Lots of people ask the question…how do I make my “thing” (ebook, program, product, idea) go viral?

It’s a ‘where’s the magic pill’ question and doesn’t answer easily. (Context is everything after all…what market? what point in time? who are you? etc.)

However this story is a great one to ‘get’ the whole viral thing…very educational. Read with hearts and minds open.

Wired News: “High school teacher George Masters’ animated ad for Apple’s iPod mini has “gone viral.” Free of parody or political comment, the spot is one of the first straight-ahead product ads on the net.

To some experts, Masters’ ad heralds the future of advertising. Homemade ads will play a big part in marketing, just like blogging is shaking up the news.”

Check out more of why George will likely go into the Guiness Book of World Records for this unintentional ‘first-ever’ act, and view the video in question here:

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,66001,00.html

The 60-second animated advertisement features flying iPods, pulsing hearts and swirling ’70s psychedelia. It received moderate traffic until it was picked up by several blogs last week. In a matter of days, the homemade ad has been watched more than 37,000 times, and is making the rounds on blogs and e-mail.

Sidebar: Lots of other companies might have shut something like this down. After all, George doesn’t own advertising rights, does he?

It’s an interesting ‘battle’ for the future between old advertising which told us what to think about their stuff, versus new advertising which creates stuff we want to talk about, in our own words.

In creating your own products, or creating your own coaching results, what are you standing for that is worth talking about? Make it something.

P.S. George says he made the movie featuring the iPod “for fun.”