Rating: 
Summary: Good but dated - skim it, don't read it
Review: Unleashing the idea virus is short and covers one simple idea: ideas spread through a population like viruses and by working from this point of view we can tailor and present our products/ideas for maximum spread and persistence.
Godin's idea is a simple one and relevant. Basically consumers have progressed to a point where they stop paying attention once they realized that they are being advertised to. So advertisers have to find a new approach. Godin's suggestion is that advertisers make it as easy as possible for consumers to recommend a product to one another. By using the analogy of a contagious idea to a virus spreading like a force of nature, he points out examples of successful products that have benefitted from this type of hype (whether or not they intentionally created the hype).
The main problem I have with this book is that it is starting to feel dated already and it only came out 4 years ago. Most of the examples Godin uses are internet-based. For example he describes the hot new cartoon that was circulating when he wrote Unleashing the Idea Virus. Rather than illustrating his example I found myself on a trip down memory fondly recalling 1999. This happened quite a bit.
So Godin has a compelling idea that makes sense with regards to marketing, however his presentation is very dated and it distracted me. This is a short book so it is probably still worth your time to read it. I recommend Malcome Gladwell's The Tipping Point for a much less dated and to me more interesting discussion of similar issues.
Rating: 
Summary: Go Viral!
Review: Unleashing the Ideavirus is an interesting read. One of the main ideas about this book is that interruption based marketing (radio and TV spots that break the flow of music or a show) is getting less and less effective. As an alternative viral marketing reaches your target audience based on the recommendation of others within your target audiences sphere of influence. The author, Seth Godin, says market to people rather then at people.One of the key take aways from this book is that target market selection (hive) and targeting the correct individuals (sneezers) within this group is of utmost importance. This is because with viral marketing you are depending on people (sneezers) to spread your idea virus. Another interesting concept is that hive selection should happen even before you consider what product or service you would offer the hive. Most businesses consider what the can make or the service they can provide and then back into who might want such a product or service. What are the elements that make up an ideavirus? According to Seth Godin there are many variables that are essential to consider when constructing a virus. Here is Seth's list of variables that make up a virus: Sneezers - the people that you choose to spread your idea virus
Hive - the group you target with your idea virus
Velocity - how fast the idea spreads from one party to another
Vector - pattern of hive adoption (could be geographic or demographic)
Medium - the communication mechanism surrounding the idea virus (tv, web page...)
Smoothness - how easy it is for the user to spread this idea virus
Persistence - how long the idea sticks with a person before it stop influencing them
Amplifier - tool for getting ideavirus to a larger audience Does all this ideavirus stuff work? One of interesting things about this book is the author's choice of distribution. He followed his own advice. The original distribution of this book was as a free e-book to encourage the viral effect. If you want to stop marketing at people and starting marketing to them this book is worth a read. If you are interested in constructing an ideavirus this book has practical advice for going viral.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 stars for content & 2 stars for organization
Review: Unleashing the Ideavirus offers practical ideas on how to spread a marketing message without spending alot of money. Some of what Seth Godin describes may be more common sense than revolutionary. However, he does present several fairly sound approaches to marketing and taking advantage of the concepts of Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point (a 5 star book and one of my favorites). My main problem with Unleashing was the organization of the book. Unleashing the Ideavirus was a bit disjointed. It does not flow as nicely as the author's Purple Cow (by way the a 5 star book!) which I would highly recommend.
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