we’ll let their video do the talking. Watch for the new twitter very soon though!
Choose your own ADventure: You Tube Edition
Once in a while, a new ad campaign comes along that opens new doors and pushes the boundaries of what can and cannot be done. Two weeks ago, Tippex, a whiteout manufacturer, launched a mind blowing You Tube campaign that takes us back to the days of Choose Your Own Adventure novels and is the greatest thing since the Old Spice campaign.
The campaign, titled NSWF. A hunter shoots a bear! starts with a simple enough video (Not Safe For Work Language) of some hikers talking about their sexual escapades. Suddenly, a bear comes out of the woods, and just as one of the scared hikers is about to blow its head off, two options come up on the screen: Shoot The Bear and Don’t Shoot The Bear. Upon clicking on either one, the user is taken to the Tippex YouTube channel.
The videos goes on, but the hunter in the frame turns to the camera, reaches out of the video box, grabs the giant Tippex container in the ad on the right hand side, and erases shoots in the video title. He then breaks the fourth wall and asked the user to type in their own scenario.
Following this, the user can input literally any word(s) he/she wants and press Play to be taken to their chose scenario involving the bear and the hunter. In some cases, the scenarios have been grouped together, like if the user inputs any type of sport it will go to a soccer video with a streaker running by and the bear scoring a goal on the hunter.
In the event that a non-filmed or non-recognizable scenario is entered, the user will be taken to an error clip. 
By this point, you are likely thinking that this is quite the extravagant campaign for something as simple as a whiteout company. But it’s genius considering that it was timed perfectly with back to school, and contains a lot of swearing and a hilarious result if anything sexual is typed in (hence appealing to the youth). It also spits in the face of the bigger companies that struggle to launch successful online campaigns.
It’s one for the little guys. Inspiring, to say the least.
Viral Video Watch – September 13th, 2010
Today’s Hot Viral Video is GOP Candidate Phil Davison delivering an *enthusiastic* speech. In comedy, it’s all about timing and delivery. Even when the comedian is not trying to be funny, and is not even a comedian to begin with. This video needs one good tag line to embed itself into Viral Video lore…maybe something along the lines of You Dun Goofed.
SEO Tip #2: Site Structure
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a relatively new component of any business trying to make it big online. Follow our online tips to help your business thrive in the ever expanding online market.
Content is King in SEO. No matter what. But after Content, the layout of the very same site who’s search results you are trying to optimize is a pretty important second. If your site is not properly structured, its chances of coming up in a search diminish rapidly.
Depending on the size of your site, you may need a Site Map. The more pages on your site, the harder it will be for Google to differentiate between them. Who would have thought that Google would need your help? Well it does, and that comes in the form of a sweet and simple map, so that users can be sent to the home page much more often. Plus, if your site (or business) is very intricate and in-depth, a map will also aid the users, and you definitely want them to find it easy.
“A site map should not be the primary navigation on your web site it should complement it.” – Web Developer Notes
Keeping on the topic of site depth, Domains are another important aspect. Create many of them. With several names. And make sure they all contain the right Keywords, so that search engines can find them easily. When it comes to Domains, consider the web like a prize raffle. If you only buy one ticket, you only have one chance to win the prize All Inclusive Vacation. But if you buy several tickets, you will have multiple chances to win, and wake up on the beach in Bora Bora (in this case, the prize is people visiting your site and buying your product/reading what you have to say).
One more thing to keep in mind, and we probably should have mentioned it in the Keywords tip, is Bolded words. Search Engines hate that. It confuses them and they will pick an un-bolded word before a bolded one, hence your site will fall further down in the ranking. This is something to watch for when giving titles to your pages/blog posts.
Check back daily for more SEO Tips and Industry Buzz.