"Go the F**k to Sleep": Viral F**king Marketing, Or Not?

 You may have seen the PDF of the book “Go the F**k to Sleep.”

Written by Adam Mansbach and illustrated by Ricardo Cortés , this a charming story reminiscent of the 60+ year-old storybook “Goodnight Moon.” I read the original classic to my three-year-old every night.

I first saw “Go the F**k to Sleep” forwarded in an email. It made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter. As a parent, I laughed and cried at the same time. The book is just one of those things, an instant cultural phenomenon that strikes a chord with millions of people all at once.

I know this well, as I am going through this exact scenario with my three-year-old as I type this very blog post. Right now we are on our second third fourth try at going to sleep.

Share and share alike?

A PDF of the book was leaked and made the rounds online to parents and grandparents alike.

The fact that this book was shared so widely via email has created a great deal of buzz around its actual publication. The publisher has even moved up the publish date as a result.

Everyone got in on the share, and articles have been written about the impact of such pre-publish electronic distribution. James Joyner has a particularly thorough account of this at Outside the Beltway.

They upped the ante with Samuel L. Jackson

Just yesterday my social graph delivered to me the version of actor Samuel L. Jackson reading this delightful tale.

There was a 17 second preview of the audio recording on the site I visited. The preview also included an image of the book itself and a link to download the book at Audible.com.

Jackson’s reading was also made available on Amazon. For free. For a limited time. These are two sales tools that content providers have long used: cost incentive and timeframe. But now, these versions have been released into the digital wild.

As I went through the lengthy process of downloading the 6-minute sound file from Audible.com, I thought, “This is silly.” And I was right. I had to sign up for an account, choose a device, download some software that I won’t use again, all to hear this six-minute clip. I had two colleagues tell of similar frustrations.

Fighting the current (landscape)

The moment I heard this, I KNEW that it would end up on YouTube. There was no doubt in my mind. It is the nature of things, now. Sure enough, it did. As of this writing, there are TEN versions on the first YouTube search results page. The copyright claims are already being filed:

When this sort of cultural phenomenon happens, rebel YouTube users have an illicit protocol of their own to follow. Here is how it goes:

1. Download the hugely popular video right away. This is easy to do, even from YouTube.
2. Upload it to a personal account. This may or may not have links to advert-laden websites or on-video advertising.
3. Wait for the inevitable copyright takedown notices to take effect.
4. Post to other, newly-created accounts.
5. Repeat steps 2-4.

This didn’t have to happen

This could have been avoided. There could have been so much gained. Real dollars, press of all sorts, and the cultural currency of recognition.

Instead, Audible.com will be filing claim after claim of copyright infringement for every illicit video containing that audio. Given the popularity of this one, they will be quite busy, as people will be clamoring to upload it to their own account.

What to do?

There is a more effective way these resources could have been used. All of these elements could have been combined to serve as a get-in-on-the-buzz appeal to buy the book. Like this:

1. Create a video that featured images from the book, synced with the Samuel L. Jackson audio
2. Brand it heavily with Audible at the head and tail with visuals including the logo
3. Post it to a YouTube account with links to buy the book, the audio file, and a high-resolution version of the video
4. Enable the adverts on the YouTube account to capitalize on the insane amount of traffic about to come our way
5. Police YouTube and file claims on all accounts uploading the video to their own accounts

New business models will require some adjustment

One of the driving factors behind the decision to take this route was likely that of pay-per-download. Decision-makers likely thought that the after the free period expired, they would be able to sell it at their going rate, per download, and make some good money as the long tail tapered.

They probably could. And will.

BUT, what could have happened? Brand awareness. The good kind. The "halo effect" kind. (You know, the same that happens as when they play oldies on car commercials.)

I’d imagine that Audible.com would like to enjoy even more brand recognition than what they have today. They have done groundbreaking work in the past in the realm of content distribution, and they are providing an invaluable service and business model for content creators past, present, and future.

What may have been missed here is an opportunity to ride the wave of a viral phenomenon. The times when you know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that something is bound to go viral are SUPER LIMITED. It just doesn’t happen.

When you hear the idea of this book, and picture Samuel L. Jackson reading it, you KNEW that it was going to be big. We all did.

I’m certainly not calling for all publishers to upend their revenue models in hopes of latching onto some lottery-like viral phenomenon.

Instead, I’m asking them to look at the larger picture. Content needs to be created in a way that allows for easy sharing. Include the traditional appeals for purchase at the appropriate points. Lots of folks will buy.

Sometimes you have to forgo potential easy revenue in pursuit of an even greater payout. It’s scary. It may run counter to more conservative business models. But it’s also the reality we live in. We have the opportunity, every once in a while, to spin what has become the roulette wheel of advertising with odds on our side.

Prince, The Internets, and Content Strategy

Last week, the Artist Formerly Known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince made some provocative and telling statements in an interview with “The Mirror” in the UK.

 "The internet's completely over. I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it.

"The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.

"They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

Much has changed in the past few years in the music industry.  New avenues of digital distribution have popped up, physical music sales overall have fallen to dismal levels, and an entire generation is living music-filled lives without buying a single CD, cassette, or LP.

Prince still wants people to hear his music.  He is simply unwilling to give it to them in the way that they devour it.  That is Prince’s strategy.  He is an artist, and he can do as he pleases, however ill-advised it may be.

The reality of Prince's strategy

Based on his statements, here is a rough distillation of Prince's strategy:

Who: Prince
What: Releasing music
When: Whenever, suckers
Where: Where he deems suitable, rather than where people already are
How: Not on the internet, as it is "completely over"
Why: The internet and digital gadgets are no good

And, in direct conflict, the reality of the situation:

Who: Prince fans
What: They want to buy the latest album
When: ASAP
Where: From the comforts of their keyboards
How: Digitally, in a space they trust, like iTunes
Why: This is how they buy and listen to all of their music

What is wrong with this picture?  Looks more like a contrary strategy than a content strategy.

Success, reality, and a content strategy

Prince has always been a bit of a populist, looking to get his music in the hands of as many folks as possible. Hi newest album, "20TEN", was available for free with the purchase of a newspaper, "The Mirror," in the UK. When I saw him in concert a few years ago, he handed out free CDs of his most recent album to each ticket holder.  It is clear that he wants people to hear his music.

Prince is an established artist, and his past successes grant him the freedom to engage in contrary behavior.  What if that attitude were not from Prince but from an incorporated business?  What would stakeholders say if they were to examine a similar content strategy:

• Don't sell our product where millions and millions of products have been sold (iTunes)
• Avoid the largest communication phenomenon of the last 25 years (the internet)
• Give the product away with another, masking any true measure of performance
• Proclaim that the newest product will be in a format on the decline stuffed in another format in decline (CDs in newspapers)

Content strategy has been described as "the planning, creation, delivery and governance of useful, usable content" by Kristina Halvorson.  That is quite the opposite of the above strategy on nearly every point.

Prince has his Prince-osity to get him by.  Businesses do not.  Focus on what sets you apart, craft it sustainably with realistic goals, and measure to gauge success.  Do that, and you shan't have a need for Purple Superpowers.




For more on Prince's technological confusion, watch for his phrase at 4:48 into the "Batdance" video:

Hey Duckie
Let's Stick the 7" in the computer
Ha ha ha ha ha ha

(The 7" refers to the old 45rpm record singles, of course. You can 't put those into computers.Silly Prince.)

["Prince @ Coachella 2008" image courtesy of Flickr user Mick 0 (cc: by-nc)]

Is Your Content 'Good Enough'?

A couple of weeks ago the Geek Girls Guide featured a post about the relatively new and inevitable phenomenon of "Good Enough."  Sometimes the answer to a need is less about the most-est and more about the most well-suited.  The example is the handy Flip camera -- not the most sophisticated or high-tech, hi-res device.  But, it is good enough for most people. (myself included.)

There is a luxury that creators and publishers of content are able to enjoy that the hardware and device manufacturers are not: the flexibility of multiple versions of content.  This concept can apply to many different kinds of content:  feeds, documents, or other file types.  It also applies to variations of those, like resolution and format.

