The above link leads to examples of “low quality” and “high quality” submissions. The “high quality” example offers text on the screen to point out how well you can hear and see the host, how she follows the script and keeps under the time limit, how she is “enthusiastic” and “charismatic” and “self-confident,” etc. The “low quality” example points out how the host does the opposite: how he deviates from the script to talk about his parents, how he is “insecure,” how he has “no charisma!” It also uses him as an example to warn submitters, “focus on you, not your toys!” Perhaps it should come as no surprise by this point that the positive submission is offered by a well-dressed Black woman and the negative submission is offered by an overweight White guy in glasses and a sweatshirt.

It’s commendable that the people behind this promotion are interested in presenting a non-stereotypical “face” for Spider-man fandom, though the extra disparagement on the side seems likely to alienate some fans. This may actually be intentional: as certain fan practices that used to be considered “geeky” are lately considered more the norm, marketers may be finding it necessary to separate the stereotypical un-hip fans from the profitable fans of the 21st century. I can see why you’d want the latter to host your viral marketing podcasts, but I was surprised to see such a division so blatantly drawn in this example. After all, plenty of self-proclaimed geeks make up that target audience.

The blog, Spocko’s Brain, posted audio files of right-wing talk show hosts from Bay Area ABC affiliate station KSFO. As MediaPost recounts:

KSFO features hard right-wing talk show hosts who endorse torture, call for the public hangings of New York Times editor Bill Keller and other journalists, and demand that callers mock Islam.

Spocko posted audio files of the shows as part of a fairly successful letter writing campaign in which he had successfully scared away many large advertisers. But then Disney (which owns ABC) sent a letter demanding that Spocko’s ISP take down the blog. It apparently went dark for a short period of time, but it is now back up and running–audio files and all.

Ironically, this has only brought much more publicity to the Spocko’s campaign, and it will only make it harder for corporate advertisers to stay with KSFO. A blogger criticizes a media outlet? That happens hundreds of times per hour. A blogger is scary enough that the media outlet abuses copyright law to silence the criticism? Now THAT’S a story!

UPDATE: Here’s an SF Chronicle story providing some additional details. It makes it sound like Spocko’s Brain never went dark per se, with Spocko just pulling (but apparently again posting) audio clips.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Jay-Z (who provided the material for half of the Grey Album and never thought of suing; btw, read this letter) is using peer-to-peer traffic to promote his tour and to sell Coke. It also turns out that P2P traffic can be an excellent vehicle for advertising for products musical and otherwise. Groups from Audioslave to Ice Cube are jumping on board, and Dashboard Confessional is insistent that P2P traffic took them from obscurity to fame and fortune.

Of course, the Grateful Dead were letting fans swap concert tapes for decades before HTML existed, and all that did was turn them into the most successful touring rock band ever. And the unauthorized sampling of old funk music by hip hop DJs has resurrected interest in dozens of long forgotten artists from the 60′s and 70′s.

P2P traffic helps musicians promote their music and is an unharvested billion-dollar ad venue? That’s NOT NEWS. (U2 had a master recording “stolen” in time for an album to hit the networks early, following the same move by Eminem and Wilco.) What IS news is that the big labels have finally begun to admit this, even if just a little bit.

If the labels had listened to EFF’s P2P proposals years ago, maybe they wouldn’t have had to sue their best fans and poisoned the well for years to come.

Thousands of environmentalists and other SUV critics have gone Adbusters and created viral videos criticizing the SUV for contributing to global warming and for injuring and killing those who choose not to drive SUVs. (As someone who bikes in Philly, where all drivers are under the influence of PCP, I find this latter message persuasive.)

See some of the best “ads” here, and snicker as you read about GM’s sloth-like response.

Unsurprisingly, GM’s contest rules scream, in all caps, that any attempt to “UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS.” I somehow suspect that GM will avoid a Diebold-like confrontation over copyright law.