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Viral Media is Taking a Toll on Me
Clever ways to spread messages and get page views on websites doesn’t mean value is created
I got zapped by a clever viral media game late on Friday afternoon. It came into my email as a direct message from one of my Twitter connections so I clicked on it and it took me to a game website with a big red SIGN ON button. So like a zoned out Friday afternoon information worker whose mind has begun to unravel due to countless hours staring into computer screens and tapping on keyboards, I went and clicked on the big red button.
The game sets you up as a Mafia Don and invites you to start doing all sorts of things that Mafia guys do to earn money and prestige such as mugging, stealing, drug dealing etc. As I started doing all these things I got points and advanced to higher levels. And as I advanced to higher levels I got more and more opportunities to wreak mayhem and earn more money and prestige. How much fun can you have? So I start mindlessly clicking on things and playing the game. I inflicted as much mayhem as I could before running out of energy points and then decided it was Friday evening and I actually had other things to do and walked away.
This morning I got some direct messages back from a few of my twitter connections. One was from an IT manager in Italy; he replied, “mmm ... we are a bit allergic to Mafia, you know”. Another was from a colleague on the west coast who said he’d gotten another Twitter direct message from someone else with the same message. Then I checked my Twitter account and saw that by logging on to the game I had blasted out a message to all my Twitter connections, the message said “Hey, I just added you to my Mafia family. You should accept my invitation! :) Click here:” [I’m not listing the URL - why would I?].
I found I’d also been keeping all my Twitter followers updated moment by moment yesterday as I mugged people, broke into houses, stole stuff out of warehouses, sold drugs, purchased weapons, etc. Wow, this is Friday afternoon viral media content at its best. I think it was also very effective in helping me earn money and increase my prestige in the eyes of the people who received these fascinating Twitter updates.
Today when I logged back onto the game I found a couple of other gamer Dons have started fights with me by punching me in the face and I’ve lost money and prestige in the process. For a second or two my instinct was to get even by punching them in the face and see if I could recoup my lost money and prestige. After all I’m Don Hugos and who do they think they are?
Then I remembered, hey I actually have plans to get something done today. What’s happening to me? Why am I doing this? Is any value being created here? Why do I feel like my mind is turning to mush?
P.S. Just got a Twitter message that a new guy is now following me; he's also following 8,770 other people and he has 8,340 followers and has done 64 tweets. This guy is sure getting a lot of followers without a lot of tweets. So I click on his website and it says "Drive A Viral Flood Of Ever Increasing Traffic To Your Website Or Blog Using The Power Of FaceBook, Twitter & This Amazing Plugin!" Is this guy related to that game? I feel a tsunami of mindless messages heading my way...
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