Enter the stadium of rock-n-roll content resolution.  Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood and Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor have opposing viewpoints on "Good Enough."  They shared their views in a recent set of "New Yorker" articles.

Greenwood argues that average mp3 files are fine:

We had a few complaints that the MP3s of our last record wasn’t encoded at a high enough rate. Some even suggested we should have used FLACs, but if you even know what one of those is, and have strong opinions on them, you’re already lost to the world of high fidelity and have probably spent far too much money on your speaker-stands.

Reznor on the other hand, argues:

Walk into a Best Buy and everyone’s obsessed with the highest possible resolution for their TVs. 1080p versus 1080i resolution, hundred-dollar HDMI video cables...yet everyone still walks around with those terrible quality white iPod 'earbuds'...I want you to have the same feeling I do sitting in the studio listening to a final mix, surrounded by sound, in heaven.

There are two clearly different attitudes here. 

The first looks at the way things are.  Why go to much trouble if most people are going to take the low-resolution road anyway?

The second looks more at the way things could be.  Offer the high-resolution experience, but offer convenience as well.

This gets to the core of the issue: the user experience.

Lots of folks are happy with average-quality resolution mp3s.  But what of the people that are looking for a better user experience?

Radiohead put their most recent full-length album up for pay-what-you-like downloading  But, they used mediocre-quality mp3s: 160kbps.  The album, titled "In Rainbows," was eventually released on CD and vinyl LP.

Reznor, however, released a recent album, "Ghosts," in a much different way. Five different ways, in fact:

• First 9 tracks in high-quality 320kbps mp3 - FREE
  
• All 36 tracks, in one of three hi-res formats - $5
  
• 2-CD set, with access to above downloads - $10
• Above, plus data DVD with files for remixing, plus Blu-Ray ultra-fidelity version and hardcover book - $75
• Above, plus the album on 4-LPs and Reznor's autograph, limited to 2,500 - $300 [sold out]
  

You can easily give people too many choices.  Reznor didn't release the album on cassette or 8-Track.  [Even though some people would likely have bought them.]  However, he did release it in a way that offered people a variety of attractive, relevant choices.

Consider the option of multiple versions early in the analysis phase.  Know the client, know the audience.  Keep the design and interface clean.  Clearly explain what is available.  People want choices, but not to be overwhelmed.

People that choose their own version of "Good Enough" will think your company is more than just good enough.  They may think it is awesome, even.

["Like a record baby" image via Flickr user itchy73 (cc: by-nc-sa)]

I rented a movie from Amazon

[image: Flickr via user aka Kath (cc: by)]

I like to take things slow sometimes.

I never bought a VCR - the one I used for years was won at the University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band concert. It was a door prize. The grand prize.

I did spend three bills on a DVD player back in 1999, though. I am not always behind the curve.

Fast forward [ha! pun intended! OMG!] to 2009. I have canceled both my OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSEIVE Comcast Digital Cable package and all of its on-demand video capabilities. Also on the scrap heap is my Netflix membership, victim of one too many scratched-beyond-playable DVDs delivered [and more often, simply unwatched].

Some family is visiting, so what am I to do? Time to make good on that promise of being moderately technologically literate and use the internets to entertain my guests. I had two options, as far as I was concerned: iTunes or Amazon. I like both because I have established accounts with each. One click or two, no need to fetch my wallet, and I will soon be viewing.

After looking at iTunes, it appears that I will need to wait until the 1.21 gigawatts [or GB, if you must] completes downloading before my viewing can begin. Moving along...

Amazon has the option for download, but also the on-demand feature. [I got used to the on-demand feature with Netflix -- one of the reasons I kept that subscription for so long.] I clicked and we were off.

Picture quality was fine for me and my 9-year-old non-HDTV. As a matter of fact, the quality was as fine as my DVD player through an S-Video cable, a feat that still boggles the mind.

Is there a parable here?

When it comes to something as fleeting as rental entertainment, the on-demand is going to win out in many households. Downloads will have their place where connectivity is lacking or portability is priority. But, as long as people are plopping down in their living rooms, this will be the pick.