The power of social networking

Although I’m mostly blogging about content management systems here, I thought I would take a brief break to talk about social networking.

I’m going to be teaching a course on online marketing and ecommerce this spring.We always talk about social networking and viral marketing as part of the course. I have some great material from a project we did for a local business, but also wanted an example that students could relate to, accomplish, and do well with.

So my St. Bernard had some irregular blood values and needed an echocardiogram. My wife is a vet, so these things get done (as they should).

Mollie went to the University of Wisconsin last week and had her echocardiogram. You can see the results here. Although I play around with the image about because it was funny, you’ll see that the first image looks freakishly like a sleeping kitten. Way cool, right?

Here’s a sneak peak: (hint: this is the artist rendition, not the real unaltered version. click the link above for the real deal)

So my project is promoting this photo. I’m studying what strategies and process gets this image to a point where it goes viral. It’s important to note that my goal wasn’t that I needed something viral. But when I looked at this photo, it was one of those rare experiences where Kim and I said, “Wow, I bet people will get a laugh out of this.”

But I’m also a geek AND an academic so I want to track how this photo spreads. Please share if you think it’s cool. You’ll be helping my students learn about how messages spread in an organic/viral fashion. Tres cool.

And for the record: I’m a dog person and regret that my dog has  a cat-shaped heart. Truly regret it.

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