Fine Print

“I know … I’ll set up a website that shows nothing but ads, and people will flock to it, buy them all up and make me a million bucks!” ~ Alex Tew, circa 2005.

I’m sure Tew said something akin to the above quote before setting up Million Dollar Homepage a few years ago. True to his prediction — and as harebrained as it sounds — people really did fall over themselves to buy pixel space just to be part of the hottest Internet buzz at the time. And of course, the then 21-year-old student did make his million, and earned a place in viral history.

Now, for the bargain price of around $40, you too can own a piece of history by buying a limited edition print of the homepage. Good on him for squeezing even more dollar$ out of his success.

My point? You can’t force something to become viral, it just happens. Those unique ideas that have Merit, Surprise, Good timing and, yes, balls, become the ones that people talk about and pass along. Add some MSG into your client’s branding and see what happens.

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada