extreme webmaster evernerve

It is inevitable: If you start writing about the ways and methods to use the social media to pull in traffic, you will come under attack. You will be labeled a douchebag, dipshit, unethical person and so on. People will accuse you of ruining the Web, especially the communities which are all about sharing quality information.

Meaningless accusations

An obvious example of this is the article on TechCrunch which explains how viral videos are created. The author of that article, Dan Ackerman Greenberg, later wrote a follow-up to his original article, which was an awkward attempt to calm down his critics. In my opinion, he didn’t need to do that, because he didn’t do anything bad to begin with.

Smart people praised his post, and a reader who calls himself Jimbo left a comment that says it all:

Wake up you techie twats!
It’s people like Dan - and myself - who push boundaries in WoM, buzz and viral marketing. In the grand scheme of things, these are the kind of actions that drive progress and raise the bar in this industry.
If you want to police us get of your fat nerdy arses and try and stop us rather than crying into your keyboards!

That last sentence is particularly well written. There are several implications that stem from it.

The public gets what the public wants

Think about it: Why does a video or a blog post become popular? Because:

• People click on it.
• People share it with their friends via email, their blogs and social media websites.
• People give it a “thumbs up”.
• People comment on it.

If a video or any blog post that gets promoted using the social media becomes popular, it is because people like it. If it isn’t that much different from other videos/posts, why do people click on it then? If social media is about Web users deciding what’s good and what’s not, what is considered quality content and what is spam, what is cool and what is lame, then it’s precisely these same users who can bury or simply ignore a video or blog post if it’s considered spammy, of low quality or no interest.

But people don’t do that. People like to mindlessly consume. And the Web reflects what has been going on in classic media for decades.

Quality vs. popularity

How many people buy crap magazines and how many people buy Shakespeare’s plays? No need to investigate: I suppose that in one month alone people buy millions of magazines with no value at all, and all the works of Shakespeare or any other literary genius won’t sell that much in 10 years.

How many people listen to any given pop band and how many to Vivaldi? The answer is the same as the one above.

But the real question is: Why are people not interested in these masterpieces? Moreover, why aren’t they interested in books, music or visual arts that are not even close to masterpieces, but still miles away from any magazine or rubbish they surf for on the Web?

Because they are lazy. Most people do not want to make the slightest effort. Most people are comfortable with who they are and where they are. I used to work for big private companies, state institutions and charity organizations. Do you know what is the common thread that binds them all together? The stupid emails that contain the latest stupid picture, “owned” video, and such. The kind that gets forwarded ad infinitum.

Write a good, long article about art, philosophy or classical music. Try to make it go viral via social media websites. Then try the same with the latest stupid image. Which one do you think will go viral? Yeah, I thought so.

Ethical? Immoral?

What is unethical about promoting your blog where you are discussing things or giving advice? What is wrong with pushing your funny video clips website if that’s what people want to watch?

If you tried to go viral with your website that is about getting hooked on heroin, earning a living by smuggling weapons or getting into human trafficking because you get to travel all over the world and meet interesting people along the way, well then, that would be unethical. That would be immoral and criminal.

But blogs, videos…unethical? Seriously? Regardless of what one thinks, one still has the power to bury it, to choose not to stumble it, not to bookmark it on del.icio.us, etc. So why bitch about it and why all the insults and criticism?

Why do some stories get so much exposure and others don’t? Because they are being marketed, because there is an effort being put into it. If you think that some story deserves more exposure and publicity than the hyped one, then work to make it happen. Apply yourself and try to push that great story to #1. No matter how brilliant an article may be, it won’t be known without some marketing. Not in today’s world. There is no heavenly justice that will make it popular just because you think it should be so.

Welcome to the real world, motherfucker! Democracy on the Web is the same as in real life: People participate, but the media does its own thing.

Buy yourself a mirror and look at it

Most of the people who criticize authors like Dan are assholes who only sit and bitch. People who mindlessly consume the latest rubbish on the Web are way better than you! They are happy and satisfied with what they are! They don’t care about “ethics”, they browse the Web for the stuff they like. They don’t try to sound like some pseudo-moralizing “enlightened” Web user.

Make a decision, you whiners! Look yourselves in the mirror: Either move your asses and do something or shut the fuck up. You are the worst kind! Self-righteous assholes who judge others while you don’t do shit about anything, anytime, anywhere. The only thing that you know how to do is to press the “Submit comment” button.

You are criticizing others just because you can’t stand to be what you are: static noise. You have enough wits to figure out what’s “wrong”, and enough strength to point a finger at those “unethical”, “evil” people, but the only thing that you do to differentiate yourselves from the mindless masses that you loathe so much is to post insulting and disgusting “comments”. You people make me sick.

Work, learn and enjoy yourself

If you work, you will learn through your own experience and you will also learn to respect other people’s work. If you make a consistent effort to succeed, you won’t have any regrets. And other people won’t bother you, because you know your own value and you will be so much sucked into whatever it is that you have put your mind to, that you won’t have time for useless stuff.

If you choose to improve and succeed, congratulations. You are a rare species. And you are always welcome to share, post and discuss.

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