Unleashing the Ideavirus

Rating:
Summary: it's about time
Review: Bottom line: I rate this book a five because it has changed the way I think on the fly and for the better. I'm applying today what I read yesterday. How many books do that to you?

I have been hearing the hype about 'viral marketing' for quite some time now. To date no one, including myself, has been able to set it apart from word of mouth. The name itself has left a bad taste in my mouth as I have taken the term to be someone's clever 'term of the times' for the obvious. Seth has eased my pain and captured my attention.

From how Seth launched his book to the last page he has had me engaged and impressed. With useful phrases like "word of mouse" to "interruption marketing" my brain has started looking at the world with a healthy twist. I don't consider Seth's brilliance in his writing style. Rather, it is in his ability to turn his thoughts into catalysts via his wisdom, walking the talk, candor, simplicity, and humility.

Far too many beautiful ideas never make it past the beer mugs on a Saturday night, the coffee cups on a Sunday morning, or that napkin in your car with the scribbled notes and mustard stain. Far too many passion filled business leaders have thrown money down the toilet on worthless marketing scars that had bled their businesses, assaulted their audience and abused our natural resources. Why? You know word of mouth is the cheapest and most powerful form of marketing...go ahead and learn about word of mouth version 2.3!

Rating:
Summary: they just don't get it... but you will
Review: This book is the first I've ever seen that coherently chronicles the extraordinary shift we're seeing in the way people (and companies) communicate with each other.

Gordon's vision of a peer to peer world, where recommendations from sneezers (his term) are far more important than TV ads is already here. Yet Nike and Starbucks and Compaq continue to waste money on foolish ads.

The book is funny and breezy and a quick read... but worth a lot more than it costs.

If you haven't bought this amazing book yet, there's good news: most of your competitors are too clueless to figure it out for themselves.

Rating:
Summary: The author as magician
Review: Seth Godin states the obvious, in a way that's both brilliant and brand new, and therein lies the magic. I needed a touch of magic for Tchotchke Heaven, my website, and with his sleight of hand he has shown me the way. This is a serious, informative book written by a man who has learned not to take himself too seriously.

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading - for inspiration
Review: Like Godin's previous book, Permission Marketing, I found this book to inspire ideas, rather than give them. Godin has a knack for making people think - though I'm wondering if that was the intent with these books. If you are looking for definitive answers to business and marketing questions, steer clear of this one. If you are looking for a book that will get you thinking about the applications of viral marketing, then pick up a copy. Godin's e-mail newsletter is worth subscribing to and you can pick up a copy of the book at his web site as well.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting ideas, fun to read, but not so of much new stu.
Review: In this book, Mr. Godin provides us the concept, and some good examples of 'word of mouth' marketing strategy. He emphasizes the marketking strategy as something we should accept and apply to the Internet business in the digital age. He supports his point with some good examples like Napster and Hotmail. He seems to have exceptional knowledge in the topic. Though, I don't find anything new in this book. It was good for him to tell us not to expect any 'breakthrough' ideas. I don't think I'm qualified to criticize or challenge his ideas. What I can say is that this book may be useful to people who are in internet business or looking for one. Overall, it was worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: No degree needed....
Review: I enjoyed reading the idea virus because of its fast paced breakdown of many new concepts (at least new to me). I felt that the explanations of his precepts were sufficient enough for me to understand his idea, even with my admitted lack of knowledge in marketing. I particularly like his labeling: "ideavirus". For an idea to spread under his definition, it must behave like a virus, catching strength, multiplying and mutating. This is the new future, the selling of ideas. Understanding how this idea virus works is the first step to a successful venture. Mr. Godin chooses his analogies carefully. Again, I was amused at his "sneezer" definition and how they are at the heart of the idea virus. The book was easy to read and changed my perception of where money trends are going in the future. After reading some other reviews pointing out the lack of credit to other forefathers of his ideas, and the necessity of understanding marketing at some more detailed level, I still don't think this book should be excluded from your list. It is a fast and easy read to understanding this view. Oh, and I love the way he is spreading this virus around, the title, free download, website, some sneezers, think I will go and get my flu shots.....

Rating:
Summary: ideavirus: the chain letter that won't quit..
Review: Everyone knows that in this age of technology, theories of marketing are thrown out the window in favor of better and new ideas. Seth Godin and his ideavirus prove many good points about the "new" approach to marketing in an industry where ideas can spread quicker than a forest fire. His many examples using MS Hotmail and Netscape proved his point rather well pertaining to how ideas spread in today's marketing society.

I also applaud the way he has marketed his book, with the exact same scheme that he has preached throughout his writings. WIth a free version on the book available on PDF, as well as several embedded links to allow someone to send the book to friends, he is attempting to unleash his own idea virus about his work into a society that will perpetuate it. It has indeed worked. With no external information, I was pointed in the direction of this book from a group of people who have read it, and despite whether they agree with the methods or not, they have passed the idea to me, thus perpetuatin the idea virus.

