viral

Magazine apologizes for lifting blogger's story

Following a huge public outcry that lighted up the Internet last week, food magazine Cooks Source has apologized for its actions in publishing a writer's online story without her permission.

In a statement that appeared this week on its Web site, the magazine acknowledged that the online article by writer Monica Gaudio was published in Cooks Source without her approval. The magazine apologized for the error, claiming it was the "oversight of a small, overworked staff." Per Gaudio's instructions, Cooks Source said that it made a donation to the Columbia School of Journalism as well as … Read more

Lifting of blogger's story triggers online furor

A magazine accused of publishing a blogger's story without permission has seen a dramatic rise in the number of its Facebook friends, although they're not all that friendly.

The tale of writer Monica Gaudio hit the Web on Wednesday after she reported that her story, "A Tale of Two Tarts," was apparently lifted and published by the print magazine Cooks Source with her byline, but without her knowledge or any compensation. After tracking down the editor at the magazine, Gaudio asked for an apology on Facebook and in the magazine, as well as a $130 donation … Read more

YouTube politics: A quest for victory or notoriety?

For a few days this month, with midterm election season heating up, the Internet's army of bored office drones cast aside their usual YouTube fodder of strangely-behaving cats and all things lip-synced and Auto-Tuned. They turned instead to what may or may not have been a completely serious political campaign ad: fresh-faced Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell took to the airwaves, and to the Web, with a spot that began with the proclamation, "I'm not a witch."

There's a backstory, of course. As an evangelical Christian activist appearing on the 1990s talk show "… Read more

Don't interrupt, disrupt! Be viral without viral marketing

As we're inundated with hero shots of the iPad every day, on every billboard and the back of every magazine cover, it appears to be a good time to rethink the relationship between advertising and product, between marketing and innovation. It's not that Apple doesn't spend any money on advertising--no, it was pouring a whopping $500 million into its launch campaign for the iPad. But what is different is that Apple's marketing doesn't have to be clever or utterly creative. In fact, it is stunningly not so. No major social media campaign needed to be sparked, no user-generated content contest needed to be held. And while the ongoing tongue-in-cheek anti-Microsoft ads are undeniably cute, they are not really an advertising revelation. Gone are the days of the bold "1984" campaigns. Today, Apple earns enough attention to forgo any ostentatious marketing, in fact, so much that a cleverly orchestrated campaign would distract from the brand rather than boosting it. The company simply displays its products--that's all it takes. Apple's products are viral without any viral marketing.… Read more

Top 5 Internet Memes

This was definitely one of the most fun top 5s we've done here at CNET. There are piles of memes built up over the past 30 years or so of Internet usage. Sadly we could not include them all. We kiss Mahir, but he didn't make the list.

So what did? Only the biggest memes ever to infect the world zeitgeist. Only most pernicious mental constructions ever to permeate the hive mind. So watch the top 5 then come back here and post your answer to the lame prize question in the comments below. We'll choose one … Read more

New Facebook craze can violate terms of service

If you're one of Facebook's 350-million-plus members, you've probably noticed a handful of people on your friends list changing their profile photos to pictures of celebrities, cartoon characters, Muppets, and other notable figures recently.

That's because an unofficial viral craze called "Doppelganger Week" has arisen on the social network. To participate, you change your profile picture to a celebrity or otherwise notable figure whom you resemble (or like to think you resemble).

Nobody's really sure where Doppelganger Week came from or who started it. It's particularly funny considering the recent emergence of more photos … Read more

Record label blocks YouTube video embedding

The major record labels continue to prove that they absolutely have no idea how the Internet works or how to capitalize on it.

This week's story involves the rock band OK Go. Four years ago, the band shot some quirky homemade videos and posted them on YouTube. Users saw the videos and embedded them on their own Web pages. OK Go was able to cut through the noise created by thousands of album releases every year and become well-known in certain circles, if not exactly world famous.

Now, the band is promoting its new album, "Of The Blue … Read more

Mini Cooper grabs attention in Amsterdam

Effective marketing is all about being remarkable. The new Mini Cooper campaign in Amsterdam is a good reminder of the golden rule: you create brand value when both your product and your campaign are being talked about.

1. Lean into the frame (hijack existing attention capital, in this case the street public);

2. Be disruptive (not necessarily provocative or intrusive). In other words: challenge people's routine by introducing an element of surprise;

3. Highlight your core brand attributes (in this case, and overall in the "age of micro," this actually and literally means making them "smaller … Read more

'Bra color' charity campaign blossoms on Facebook

Have you seen a bunch of Facebook statuses consisting only of colors--white, black, pink, beige--recently? That's not a coincidence.

Somehow, a viral campaign bubbled up through the nooks and crannies of the massive social network this week--female members of the site changing their status messages to the colors of the bras they're currently wearing in order to spread awareness about breast cancer.

According to The Washington Post, no one is really sure where or on behalf of whom it precisely started, but it appears e-mail chain letters went around earlier in the week to encourage it.

As far … Read more