Hope Seth Doesn’t Mind if I Go Even Further

Filed Under Analysis, Marketing, Successful Blog | 16 Comments

If You Can’t Keep a Secret . . .

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box
I hadn’t really thought about the Harry Potter leaked ending, except to shake my head at the industry that used to be my home. To spend $20M on a secret that couldn’t be kept seemed such a waste . . . How I remember the thoght process that gets companies to do that sort of thing.

Then this morning Ann Michael and I were discussing Seth’s insight on publishing and the Internet. He pointed out what I would have never thought.

Five hundred year old technology (books) is just too slow for the Net. The act of printing, storing and shipping millions of books takes too long for a secret to ever be in a book again.

He suggests that, well, read Seth’s post for his brilliant solution. He advocates using the Internet to control the secret. I sure hope Seth doesn’t mind if I use my publishing experience to take his idea just a little further.

Fact: As Seth said, the secret was in always in jeopardy — from the moment the manuscript was written. The company should have seen that $20million, $40million to protect the secret was playing to a weakness.

One thing I’ve learned from Seth is that every weakness can be a strength. Here’s what I would have proposed, had someone asked my opinion. . . . Don’t worry, they didn’t.

How to Release the Harry Potter Secret OR How Choosing for the Customer Is Choosing for the Company

The problem wasn’t having the secret where people could get to it. The problem was the company thought of the secret as a problem rather than an opportunity,

Strategy always begins with the customer. In this case, the customers are kids (of every age) who grew up with the series. $20million of security was choosing for the company not the customers.

If I think about the kids, here’s where I end up.

Ready?

I would ask J.K.Rowling to reveal the ending to me as soon as she was able. I would spend a fraction of that $20million building a cool online video game with seven levels to match the seven questions of the Harry Potter Campaign. I’d spend the security there. Fewer people involved, much more control.
I’d release the game that reveals the end of the story, three weeks before any pre-launch copy.
To register to play the game, I would ask that each player sign in with a name, and a parental permission with verifiable email address (if the player is under 13).
The game would be as difficult as any game on the market. It would also have cheat codes and book with hints as salable products. It would take hours– whatever is the industry average — to complete successfuly.
When a player made it through the last level, he or she would reach a Howart’s Honor Code screen. The screen would announce the success and point out how difficult it was to achieve it. The Honor Code would leave the question to winner to hold or pass on the answer as they honor their own work. They earned it. People value what they earn.

It’s as Seth said, no one can keep it a secret — but we can control how it gets out. The company could have made finding the answer part of the Hogwart’s World. It could have been an experience. It could have been fun. Besides, I’m not sure that if I worked 10-20 hours to find out an answer that I’d give it away, . . . well, maybe secretly.

Who knows? I might play the game again and again — even after I read the book.

If I knew what I was talking about I’d still be working in that industry . . . right? I’m probably just confused. That comes from thinking like a kid.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: bestof, Harry-Potter, harry-potter-spoiler, leaked-secret.-Seth-Godin, Liz-Strauss, Seths-Blog

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SOB Business Cafe 06-29-07

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 13 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Seth’s Blog knows the way to get us to want to be friendly with the folks who work the fast food counter.

Rochambeau the front line

Smart Wealthy Rich understands what we should be doing.

Give Them A Good Reason To Click And Read (And Subscribe)

Monk at Work is pointing out things in our heads again.

Attachment, Love, and The Idea Fairy

Lorelle comes through at tthe Blog Herald with a new view to the new Google algorithm’s look at how we care for our content.

SEO Tips: Increase Page Rank By Revitalizing Your Old Posts

Dawud Miracle shows a glass overflowing with links for in true Starbucker tradition.

What Do You See When You Look Through The Glass?

Jibber Jabber has a series of secrets to tell.

Day 1: My Blogging Secrets

Related ala carte selections include

Who wouldn’t want to say something about this story and the blue balls?

Scoble Awaits iPhone, Plays with Ball of Whacks

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: Blog-Herald, Creative-Think, Dawud-Miracle, Jibber-Jabber, Seths-Blog, Smart-Wealthy-Rich

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SOB Business Cafe 06-01-07

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Seth’s Blog recommends that we choose a game plan to suit the game we’re playing.

One, a few, most or all

Problogger discusses donations as an income stream.

Donations on Blogs - Do They Work?

Vaspers the Grate reviews the newest specialized search engine.

Mahalo search engine from Jason Calacanis

Alister Cameron, Blogologist shares his dreams.

Google’s new BlogRank Authority Index… in my dreams, anyway!

All Things Workplace wonders if 9-5 is archaic.

Can You Be Productive, Successful, and Satisfied 9 to 5? Part I

Good Word Editing does the math, with Einstein looking it over.

Blog Like Einstein - Finally a Formula that Predicts Blog Traffic with a 0.8 Correlation

Related ala carte selections include

Design Your Writing Life is suggesting we fess up.

“I Don’t Have Time to Write” and other Writerly Lies #2

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: Alister-Cameron-Blogologist, All-Things-Workplace, Design-Your-Writing-Life, Good-Word-Editing, Problogger, Seths-Blog, Vaspers-the-Grate

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SOB Business Cafe 02-23-07

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 8 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Don’t take out your tools to answer the question posed by Creating Passionate Users.

Are our tools making us dumber?

Seth’s Blog states the two things most folks get from blogging.

If no one reads your post, does it exist?

Marketing Profs ask about whether we’re paying attention to our readers.

What If We Practiced a Little Customer Engine Optimization

Copyblogger suggests a Roman statesman as your next blog consultant.

Let Cicero Build You a Sticky Blog

9:o1am diggs up another kind of trademark story.

Digg to lose name to Lucasfilm?

Problogger offers the fine points to blog conversation.

How to Add to Blogging Conversations… And Eliminate the Echo Chamber

Related ala carte selections include

Word Sell has age old advice about Search Engine Marketing.

Search Engine Marketing–Size Doesn’t Matter

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Tags: 9o1am, copyblogger, Creating-Passionate-Users, Marketing-Profs, Problogger, Seths-Blog, Word-Sell

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SOB Business Cafe 12-15-06

Filed Under Business Life, Customer Think, Marketing, Outside the Box, Successful Blog, Trends, ZZZ-FUN | 6 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the title shots to enjoy each selection.