The Reason Weezer Gets It

Here is an excerpt from a recent Pitchfork Interview with Rivers Cuomo (lead singer of Weezer):

We've been doing this since 94, and when we started out, we just did things the same ways that all the other bands did 'em. And that was okay for a while, but at this point, when it's time to promote another album, I have to ask myself, "Do I really want to do this the same old way again?" Or, "What would make this fun for me? What would make it exciting? What would be a new challenge?"

Why has Weezer been so successful with their latest endeavors and promotions? They try new things and get their fans more involved. Instead of sitting down and saying, "how can we make a viral video for our latest song and get lots of attention?," they asked, "how can we make this fun" and "what can we make that is original and good?" Notice that things that set out to be viral aren't often the ones that do - attention often comes with quality.

Terrorists on Twitter?

That is what the US Army is worried about based on a new intelligence report.

From the report:

"Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,"

"Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,"

"Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the US as an operation tool," it said. "However, it is unclear whether that same theoretical tool would be available to terrorists in other countries and to what extent."

Pretty interesting stuff. Twitter allows for instant mass communication so it is understandable why they would be concerned. One thing that most marketers know on Twitter, is that conversation can be easily tracked. While it could definitely pose a threat, it is also an opportunity to monitor chatter.