The title of this post is of course very much tongue-in-cheek, but the speed at which information moves around the internet can, on occasion, continue to surprise. It not just reflective of the global reach of the medium, but also highlights when an idea catches the imagination.
Take the instance of the most famous plumber in the world. Ever since ‘Joe the Plumber’ became part of the presidential campaign, on foot of his questioning of Barack Obama, the website domain www.joetheplumber.com, has become one of the hottest internet properties. The owner of the website, who yes, is called Joe, and yes is a plumber, is not however the same Joe who started all of this. However, he’s not complaining.
His website, which up to this incident had been registering just a trickle of hits, is now being deluged with enquiries. He’s started selling ‘Joe the Plumber’ T-shirts, and he is taking offers on the domain name. According to Businessweek, the latest offer is … wait for it … $800,000!
And while we’re in the midst of election fever, a wonderfully clever viral campaign has been doing the rounds over the past week. It lets you automatically personalize a spoof TV broadcast, that pretends to be announcing, on November 7th, the result of the election, and the ‘real’ reason why McCain won. It’s already had a circulation of 11 million over the last 10 days or so!
It’s a moderate piece, and it’s very funny, but it’s pro Obama, so if that upsets you, don’t look. But if you want to see really clever viral marketing at work, take a look here. I’ve customized it using my name, but you will be able to do the same yourself.
Here’s the piece: Obama’s loss traced to Donal Daly