People will go to great lengths to capture the attention of their web audience and they will do it in variety of ways.  A viral video becomes viral because it evokes an emotional response when viewed be it humor, fear, pain or compassion.  But you’ll need to hone in on a topic that gives these types of responses in order to be successful in viral video.  Let’s talk about how you can do that.

Idiocy sells. Talk about or video something that’s ridiculously dumb and you’ve got a good chance of going viral.  Whether it’s people making fools of themselves intentionally or not, people just love to watch humorous stuff.  With videos, you have an easier way of showing your funny story compared to a blog or even a podcast because people don’t have to imagine it being funny.  They can just see it.  With all that being said, humor sometimes really puts things in perspective.

Videos that show people getting hurt have a strong potential for going viral because of the inherent emotional ties evoked when viewed.  What is it about people getting hurt that compels others watch?  Maybe it brings to light a reality that it could somehow happen to us.  Maybe it’s the horror of watching something death defying.  Maybe, just maybe there is some thrill we get by watching people get hurt.  This always reminds me of the “rubber-neckers” on the freeway that cause traffic jams.

Bringing people to justice is also something people love to watch.  People love to see the happy ending when the good cop defeats the bad cop.  People want to know that cheaters and liars (who happen to always show up in our lives) are always brought to justice.  Seeing video like these bring out the “noble cause” side in all of us that justice is served and peace can now come back to the good people of this nation.

Topics that are considered secret or taboo are often good candidates to go viral as well.  Little known facts or real life stories generate talk because there’s just something mystical about a secrets and taboo.   

All of these situations evoke a particular emotional response that compels us to comment on the video, blog about it or somehow transfer this clip of information into the hands of the next person and it goes viral.  The stronger the emotion, the faster the viral transfer takes place.  Put some emotion into your video and get the buzz going!

Photo credit: viewzi Video x3 View by Chris Mancini

Attending Teched and looking for something to do ‘inbetween’ the two Techeds?  Or just looking for a really great, free, community driven event for the weekend? The Florida Microsoft Community has secured Orange County Convention Center in Orlando (where TechEd is being held) for a giant community mega-event on June 7 and 8.  There’s .NET CodeCamp plus SQL Saturday plus ITPro Camp all rolled into one.  And that’s just Saturday. 

On Sunday they’ve got all day tracked learning in SQL, Office Communication Server, .NET Framework 3.5, Biztalk, Sharepoint, Visual Studio Team System, DotNetNuke, and more.  Russ Fustino will also be spearheading an all day Toolshed session as well.  In addition to the learning, we’ll have OpenSpace lightning talks, MCSD/MCAD exam crams, discount certification testing, MCT training, and some extra special surprises.  For more information go to http://www.devfish.net/articles/inbetween.  Register for an event on Saturday, and one on Sunday, and we’re good to go.

Photo credit: viewzi Celebrity Photo View by Joshua Stearns

Social networking has seen a dramatic increase in users over the past year.  To add to that, the number of social networking sites increase monthly as newer and improved versions of old sites emerge.  The reality is that social networking is a global phenomenon that will be here to stay – it’s not just another fad.  Social networks just keep growing and growing.  As a result, internet marketers and online businesses are adapting to incorporate these sites into their marketing plans as many more people are headed to the internet in the near future.

On the internet, current business practices and marketing techniques have primarily remained localized within a geographic region.  With the onset of social networking, the number of people reached will expand to encompass global audiences that previously, were not reached.  We’ve always thought of the internet being global, but it wasn’t really organized that way.  Social networks essentially have the power to break the walls between continents and may actually be paving a road for an international marketplace.

We’re still seeing a geographic separation within the social networks.  MySpace and Facebook are popular in North America, Orkut in Latin America, Bebo in Europe and Friendster in Asia.  What’s interesting is that while there is separation, all of the sites mentioned have users in the other geographic locations as well.  As businesses bring their products and services into the social market place, you’ll see an international market emerge.  Yahoo’s real estate groups are already on this bandwagon.  International property listings and new developments are already posted in one place.  Now, if only the Realtors had an organized way to formalize internet sales, they might just see some profit come out of this.

Can this be a bridge to create a global marketing base?  You bet it can!  Companies like Sonific are already tapping into the global market through social networking.  They expect that the number of social network users will triple in the next two years and are preparing to capitalize on that surge of customers of the music industry.

How can you prepare to take advantage of the mainstream international marketplace being created? 

1.    Start building a loyal audience now.

2.    Be willing to be creative and reach out to a growing consumer base.

3.    Be flexible to the changes that are occurring right in social networks now.

4.    Master how to blend into the social network and gain credibility.

Social networking is setting up a global platform for internet marketing.  We always knew the internet was global but had no formal way of organizing it as a marketing platform.  The closest we came to in having a global market was eBay.  Get ready for the next wave of internet users.

So how do you capitalize on the international communities? [I'm glad you asked!] Call a social media expert...

Photo credit: Roberto D'Angelo

• MediaPost Publications - MySpace Nets 74% Of U.S Social Networking Visits In April - 05/08/2008
  (tags: myspace)
• Pen The Blog: Viewzi – A Visual search Accumulator
  (tags: viewzi)
• Site review: 'visual search engine' Viewzi | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com
  (tags: viewzi search searchengine SearchEngines Google web2.0 yahoo youtube)
• MediaPost Publications - Clarification: MTV, CNN, CBS Not 'Affiliates' Of BrightRoll Network - 05/08/2008
• MediaPost Publications - CNN.com Mixxes It Up - 05/08/2008
• MediaPost Publications - Comcast Considers Charging Customers For Downloading - 05/08/2008
• MediaPost Publications - Last.fm Powers AOL's Internet Radio In Europe - 05/08/2008
• MediaPost Publications - Even In Tough Times, Some Media Sectors Remain Hot - 05/06/2008
• Home | Sprout Builder - Create living content.
  (tags: aggregator webmaster marketing mashup application art media MySpace audio blogging blog online pipes cms programming Collaboration community research resources content design sites development socialmedia digital software editor facebook tech technology free fun imported howto tool tools social twitter usability inspiration web2.0 longtail web viral wiki)
• MediaPost Publications - CBS Radio Launches Digital Net In June - 05/08/2008
• Out of My Gord
• ViewZi, Wii And Robotic Omelettes - Mobuzz TV: Daily Buzz