Treat a product or service like a human or computer virus, contends online promotion specialist Seth Godin, and it just might become one. In Unleashing the Ideavirus, Godin describes ways to set any viable commercial concept loose among those who are most likely to catch it--and then stand aside as these recipients become infected and pass it on to others who might do the same. "The future belongs to marketers who establish a foundation and process where interested people can market to each other," he writes. "Ignite consumer networks and then get out of the way and let them talk." Godin believes that a solid idea is the best route to success in the new century, but one "that just sits there is worthless." Through the magic of "word of mouse," however, the Internet offers a unique opportunity for interested individuals to transmit ideas quickly and easily to others of like mind. Taking up where his previous book Permission Marketing left off, Godin explains in great detail how ideaviruses have been launched by companies such as Napster, Blue Mountain Arts, GeoCities, and Hotmail. He also describes "sneezers" (influential people who spread them), "hives" (populations most willing to receive them), and "smoothness" (the ease with which sneezers can transmit them throughout a hive). In all, an infectious and highly recommended read. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Review". . . Unleashing the IdeaVirus informs, instructs, and entertains, offering the reader both roadmap and owner's manual for the car." -- Chris Meyer, director, Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation, and co-author of Blur

". . . whatever Seth is selling is catching -- and if you spend time with him, you'll come down with it." -- Alan M. Webber, founding editor, Fast Company

"Seth not only gets it, he gives it as well. Unleashing the Ideavirus is living, livid, vivid proof." -- Doc Searls, author, The Cluetrain Manifesto

"This is the only (idea)virus that will save you time and make you money." -- Guy Kawasaki, CEO, garage.com, and author, Rules for Revolutionaries

Product DescriptionThe book that sparked a marketing revolution. "This is a subversive book. It says that the marketer is not -- and ought not to be -- at the center of successful marketing. The customer should be. Are you ready for that?" --From the Foreword by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point.
Counter to traditional marketing wisdom, which tries to count, measure, and manipulate the spread of information, Seth Godin argues that the information can spread most effectively from customer to customer, rather than from business to customer. Godin calls this powerful customer-to- customer dialogue the ideavirus, and cheerfully eggs marketers on to create an environment where their ideas can replicate and spread.
In lively, detail, Godin looks at the ways companies such as PayPal, Hotmail, GeoCities, even Volkswagen have successfully launched ideaviruses. He offers a "recipe" for creating your own ideavirus, identifies the key factors in the successful spread of an ideavirus (powerful sneezers, hives, a clear vector, a smooth, friction-free transmission), and shows how any business, large or small, can use ideavirus marketing to succeed in a world that just doesn't want to hear it anymore from the traditional marketers.


From the PublisherWHAT THE SNEEZERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SETH GODIN AND UNLEASHING THE IDEAVIRUS “When Seth Godin sneezes, watch out! Godin is always challenging us to think at least as fast as the world is changing. Unleashing the Ideavirus is his next dare.”
—Steve Riggio Vice Chairman, Barnes & Noble.com
“This is the only (idea) virus that will save you time and make you money.”
—Guy Kawasaki CEO, garage.com, and author, Rules for Revolutionaries
“Seth not only gets it, he gives it as well. Unleashing the Ideavirus is living, livid, vivid proof.”
—Doc Searls co-author, The Cluetrain Manifesto
“Seth Godin has unique clarity about what’s going on in marketing-the futility of mass, the importance of contagion, the central role of permission. Unleashing the Ideavirus informs, instructs, and entertains, offering the reader both roadmap and owner’s manual for the car.”
—Chris Meyer Director, Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation, and co-author, Blur
“If you’re lucky, whatever Seth is selling is catching-and if you spend time with him, you’ll come down with it.”
—Alan M. Webber Founding Editor, Fast Company --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


About the AuthorSeth Godin is the author of numerous books, including the national bestseller, Permission Marketing. He was the founder of Yoyodyne, the first direct marketer on the Internet, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 1998. Godin served as Vice President of Direct Marketing for Yahoo! before leaving early in 2000 to devote time to writing and speaking. Godin serves as a Flatiron Fellow, advising Flatiron Partners, a leading Internet-focused venture capital firm based in New York, and is a regular columnist for Fast Company magazine. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From AudioFileWith some hokum, some wisdom, and a great deal of phrase-making, the author discusses effective marketing, which he likens to unleashing an idea virus. The implications of this disease metaphor are bone-chilling, but the author is only packaging some conventional ideas into new mumbo jumbo. He reads gracelessly but inoffensively. Y.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.