snarks on a plane

[substitute]

Five years of a blog that runs about 70% snark and grump, maybe more. I complain too much on the Internet, and it's bad for my writing. Occasionally I catch myself and write a happy piece about kittens or Chinese dumplings or a really stellar masturbation session. But a gloomy Andy Rooney/James Lileks atmosphere threatens. It's a flaw, and I'm surprised that's not pointed out more.

Most of the time, though, my small and friendly readership either agrees, suggests a different yet sympathetic angle, or clears the buffer and moves on. I don't get a lot of "oh hell no" or "you bastard, you pissed on my dream" reactions.

And then there was that time I dissed the Snakes on a Plane astroturf ad campaign, and found out there are still people who care enough to stand up for Jesus calculated viral marketing!

Comments

Re: Hey, Isn't Anyone Going to Encourage His Self Destruction?

[substitute.livejournal.com]

No, my position isn't "a viral" just because some other people agree. "A viral" means the deliberate insertion of a media campaign into Internet communities. What I have is an opinion that is not entirely unique.

I hadn't seen that particular blogwagon go by, since I read either the wrong or the right people depending on your view, but I'm not surprised. I bet a lot of it is reviews of the movie by people who haven't seen it, in the fine internet tradition. That's not my interest.

And I also disagree with your assessment of viral versus traditional marketing. I think the opposite. "Plain vanilla" marketing is crap like "Diet Coke and Trojan Condoms are teaming up to bring you this weekend's premiere of Garfield 2! Visit your nearest 7-11 to get free tickets and sign up for the Trojans Turgid Summer of Fun!" There it is, right in your face: marketing.

Viral marketing is the advertising equivalent of Amway. Your friend posts his totally awesome Snakes on a Plane quiz and you do it too, because you socially identify with your friend, and then your friends do it too, and you're all enjoying the warm bath of shared in-joke... working for someone else.

At this point I have to admit defeat. I clearly blew it getting my point across, because loads of smart nice people heard something other than what I was communicating.