“I am convinced that we are in a terminal process.” ~E. P. Thompson

I found this list on SocialFresh.com which helps you diagnose if you are addicted to Social Media work. Quite enlightening.

If you want a good tutorial and an in progress case study on creating viral web videos, than check out today’s New York Times’ article on political YouTube Ads. The article is about Ladd Ehlinger’s work on creating successful (aka viral) YouTube political ads. It particularly follows Ehlinger’s creation of an ad for Republican candidate Sean Bielat of Massachusetts. After reading the article there were four take-aways I gained on how to have a video go viral. With the November elections around the corner we will have to see if having a viral YouTube video makes any difference in winning! ~Paul

1. Creating Buzz Around the Buzz
I think the major ingredient Ehlinger capitalizes on is the political hot-spots that are going on right now. It’s not necessary to completely create your own buzz. It seems the videos that do the best are those which focus on current interest (think Obama Girl in 2008).

2. Holding Hands with Traditional Media
One aspect the New York Times pointed out (in the video accompanying the article) was that Ehlinger’s major goal for his video was to get it on TV. Not as a commercial, but rather as part of the news. I don’t live in Massachusetts and won’t be voting for either candidates, but I am compelled to make a personal note to watch Mr. Bielat’s ad when it comes out. It looks like the New York Times helped Ehlinger’s achieve his goal by writing about his goal Ü.

Darren Rowse over at Problogger is doing another “31 Days to Build a Better Blog.” In his second lesson he encouraged those participating to create a list post and then to submit the list into the comments of his post.

I am not sure if it is viralness, virality, or viralosity, but lately I have been thinking a lot of what it takes to make a video go viral. I’ve seen how the Will It Blend campaign has done wonders for BlendTec. However, at PubCon many of the speakers spoke out against trying to game your own viral video, because it rarely works, and if it does the traffic earned isn’t quality traffic (usually look-e-lous). I am not sure I agree, but I personally have no experience in generating a viral video.

I have created several viral websites (example 1, 2), and know that a lot of the popularity comes from current events. That is why viral attempts like the below video from corporate America in my opinion rarely work.

However, I do believe it is possible to do viral campaigns and be successful with them. Seth Godin has proselyted his purple cow theory—be different, and you will see results. I just don’t think cute babies will cut it any more unless it is surrounded by hot topics like the resent proposition 8 in California.