The Planet Blog

Will it blend? That is the question.

If those words evoke mental images of diced golf balls, shredded iPhones or powdered marbles, you’re one of the tens of millions of people who have watched Blendtec’s virally successful “Will It Blend?” video series.

At a conference I recently attended, Blendtec Vice President of Marketing & Sales George Wright explained the inspirational genesis of the “Will It Blend?” phenomenon: While walking through the company’s factory, he came across a pile of wood shavings on the floor. Since wood isn’t used in the production of most commercial-grade blenders, the sight was unexpected and borderline worrisome. When a few assembly line workers saw his confusion – and concern – they explained that company founder Tom Dickson was testing a new blade design on a two-by-four and that everything would be cleaned up quickly … No big deal.

This kind of “testing” didn’t cause much of a commotion in the factory, but George saw potential. Armed with a $50 starting budget, “Will it Blend?” was born. As the series approaches its 100th YouTube upload and 100,000,000th video view, it’s fairly safe to say that the $50 was well spent.

What made the video a success? What was the secret sauce? George’s first bullet-point: Obviousness.

Of course people want to see a blender face off against a Chuck Norris action figure. Of course they’ll tune in to see you destroy the impossible-to-get-at-the-time iPhone. Of course people want to see why your blender is better at blending than any other blender on the face of the planet. Is that the case? I can’t say I’ve seen any other blender destroy a rake handle:

Taking Blendtec’s “obviousness” cue, I headed up to our H2 data center with a video camera and came back with a video. Do you want to see it?

-Kevin

P.S. Yes, I jumped when the rake hit the blade the first time.

A couple of years ago I wrote a three-part series about the Internet social scene. (“Three-part series” makes it sound very official and important, doesn’t it?) I really enjoyed writing it because … let’s be honest, I’m a social butterfly. And I love the Internet. We’re like two great tastes that taste great together. So when Kevin asked if I could do a follow-up about how the game has changed, I was stoked.

Today, social sites have become a huge part of our culture. They are how we communicate, how we receive information and how we socialize on a daily basis:

• We keep up with friends and acquaintances via status updates and photo uploads.
• News stories spread like wildfire across Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr feeds.
• RSS readers let us know immediately when a Web site posts an update, whether it’s a blog, news source or promotional feed.
• Smartphones are now the equivalent of pocket-size computers that allow you to surf the ‘net, get your e-mail and check all of your social networking sites from anywhere.

It’s a 24/7 information blitz that keeps us plugged in, informed and juiced up on more information than we can process. It’s overwhelming at times … even for a junkie like me.

The social networking landscape has changed a lot in the last two years, the biggest change being its acceptance as a genuine, measurable, and necessary addition to the way people and businesses market themselves. The power of a successful social networking plan is undeniable. For the first time, we had a presidential candidate who embraced new media and used it to elevate his campaign to a level never before seen. Blogs, e-mail blasts, a modern Web site and the use of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook helped his campaign message resonate with a growing social media generation.

I’ve seen firsthand what a great social media strategy can do for a business. Coffee Groundz is a coffee shop/bar/café/hang-out that opened two years ago in midtown Houston. The owner’s dream was to create a community atmosphere that was conducive to both hanging out and business meetings … a place that simply felt like home. To kick off his business, not only did he create a Web site, but he signed up for Twitter and Facebook. He began hosting “tweet-ups” for his “fans” and “followers” that have become huge events. He brings in live musicians, exhibits local art, holds charity events and hosts social networking breakfasts. He built his business as a community – harnessing the power of social media.

As a side note, he also chased a bank robber through midtown and handed him over to police, so he’s sort of a superhero. News of the robbery and pursuit spread via Twitter and Facebook within minutes of his tweets about it – long before any news outlets reported on it. That’s power.

We can’t deny the importance of social media any longer. Turn on the TV and you’ll probably see:

• Congressmen tweeting during sessions and votes
• Advertisers replacing Web site addresses in their ads with Twitter usernames
• Shows like “Entertainment Tonight” covering Twitter stories
• Letterman and Conan often referencing – sometimes cynically – the social media sphere
• CNN constantly posing questions to their Facebook and Twitter followers
• Companies offering Twitter- and Facebook-exclusive deals and promotions

Imagine harnessing all that power for your business. How many people could you reach? The evolution is happening, and if you haven’t embraced it, you’re already way behind.

Do you know what the best part about it is? It’s free. Sure, it costs man power and time, but those are two things you already pay for. When has there ever been a time that an advertising tool was basically free? Who ever heard of free billboards or radio spots or TV commercials or newspaper ads?

Embrace it. Use it. Make it a required part of the way you market yourself and your business.

You know what I do remember? When people thought Web sites were unnecessary and the Internet was just something to “play” on. Ha!

Follow us on Twitter: @theplanet or http://www.twitter.com/theplanet

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theplanet

Become a part of it!

