Nerfbat Zeitgeist
Inspired by both Raph Koster’s monthly reports and Google’s Zeitgeist, I decided to drop in some information for last month’s common search terms that led people here to Nerfbat. As I think Google’s word, “Zeitgeist,” is awesome, I am shamelessly stealing it for my own use until such a time that I come up with a better word myself.
First, let’s explore some of the most popular searches from Yahoo: World Cup 2006, 666, Shakira, The Apprentice, WWE, Wikipedia, Summer Phoenix, Jaleel White, The Omen, and Britney Spears made up the top 10 in that order. The top game on the top 20 list (and only one) was RuneScape, and the following hot babes filled out more of the top 20: Jessica Alba, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, and the Pussycat Dolls.
World Cup 2006? Not at all surprising, seeing as the most important event in “soccer” is on its way shortly. 666 is also not a surprise, as millions of people around the world were anxious to see what happened. Fortunately, it was actually 06/06/2006, not 06/06/0006, so the Apocalypse gave us a miss this time. That one goes to show how far ignorance and superstition can take us. The Omen made it to the top 10 list, which only goes to prove that point even further (it came out on 06/06/06). It looks like the WWE is making a comeback, which is cool because I used to wrestle my buddies in Virginia under the nickname “Taxicab.” That’s not a joke.
In truth, the only two things that caught be off guard were the following: Summer Phoenix and Jaleel White. Now, I had no idea who the heck Summer Phoenix was, so I decided to do some research. Turns out she has been in a few mostly crappy movies and is the younger sister of Joaquin Phoenix, so must be banging someone more famous than she is. I was right. Now the second… the second… where do I know that name? OH MY GOD IT’S URKEL! That loveable nerd from Family Matters. The only reason I can think that he’s on the list is that he wrote a semi-controversial blog that had something to do with Jesus over at NBA.com.
I expect search terms such as “bikini,” “beach,” and “super hot babes at the beach” to pick up with Summer here. You’ll probably find popular actors from upcoming movies, such as Jack Black, Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley. Hopefully, “nerfbat” becomes a super hot search term for the summer, but I unfortunately have my doubts.
Now for the search terms that brought people here! nerfbat, hardcore games, nerf bat, chuck norris, guild wars mini pet, beckett massive online gamer, guild wars, lord vyemm, mmog, directx 9c april, nerf definition, ryan shwayder, guild wars commands, claymore quest line, bfme ii, guild wars solo, diagramming games, proc stands for, laboratory of lord vyemm strategy, difference between good graphics and bad graphics.
Them be the toppers. Most of them aren’t surprises, but I didn’t expect my real name to be among the top searches. To those of you who got here looking for Lord Vyemm strategies: Figure it out your damn self! That’s part of the fun, so don’t spoil it by searching for the answers. To whoever looks to me to tell them what the difference between good graphics and bad graphics is: Use your freaking eyes! Good graphics are graphics that are visually appealing to you at the time. Bad graphics are the opposite. It’s pretty easy.
For the next month, I expect to see more hits from search terms such as ALS, Curt Schilling, crafting, tradeskills, emotion, guerilla marketing, memes, blogger street cred, naked nudes, nude naked unclothed disrobed female babes, and Good Morning America. Some of those will be among the topics of articles I write, while others I think will land people here because I just wrote them in this post.
I look forward to seeing you next time in the upcoming Nerfbat Zeitgeist, possibly to be renamed Nerfbat Mimesis or simply Nerfbat Naked Nudes (N3 for short). For anyone who has come this far without realizing the intent of the post, it is actually part of a little social experiment I’m performing as part of my upcoming post on guerilla marketing, memes, and general marketing bullhonky.
has come this far without realizing the intent of the post, it is actually part of a little social experiment I’m performing as part of my upcoming post on guerilla marketing, memes, and general marketing bullhonky. posted by Ryan Shwayder @ 21:47 Comments Off
Jaleel White is probably in the top 20 thanks to the fake e-mail announcement pronouncing his death. (Saw it on Snopes )
Sadly, this would suggest that more people still read that crap than I care to imagine. At least they’re becoming more skeptical and googling for the truth.
Lists of obvious keywords get ranked much lower in google than what looks like ‘natural’ keywords. There is a certain ‘distance’ that important keywords need to be from eachother to be ranked as true keywords – otherwise google chalks it up to linkfarming and fake content.
You’re actually much better off creating links that contain keywords in the link text, and getting your page linked via the same keywords. It creates a webbed link structure that google ranks highly.
Original post:Nerfbat Zeitgeist by at Google Blog Search: marketing list
Would a naked nude be a person with no skin? That’s a tad creepy.
When are you going to be appearing on Good Morning America?
I’m just happy to see Wikipedia so high up there…
So from the keywords, I assume you’re going to use Curt Schilling for guerilla marketing on Good Morning America? Wait a second… that actually kind of makes sense…
The phrases “guerilla marketing” and “viral marketing” are equally stupid. The problem with the first phrase is that the credit belongs to Jay Conrad Levinson, bestselling author of the “Guerilla Marketing” series. The latter term wasn’t even coined by a marketer, which makes its use dismissable.
The book “Guerilla Marketing Weapons” by Jay Conrad Levinson is really just a rehashing of the same dry content published in his other books. I’m not surprised there are people who consume his crap, as such people should, since the style of writing is aggressive and combative. There’s a lot of talk about real guerilla warfare in his books and somehow Levinson relates marketing with hit n’ run tactics, stealth and deceit, and death. I tried to read the aforementioned book; unfortunately, there were far too many factual, logical, tactical, and strategic errors to continue holding the little waste of paper in my hands… in addition to the constant drivel about war.
As a marketing consultant, I understand that there’s a need to read Levinson’s crap because there are people who think he’s just great. I would need to set those people straight to do business with them. As a marketing strategist, I highly recommend staying away from any materials published by Jay Conrad Levinson and any author who jumps on the “guerilla” or “viral” bandwagons. Those concepts aren’t unique, fresh, new, exciting, or revolutionary, and generally, those terms contribute to the widely held negative view of marketing as some sort of evil.
There is far superior information to be read in such prominent publications as Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly, and strategy+business.
Nerfbat Zeitgeist Posted by Ryan Shwayder under Nerfbat Comments Off
Bullhonky?