http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecI_hCBGEIM#t=52m40s
Note the hash symbol #, the t, 52m, and 40s.
the the #t is a time marker
52m = 52 minutes
40s = 40 seconds

I had a copy of the December ’08 PC World laying face down on the floor in my bedroom. Walking by it last night I glanced down and thought it was odd a tech magazine ad was using a sketch of the female reproductive system. On closer look I saw it was a weight lifter. Here is the ad:

Here is a sketch of the female reproductive system.

Here is an overlay I created.:

Did NetApp see or not see this?

It is often said to create a video that goes super viral is like catching lightning in a bottle. The meaning behind this is it is difficult to do and is not easily repeated. Once the viewer has seen it, the viewer does not want to see version 2.0.

I’ve been noticing a trend lately where commercials are being presented as viral videos. Here is an example from Pizza Pops:

Although the lawyers go their say in the above commercial – note the ‘Caution. Do not attempt’ warning.

Cardo Systems, makers of blue tooth headsets unleashed this video on the Internet:

The video is fake, there is a microwave under the table (note the cloth around the table).

Matt from ‘where the hell is Matt?’ started dancing a jig in places he was visiting. He then put it together in a video and sent/posted to his friends. Stride saw what he was doing and wanted to enable Matt more videos. This is the latest installment:

What is amazing about the video is it has stayed true to the original idea. Matt is not shown consuming Stride gum, the Stride logo is not shown until the credits, and there are no Stride products in the video.

I think Netizines will start looking at videos and ‘wondering’ if the video is real or if it is put together by a marketing firm. I think there is a risk at alienating Netizines since they may not appreciate being ‘tricked.’ Of course the marketing firms may say it is obvious it was commercial…

It is a Google world! Everything is Google this, Google that, Google me! I’ve done very well by Google. BUT, GOOGLE HAS DONE VERY WELL BY ME AND BY ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS PUMPING UP CONTENT FOR GOOGLE.

We, the webmasters of the world, are in a symbiotic relationship with Google. No us, no Google. No Google, maybe us (I’m sure another SE would pop-up… oh wait, there are other SEs).

Could you imagine if ALL the websites blocked the Google bot? I know it is fantasy, but just imagine it for a minute. There would be very little left in the Google index.

Of course Google gets this and is very good to the webmasters of the world. In fact Google communicates with us via many methods (e.g. Web Master Tools).

In the travel market Google is going to eat our lunch. The vertical travel directories are going to have a tough time competing with this:

Ironically, it is the vertical directories that help Google figure out things about the B&B’s in Victoria.

Got this interesting fax today. It was a marketing letter dressed as an invoice. It even says on it that it is not invoice or a statement of account.

See for yourself:

713 344 0560
9692 Westheimer RD. Suite 105
Huston, Texas 77063
seowebmarketing@gmail.com

So ask.com has a new commercial out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yasBpCHHm2E

This is what you actually get if searching for the ‘chicks with swords’

http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=167&q=chicks+with+swords&search=search

This is what google gets.

http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=chicks+with+swords&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

And if you want to find that video via ask.com, it’s not so easy.

http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=167&q=chicks+with+swords+ask.com+commercial&search=search

But it is on Google!

http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=chicks+with+swords+ask.com+commercial&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

I think ask.com should spend more time on improving its search v. creating ads.

In the film the character played by Cameron Diaz is shown looking for vacation rentals in Google. The interesting thing about this is the results page of Google did not have any advertising.

Did Google and the film collaborate on this?

Or the film producers hack Google to not show ads?

The second scenario does not sound likely, since Google actively protects its copyrights. If the film had done this without permission, I am certain Google would be suing.

I think Google collaborated!

Got a call from Roanoke Technology today and yesterday. I typically like to chat with them. I wrote about them here:

Roanoke Technology

They’ve got a new website http://www.rtcpromotions.com/

I asked the guy my stock question for them. Please tell me why your PR is only 1 (on the old site it was 0). Well, they really don’t like that question. The guy I was talking too told me that was an excellent question and he would put me onto his supervisor.

The supervisor never answered the question.

Enough said.

“Chasing Beaver“, “2 seasons (winter and July)”, and “we stand at bar for thee”

Do any of those word combinations make you think of anything? If you live in Canada, they might make you think of Molson Canadian. Molson had wildly popular ads about 2 years ago. The whole premise was “I AM CANADIAN.” And people loved the ads, especially this one: I am Canadian Rant

Molson and Coors merged or maybe Coors bought Molson. Whatever happened, it looks like the Molson Canadian marketing department became Americanized.

One thing about Canadians is we are sensitive to some stereo types about us and our country. We often joke that Americans think we live in igloos and use dog sleds to get to work. Of course we know Americans don’t really think that, but we like to amuse ourselves by thinking that they have very misinformed perceptions about our country. And this is only fueled by things like Rick Mercer Talking to Americans.

It all probably stems from Canada being north of the most economically and militarily powerful country in the world. We often feel like an after thought to the US and it is perceived we are the quite neighbour to the north that will apologies when we get in the way.

The old Molson Canadian ads struck the right chord with Canadians. Oddly enough it gave us a sense of unity and something to associate with. Which is sad in its own right, but that is another story.

These new ads from Molson, in my opinion, have missed the mark. They perpetuate stereo types I think most Canadians would not like, they butcher our national anthem (We stand at bar for thee v. We stand at guard for thee) and are offensive to some (chasing beavers.) So, Molson, you got it wrong, really wrong.

One of our clients was contacted by a telemarketer working for Network Solutions. Network Solutions is offering a SEO/SEM service.

Reading over their site made feel like I was reading over a site from 3 years ago. The thing that caught my interest the most was the guarantee:

Terms of Service
Network Solutions, LLC guarantees a minimum number of top ten listings across 12 search engines within 10 months from completion date. Most engines will index your site in about three (3) months, but it takes time to gain the popularity and ranking needed to compete on competitive phrases. The search engines included are: AOL, AlltheWeb, AltaVista, Ask.com (formerly known as AskJeeves), Google, Hotbot, IWon, Looksmart, Lycos, MSN, Netscape, and Yahoo!. The minimum number of top ten listings guaranteed is 5 for the 20 keyword phrase package, 10 for the 30 keyword phrase package and 20 for the 50 keyword phrase package.

Take note of the Search Engines they mention. And note these in particular:

• AOL
• AlltheWeb
• AltaVista
• Hotbot
• IWon
• Netscape

None of these supply their own results, either natural or paid.

• AOL gets its paid and natural from Google.
• Alltheweb gets its results from Yahoo!
• Altavista gets is results from Yahoo!
• Hotbot gets results from Google, Ask, and DMOZ
• IWon gets results from Google, Ask and DMOZ
• Netscape gets its results from Google, and DMOZ

What does all of the above tell you? The only SEs that seems to matter is Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

Read this line very carefully:

The minimum number of top ten listings guaranteed is 5 for the 20 keyword phrase package, 10 for the 30 keyword phrase package and 20 for the 50 keyword phrase package.

If Yahoo! should rank a site well, it will rank well in AltaVista and Alltheweb. So one ranking in Yahoo! will count as three. Check out the results from each of the three for “insurance.”
Yahoo!, Alltheweb, & Altavista

The second thing to remember is Network Solutions must agree to the keywords. If we were to stick a site up tomorrow about insurance and we wanted to rank for terms like: life insurance, insurance, travel insurance, home insurance, auto insurance… and so on, we feel we would be turned down as a client. If not, Network Solutions, sign us up!