-Ali

Our CEO, Doug Erwin keynoted Day 2 at ISPCON! Are you surprised? His topic was Beyond Hosting: Unlocking Profits with On Demand IT Infrastructure for the SMB, and he shared a The Planet’s perspective on the evolving IT marketplace, including several suggestions to effectively keep up with it.

I’ll dive deeper into what he shared at the conference in a future blog post, but I wanted to submit a quick update on the happenings from Day 2 at ISPCON.

In addition to Doug’s keynote, I joined three very interesting breakout sessions and continued my trek through the conference Exhibit Hall. The breakout sessions I graced with my presence? “30 Rapid-fire Website Wins, Guaranteed,” “Five Ways to Boost Profits without Increasing Costs: Customer Services” and “Guerrilla Marketing for Service Providers.” Needless to say, I was like a kid in a candy store.

My Key Takeaways

From the “Website Wins” session: Several of the “wins” really jumped out at me as key features in efficient site design. With an increased emphasis on simplicity and clarity to the paradigm shift of “site construction” to “site gardening,” the site development process is clearly in a period of transition to best facilitate the customer experience, search engine friendliness and cross-browser compatibility.

From the “Customer Services” session: Customer service is at the heart of a host’s business. Web hosts should have a customer-centric mentality rather than a product-centric mentality to truly be successful in the industry. That underlying mentality will bleed into every aspect of your business, and will be conveyed both implicitly and explicitly through all of a company’s communication.

From the “Guerrilla Marketing” session: There are countless ways to differentiate and market your company outside of the traditional marketing techniques, and the question featured in the conclusion of the presentation embodied the guerrilla marketing mentality: “Is your message one in a million or is your marketing message just another one of the millions?” I enjoyed the session because it investigated many effective “outside the box” opportunities to generate interest and improve the customer’s buying experience (or at least the experience they have while they are receiving marketing information).

We’ve got one more day worth of sessions here in San Jose, so look for more stellar insight soon!

-Kevin

Stop laughing. Computers are cool now.

That’s what the sticker in my office says, anyway. (Given to me by our very own Todd Mitchell, thank you very much. He’s funny.)

To conclude my three-part blog, I thought I’d focus on some sites I think have really helped to define this new era of the Internet. Plus, it gives me an excuse to play…er, I mean research the Internet while at work. Bonus!

Let’s start with MySpace because, well, it’s the one I’m most familiar with. I’ve had my account since early 2004. I’ve seen lots of growth and changes with the site over the years. Many new features have been added, with better functionality, which makes it really easy to use, but even more it’s really easy to be addicted. With all of these upgrades, the fundamentals of MySpace haven’t changed; it’s a place to hang with your friends and make new ones via the interwebs. That plays a huge part in the site’s success.

In the beginning, the site featured blogs, profile customization, bulletins and comments from other users on your friends list. Today the site has expanded to video, music, instant message, mobile texting and news. You can even search job listings there! Part of what makes this site so compelling is that in order to participate, you have to be a member. You create an account because someone you know has one, and you want to read their blogs and have the ability to comment. Once you get involved, you’re addicted. You also have the ability to completely control who views your page. You can be as public or as private as you like. It’s really all about your comfort level, but more importantly, it’s all about you.

MySpace was founded in August of 2003 by eUniverse (now Intermix). The site was sold in 2005 for $580 million to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. (That’s some serious moola for a site built on the geeky idea of making Internet friends.) The site is currently ranked by Alexa as #3 on the list of most visited sites in the U.S.

You Tube has become a crazy phenomenon. The idea behind it is quite simple: create a site with a simple interface where a user can upload any sort of video that exports into a format most browsers can view. And it’s free. Genius.

The world’s inner celebrity has come out to shine. If you aren’t contributing, you’re watching. If there is something you’ve seen on TV at some point, chances are you can find it on You Tube. If you want to show the world how you and your friends act the fool, just upload and share. Anyone who ever hoped to be some level of celebrity now has their chance, and they’re using it.

Google purchased YouTube on Nov. 3, 2006, for $1.65 billion in Google stock. I can’t even begin to fathom that amount of money. The site is currently ranked #4 in the Alexa rankings.

DIGG.com, which began as a technology-based blog site, is really a fantastic example of one that grew solely from social networking. Users contributed content by seeking out tech blogs, articles and news stories, and then posting them on the site. Now, it’s much more than just technology, with subsections ranging from entertainment, world and business, and gaming. They even offer video and podcast sections as well.

For a blogger, one of the pinnacles of success is having people “digg” your blog. Translation: having someone who reads it like it so much they link it on DIGG. Bloggers have become obsessed with getting their stories “dugg”- so much that the site has implemented practices for stopping spamming of your own writing. (But I’m not above asking you guys to click that little DIGG button on the bottom of this page. Click it. CLICK IT.)

Tons of sites have made an impact building the Internet to what it is today. These are just a few examples of sites that in my mind have been leaders in shaping the Internet culture. They’ve become regular phrases in our everyday lives translating into a major pop-culture phenomenon.

