Hello, hello! Unless you're March of course, in which case, Goodbye! The first signs of a bit of sun have buoyed our spirits, as has the appearance of some funky projects to keep us busy for the next few months. Read on for a quick rub-down of the viral world in March...
Quick Links
News Round-up:
My Dad says that silver-surfers don't exist.
Like all great ideas, a little project of ours is the by-product of talking rubbish at lunchtime. Half way through a comparison of 'funny' stuff our mums, dads, aunts and uncles had sent us, we realised that we needed to draw all this content together to prove that the so-called silver surfer was an active agent in the viral spread of content.
The resulting blog "What My Dad Sent Me" is in its infancy, but is already showing signs of maturity (and is even greying slightly around the temples) Take a look for yourself and send us any submissions too.
A packet of Werthers originals for the best one...
Ad networks on the up
You shouldn't just take our word for it about the effectiveness of the Viral Ad Network- a recent white paper from investment bankers De Silva & Phillips lays out how "Online advertising networks have emerged as an essential vehicle for monetizing the
Long Tail of the Internet. By aggregating traffic that was previously too difficult to buy or which was otherwise undesirable, ad networks provide small and mid-sized
online publishers with significantly more advertising revenues than would otherwise be possible."
That small and mid-size publishers can make revenue from ad-funded content by serving it to relevant niche communities is an underlying principle the Viral Ad network- and the interest shown in larger networks by the internet big boys can only reinforce the importance of ad networks.
Read the full Ad Network White Paper
ARG Bargy...
The see-saw between mass engagement on a low level and low engagement on an intense level has seen the release of an Alternate Reality Game by Penguin Books (according to Reuters)
Penguin have been blazing a trail in using online methods to promote their booksales and it will be interesting to see how this project, which sees a story evolve over 6 weeks via sites like GoogleMaps, evolves.
Readers will then be tasked with finding clues across the stories to 'solve' the final chapter. Not one for a tea-break- this one's for homework...
We tell stories
4Mations TV arrives for animators
A great piece of news is that a new content site is in the making, according to BroadCast Now
Channel 4 has joined forces with Aardman and Lupus Films to create a
site where people can watch and submit great animated content and through which new animations can be commissioned and screened. The site will launch later in the year, with submissions invited from May onwards.
To be kept in the loop on this, visit 4mations.tv and submit your details.
5 of the best
March has certainly been the month of the film viral, with scarce few games that caught our attention- here's what we did like:
Tipping Pot
Apparently this clip is so successful that it is soon to be used on TV, it's a homage to that Guinness ad that no-one really understands....
Crusha Kittens Rock
And here's a piece of viral royalty that has already made that transition, the latest offering from Rathergood, that appeared on the TVs in our houses the other day.
Shift
This game has been doing the rounds a lot this month. As always, the purity of the idea is what makes it so good (and so frustrating)
Broken Escalator
Laugh out loud funny- well done to the US private health people who have given this to the world, it's a gem.
Animal Olympics
Track and field hits the savannah in this suite of games for Sport Relief- the snake javelin requires the use of 4 different fingers- all at the same time- now that's complex.
