Viral Marketing 101

I just learned something today - although I may now consider myself rather worldly.

I have a blog. I have ventured into the worlds of YouTube, Facebook and have done EBay. I have even gone to the Twitter site, although I have yet to twitter. But I have learned that I am still way behind... and just so totally out of it.

So this morning I was following a bus, faced with a big white ad on it's back end, with big black lettering, "I am so over Sarah Marshall", and a reference to the website ihatesarahmarshall.com (naturally!).

I'm thinking, "What the heck! This guy must have issues." Soon after that bus, I see another bus ad, "My Mother never even liked you, Sarah Marshall". Boy, this guy needs some serious therapy. At that point I resolve to go to the website to find out what is going on.

So I go to the site. It's a blogspot blog, much like mine, except this guy has a budget to actually get a domain. And I see this guy really hates Sarah Marshall, and has issues and needs help.

And it's all for the sake of a movie. It's an ad. And it's called Viral Marketing.

Nothing is real. I've been had. But it's effective - they got my attention. They got me, someone who would likely never have given them another thought, to go to their site, and now here I am, blogging about it. This is my introduction to viral marketing.

But consider this a public service, a PSA just for you, perhaps another one of the uninitated, just like me.

So let this be a reminder of some sage advice that your parents likely taught you, and advice that's likely lurking in the dim recesses of your memories from the past:

Just don't believe everything you read.

Contributed by Jamie Naessens