NotesThe internet is littered with digital ghost townsâpremium domains once associated with thriving businesses, now sitting dormant or parked, waiting for their next life. Some of the biggest companies in the world have made strategic acquisitions, only to shut down the businesses they bought, leaving behind valuable domain names that are either redirected, held indefinitely, or simply left in limbo. Letâs take a look at some high-profile cases where major corporations scooped up valuable domains, shut down the original companies, and left the URLs in the digital graveyard.FeedUnfurl
NotesNobody wants to read your shit.
Let me repeat that. Nobodyânot even your dog or your motherâhas the slightest interest in your commercial for Rice Krispies or Delco batteries or Preparation H. Nor does anybody care about your one-act play, your Facebook page or your new sesame chicken joint at Canal and Tchopotoulis.
It isnât that people are mean or cruel. Theyâre just busy.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesIt appears to be dawning on clients who control the U.S.'s major ad budgets that if your marketing content is interesting enough you don't need to advertise on Facebook. Advertising on Facebook is free, if you can create something compelling enough to go viral without a major media spend behind it.Unfurl
Notes Sharing and recommendation shouldn't be passive. It should be conscious, thoughtful, and amusing--we are tickled by a story, picture, or video and we choose to share it, and if a startling number of Internet users also find that thing amusing, we, together, consciously create a tidal wave of meme that elevates that piece of media to viral status. We choose these gems from the noise. Open Graph will fill our feeds with noise, burying the gems. FeedUnfurl
NotesBefore I tell you this story, I should introduce Rachael Webster. The trouble is, Iâm not sure how to do that. Was she a friend of mine? Sure. A great friend. We spent nine months together as tight as Siamese twins. But she wasnât family, and I never really met her in person. I could say she didnât exist, but thatâs a copout: she obviously existed, and had a life, and friends, and a career, at least until her budget ran out and I had to write her out of this world.Unfurl
Notes"The product is, simply put, a magical screen that can do anything you ever want it to, no matter what that is.
Here you go. Itâs five hundred dollars. If you pay me that, I will give you this magical thing that can do anything. You donât have to read a manual. It will do anything, and it will do it right now, out of the box.
Other companies are selling computers. Appleâs selling magic. Which one would you rather have?"Unfurl
Notes"Hi, Ellisâ
Let me introduce myself. My name is Gineen Klein, and Iâve been brought on as an intern to replace the promotion department here at Propensity Books."Unfurl
Notes"This Dos Equis campaign features wonderful visual details. The production team clearly took glee in meshing vintage film stocks with unexpected locations and absurd endeavors. My favorite moment is the sight of our tuxedoed hero leading a moonlight expedition through a rocky canyonâflanked by elegant women in evening gowns, a military officer in full dress regalia, and a slightly befuddled fellow wearing a fez. We're left to guess at the precise combination of events that led to this scenario. I like to imagine it's an impromptu escape from a hijacked ocean liner."Unfurl
Notes"It appears that in the last few days, there are a handful of bloggers who, by finding wallets on the ground, have unwittingly stumbled across the latest under-the-radar Burger King promotion. The fast food chain has dispensed agents across major U.S. cities (indications are itâs just been Chicago and Orlando so far ) to âloseâ wallets. However, when unsuspecting passersby find these wallets and open them, they discover an interesting message"FeedEmbedUnfurl
Notes"Branding is what you do to shit you plan to sell in a bottle, when you donât want to give away the recipe but do want to assure customers that it will consistently be the same shit no matter which branded bottle they open. A brand is a promise of eternUnfurl
Notes"Try your damnedest to be true to the things that make you who you are, and try your best to improve upon those gifts you have, and compensate for the ones you lack."Unfurl
Notes"Given the difficulty of breaking into print in the traditional way, the Internet looks to many aspiring authors like a powerful new way to distribute content and find an audience; it has promise, not peril."Unfurl
Notes"For me, it is important to maintain my own sense of self outside of any organization that I work with. Our society is very transient and the idea of working for a single company for more than five years is foreign to many of my generation (and younger)."Unfurl
Notes"Dear Marketing Professionals; when you think âmessage controlâ several generational cohorts of geeky target demographics are thinking about the Portal voice. Go play it, and shudder."FeedUnfurl
Notes"In a few years, things will be beautiful again. The big money will be slumbering away, and the marketing departments will be a distant memory. We can focus, once again, on the technology. And the burgers and beer."Unfurl
Notes"'Human directionals' -- those guys spinning advertising arrows -- can cost $60 an hour. Some of their best moves are filed in the patent office."Unfurl
Notes"There is no excuse for blaming Turner Networks, Adult Swim, and especially a single 27-year-old, for the overzealousness of Boston's government and the news media."Unfurl
Notes"Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize today launched its Caffeine Promotions Platform -- a product that allows small businesses to jump into the world of big-time Internet contest and promotions."Unfurl
Notes"In a risky experiment, Chevrolet asked Web users to make their own video spots for the Tahoe. A case study in customer generated advertising."Unfurl
Notes"That's all folks. The door has officially closed on email marketing. Maybe this will drive more companies to start up opt-in RSS feeds and blogs that facilitate dialogue."Unfurl
Digital Ghost Towns: When Big Companies Acquire, Shut Down, and Sit on Premium Domains
FACEBOOK'S WORST NIGHTMARE: With GM Pulling Its Ads, Here's How The Other Dominoes May Fall - Business Insider
How Facebook is ruining sharing | Molly Rants - CNET News
Burger King Has Dropped Their Wallet | So Good
Why (most) authors and publishers need not fear online piracy
ongoing ¡ Portal
The fine art of making a point - Los Angeles Times