While I agree that the very fact that I read this book proves that the idea virus, as a theory, exists, the implications that Godin makes as to its origination are off base. Just as a chain letter that explodes exponentially once it is unleashed into the train of everyday e-mail traffic, an idea can explode in the same way. However, the notion that businesses cannot talk to consumers, rather encourage consumers to talk to each other is not entirely correct. At one point, this intrusion must be made. For example, MS Hotmail uses a signature at the bottom of every e-mail that a user sends to notify everyone that receives an e-mail of the service. Even if a Hotmail user doens't tell someone else about the service, teh service is revealed to other uses simply by receiving the e-mail. This still could be considered an idea virus because of the way it spreads, however word-of-mouth is not always necessary.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I thought it captured the new ideas of marketing fairly well. I DO think ideaviruses exist, and are at work all over the place. New technology allows people to advertise for you, without having nearly as much of a push based marketing principle. I liked his case studies (such as the Vindigo case study) and I will continue to recommend it to others...let the ideavirus continue!

Rating:
Summary: I got the cure!
Review: The author by his own words (pg.187) is just restating the obvious. Basically this book is about the power of word of mouth in a digital environment which evolves into the ideavirus. This information is essentially basic marketing repackaged in the biological metaphor of a virus. I found it more valuable to learn the basics in a modern marketing textbook, which addresses most of the author's points plus much more. If you are new to marketing you should hold off on this book. The only folks I would really recommend it to are the people who feel they have to read every marketing text around. There are a few good anecdotes and examples, but it seems like every successful venture (online especially) was/is an ideavirus and did not benefit from any other conditions, strategies, or tactics.

Finally given the author's stance on interruption marketing I find the subtle contradiction amusing. In every chapter there is a big yellow sign with links for me to, "Send this file to a friend", or read the fast company article, and last but not least, to go and buy what I already have. This attempt at "smoothness" was an interruption to me.

Rating:
Summary: Promiscuous Sneezing in "Ideavirus" Misses the Mark
Review: Out of respect for Mr. Godin, I will begin my review by stating that I did enjoy his recent work, "Unleashing the Ideasvirus". In a timely fashion, the author favorably addresses the marketing potential for internet-related consumption. His use of product examples was detailed, diverse, and interesting. However, I feel that the textual content was overly lengthy and strewn with unnecessary "buzz words." Mr. Godin's innovative marketing principles would have been more appropriate within a five-page article in "Fast Company", sparing the reader time for snapping Polaroids and checking their Hotmail account.

I may have been sneezed upon by a promiscuous and powerful marketing genius through reading this book, but I just don't buy Mr. Godin's logic. He states, "We live in a world where consumers actively resist marketing. So it's imperative to stop marketing at people. The idea is to create an environment where consumers will market to each other. The future belongs to the people who unleash ideaviruses." OK, so businesses need to unleash ideaviruses through smooth promiscuous sneezing. Hmm... sounds more like a TRUTH ad or a movie script than an effective marketing tactic.

Mr. Godin states, "instead of always talking to consumers, they have to help consumers talk to each other." However, the author replies, "word of mouth dies off." He refutes himself by stating that talk is cheap, but it is also imperative for consumers to spread the word. I understand Mr. Godin's intention to reach consumers through internet-related marketing, but this ideavirus talk may be a harder sell than what he preaches.

If talk is cheap, then Godin misses the boat on his use of terminology. The author conveys his feelings through his own special vocabulary of ideavirus "buzz words." He believes that we should "start using words like hive and sneezer and velocity and smoothness. Why? Because these shorthand phrases make it easy for us to communicate. By using words that indicate we both understand the underlying factors that leverage an ideavirus, we're far likelier to actually get something done." Really... that's news to me?

I had the feeling that Mr. Godin was using this book as an ideavirus of its own, increasing sales of his book by stressing the importance of communication through the use of his own "ideavirus" terminology.

According to the author, Godinisms, so to speak, are imperative to idea success. The author states, "choose your market by identifying a hive that has a problem and has the right concentration of sneezers, the right amplified networking, the right high velocity of communication and, most of all, an appropriate vacuum." Should this claim make sense to all of us, thereby solving any problems that may arise in today's marketing environment? Apparently so, Mr. Godin believes that through the use of his book, you will be "able to devise a brand-new internet business plan for a product that's useful and also embodies viral marketing...growing from nothing to a million users in a month and making you rich along the way." I guess the marketing departments should close up shop, go buy skullcaps, and give up on reaching the consumer through traditional marketing tactics. Mr. Godin's work, "Unleashing the Ideavirus," may have been entertaining, but I think I'll get my vaccine this year instead.

Rating:
Summary: Tool for thinking
Review: Here's a great find on how ideas diffuse. What you can do to propagate them, how the Internet may have radically changed the processes of knowledge distribution...etc. There is much to delight the mind and many flashes of insight. If books are to be valued for the mental tools they serve, this is a feast of ideas. Keep pencil and paper nearby, ideas will be popping in your head.