Live by Social Media, Die by Social Media
By Linda Sevier
No, this is not a negative post about social media. It is rather a post about the power of using social media for marketing purposes. I attended a session at MacWorld 2009 hosted by David Pogue who is, in my opinion, one of the funniest people on the planet. One of guests was Matt Harding of 'Where the Hell is Matt?' fame. If you are not familiar with Matt, a YouTube.com superstar, he made videos of himself dancing in front of various landmarks around the world. His videos went viral and he became an internet star. If you haven't seen any of them, take a look at this example and then visit YouTube.com to view the rest. They are a lot of fun to watch.
The reason for Matt's visit was to set the record straight. In an attempt to be funny, Matt gave a presentation telling the audience that he had been caught red handed by viewers of the viral videos and announced that his videos were faked and he was, in fact, an actor playing a role and a fraud.
Apparently Matt had been given really good advice by a friend who told him to make the facts that proved he was a fake totally absurd so every one would get the joke. He claimed that instead of being a not so great computer game programmer, he was working as an actor for an ad agency. The viral videos were all done with Photoshop, green screens and robots. You would think that folks might have at least questioned the robot part and get the joke. Well, they did at the conference for the most part but the story took on a life of its own and Matt has been labeled a fraud and a cheat. View the video below and judge for yourself. Joke or confession?
The problem it appears is not that folks thought this video was factual but that people commenting and reporting on video did not take the time to watch it. Beware when using social media. As my mother used to say "be careful what you wish for". Yes, there are gullible people out there and lazy ones as well. In the words of David Pogue, "live by social media, die by social media" (a very funny comment at the time). I am sure the word has gotten out that Matt is not a fraud. The message for the lazy folks who didn't bother to check the facts, shame on you! For any of the truly gullible who might have thought his presentation was true, I have a great business deal for you. Together we can make millions, overnight! I am the owner of the ad agency that Matt was working for and I can make you the next YouTube.com star ;) I AM ONLY JOKING!