So, now my three-part look at the Internet Social Scene is done. I’m not sure what else I’ll be writing about in the future, but I’m sure there will be some topics that tickle my fancy.

If any of you, dear readers, have suggestions; please feel free to let me know! I’ll dig (ha,ha dig!) down and look into questions you have about Internet happenings, happenings at The Planet or anything else you might find interesting. The sky’s the limit.

If I can make it relevant to technology or the Internet, they’ll probably let me blog about it. Even nail polish and lipstick. Maybe. (What? I am a total girl, you know.)

- Ali

I know, I know … you’ve heard it before … but seriously. I (Katie) wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that we (The Planet) have brought back for a limited time our Double Down promotion.

What is the Double Down promotion?
So glad you asked! For no additional cost, double your RAM, hard drive, or bandwidth when you lease a new server. For complete details, see www.theplanet.com/double-down-promotion, and please note that …

It’s for a limited time only!

(How many marketing clichés can she cram into one blog post, you ask?)

This promotion ends on September 30, 2007 (11:59 pm CDT to be exact) – and if you’re sitting there at 11:45 pm (CDT) on the 30th thinking, “Awww, those fabulous guys and gals at The Planet will be happy to give me this promo tomorrow …” think again! We’re sticking to the deadline (it’s the end of the quarter folks!), so if you want to … double your RAM, hard drive or bandwidth … act now so you don’t miss out on this opportunity. After all, we brought it back because you asked.

By the way, we’re also running our Super September Giveaway … and everyone who leases a new server from The Planet is registered to win one of four major prizes, including a Dell laptop, Xbox 360 Elite, 160 GB & 80 GB iPods, and iPod nano or a Nintendo Wii … not to mention gift certificate drawings daily. It’s just our little way of saying “thank you” for doing business with us.

Oh, and by the way … happy “Talk like a Pirate” day matey!

(How many marketing clichés did I manage to get in? Four unique instances: “back by popular demand”, “limited time” x 2, “act now”, and “don’t miss out”.)

Where’s the Beef?

Remember back in the day, there always seemed to be a commercial everyone was talking about?

Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun.
I totally double-dutched to that one.

How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Owl did it in three. I tried so many times to do that as a kid! It was totally impossible and I was crushed.

I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.
I found this on YouTube and it instantly took me back to my living room with the green shag carpet and wood paneling. It gave me chills. I know it’s crazy that a commercial can have such an impact. But the time was so tumultuous and that commercial gave a little bit of comfort and hope to the world. (And I’m a sucker for nostalgia; Coca-Cola especially.)

Plus, I know people who cried during Hallmark commercials. My mom included. MCI long distance ones too.

Commercials became as much a part of our television entertainment experience as the shows we were watching. It was a mad competition to see who would have the funniest, catchiest and most innovative approach. Huge multimillion dollar campaigns would launch in hopes to have the next catch phrase.

It’s not really like that anymore. Sure, there are a few companies I can think of that still go above and beyond in the TV campaign area. Geico’s Gecko and Cavemen come to mind. But, really, when was the last time you sang a TV jingle? I haven’t since Chili’s made me “want my baby back ribs.”

The face of advertising is changing, my friends. Aside from the big push at Superbowl, big budget TV campaigns are on the decline. The invention of DVR and the insanely vast amount of broadcast TV and cable networks make it near impossible to pay attention to the commercials. Companies are turning to more cost effective approaches via the Internet – specifically social networking sites.

Do you know of any national retail corporation that doesn’t have a Web site? I don’t. I’m sure you’d be hard pressed to find one. Take that as a challenge, if you like! It’s now common practice to include Internet and online activities in any marketing and advertising plan.

Many companies have gone way beyond simply having their own Web sites. They’ve ventured into the social networking scene, creating MySpace pages and blogs and using email campaigns to drive traffic to these sites. And why wouldn’t they? It’s the Internet version of pollination.

A busy little Internet bee stumbles upon a blog or new Web site. They take that information and link to their own blog or post it on a message board. They use it to pass along information and foster discussion. Then along comes another little busy Internet bee that takes the link and posts it in various other places and so on and so forth. Voila! Pixel pollination. I can’t really think of a much easier way to spread your message than having someone else do it for you.

For some, these practices are still brand new. People are just testing the waters. As we start to see more success with this sort of “grass-roots” marketing, the entire way we implement advertising and promotions will change.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see where we are a year from now. With the ever-changing face of the Internet, new marketing and advertising opportunities will always be on the horizon. It’s an exciting time to be part of such prevalent change in this still-budding new medium. No one has really jumped out as a leader in innovation for this new age of Web-based marketing. Having the opportunity to be a player rather than just a spectator is making the evolution all the more fun.

Up next – The Social Scene 3: Web based communities – top sites, key features and why they’re so addictive.

Stay tuned!

- Ali

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- Katie