Viral Marketing

Our buddy Steve Peters and his site ARGN.com got mentioned in an article about viral marketing on the LA Times Online today. The article tracks the rise of marketing shills on Internet message boards, and mentions the shenanigans that the Push, NV, producers pulled recently when they hired actors to portray the Push High School hockey team and infiltrate a taping of Good Morning America — without telling the producers of that show in advance.

Studios' Web 'Plants' Lead to an Ethical Thicket
By PATRICK GOLDSTEIN

Ever since Harry Knowles burst to prominence with Aintitcoolnews.com, the Internet has blossomed with hundreds of movie geek Web sites, each one crammed with its own oddball assortment of news, reviews and message boards devoted to "Star Wars," Quentin Tarantino and other pressing matters. For movie fans, the sites represent authentic participatory democracy — everyone's opinion or obsession carries equal weight. more