February 01, 2003

The Rocks/Sucks Google Machine

Jeff Jarvis pushes some good insite into using Google to investigate brands. Search for band and "sucks" and see what comes up. The nastier the results the worse the brand.

Already works ok, could work a lot better with some concious effort. Have an awful experience with Charmin? Whip up a quick "Charmin Sucks" web page or blog post. Get an XML RFC geek to make it all machine readable for extra credit. And let Mr. Google do the hard work.

And since we like to say nice things too, don't forget those "Charmin Rocks" pages, for the days when it saves your ass. Or maybe "Charmin is the bomb", or "Charmin is the shit" but maybe that's going to far. No, the key is that every one uses the same words or else it falls apart. "Rocks" and "sucks" are the popular choice, live with it, embrace them and use them in war on bad brands.

For those who want to go the extra mile, a few ideas. A rocks/sucks index page, where you can see the pros and cons of the brand lined right up against each other. Or a handy rocks/sucks page generator app. If it was really slick it'd two way link all the relevent "sucks" pages. That's like giving google a blowjob you'd go straight to the top of the list...

And there you have it, the Rocks/Sucks Machine. Make it, use it and spread the meme.

Posted by Abe at February 1, 2003 03:55 PM

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kenyon