With weeks of viral marketing and a promotional campaign driven by social networks like Twitter and Facebook behind it, Oren Eli’s Paranormal Activity (Paramount) expanded into just under 2,000 theaters on Friday and successfully took the box office with an estimated $22 million and an astounding cumulative gross of $62.5 million after less than a month in theaters. It’s surely going to be considered one of the memorable phenomena of 2009, having cost less than $15,000 to produce, the rights sold to Paramount for roughly $300,000 and then being distributed by one of the most unique and unconventional methods we’ve seen in some time.

See the full story here.

I didn’t see it. I was too afraid. But the social media component is worth close examination.

Why does social media carry the message so quickly and efficiently? It works on many levels, making it a strong communication tool in building relationships.

Free exposure.
Social media is highly rewarded in the search engines.
It’s a way to renew each moment, as you wish.
Segment audiences, if appropriate, aggregate data at will.
Demonstrate history, credentials, samples, process, etc.
Trackable.
Logs of detailed information about visitors, from where visitors are to what page directed them to your page, much data is available.
Easily audit ad effectiveness, editorial reach, competition, etc.

More to come … bird wants to eat my monitor.

I recently talked to a client that lives a tv show. He really does. He and his family are touched with Hollywood Magic. He doesn’t know he’s this marketable, he thinks he’s a starving artist, but he is what I’ve been saying we all are now, he’s real and his story is fantastic. We are the new tv.

It’s too late to blog now, but let this be a reminder to all of us that I need to finish this conversation. Later.

<Woof !>

There are so many positive things that come from blogging, the blog’s architecture forces you to organize. It allows you to be creative – with pages, images, text … video, audio. It’s just amazing. AND, IT’S FREE !!

organization of thoughts | material (writings, notes, links to off-site stuff, images, videos, audio files, etc.)
use it for this purpose alone, and you have a free information management tool

therapy | yeah. it’s true. the best part of this blog is it’s therapeutic value in calming my monkey mind (or my bunny butt)

entertainment| it is so much fun

accountability | if you put your weight online, daily, you will eat less ice cream

revenue | you can make money with your blog  (ad revenue, sell stuff | sponsor stuff | recommend stuff | promote stuff, etc. )

This entire process fascinates me. All those benefits, and there’s more!

We are the new TV. We are. We are all on TV now. The Internet and TV are merging. We see it before our very eyes. Use that. Put you out there. Transparency True is the name of  my first book, it’s highlights the need people have to hide so much of their lives, from friends, family, kids ! It’s not that we want to betray, but the context from one section of our lives to the next is not always aligned neatly. It’s transparency that brings us closer. Even if it’s unsightly to some. Uncomfortably transparent. Show the seedy underbelly of yourself. Of your company or product. What’s the real story? Tell it with a blog, or call it whatever you like. A journal. A diary. A TV show. Call it your information management system. The power of a blog is limited only by the imagination of it’s creator.

This is true. As you know, or maybe you don’t, I don’t use this space for revenue generation per se. While I welcome readers, and if they click on ads that interest them, I’ll take my cut of the pay per click model, but I’m not in this for that reason. Not here.

… Marco just popped online, maybe he’ll do the column for me …

Something like Marco from Bologna or Bologna from Marco, or … I don’t know, but I’d like to highlight how people can make a very good living sharing their story.

If you want to blog, you can do that yourself, by going to Wordpress.com, or Blogger.com … or use your Google account to create a blog. Or, hire a company – mine or someone else you trust to build your brand in this critically important space. The Internet is driving tv now, so let’s give it the respect it deserves. Ad dollars are emptying out of tv budgets as fast as internet broadcast profits are piling up. Whew. Thank God!

Some of my notes What’s A Blog. And, here for posts covering How To.

It’s not unlike what happened in the music industry, where Apple realized people will pay a reasonable price, and they came out ahead, the studios are still suffering bad decisions. Independents, however, have more power than ever. This is the same way tv is working … they are not all doing it wrong – Hulu is awesome ! … but, we are it. We are the new TV. Right now. Here.

We booked two Chatter Box accounts and we sold three or four Tweeter Tops. Four web sites and two blogs. We built an awesome logo for a good cause and stuff I can’t remember. Oh yeah, we were interviewed by __________… that’s HUGE ! Can I tell ? I don’t know. But, CC is just adorable, and if that’s what being interviewed is like, bring it on. Loved her !

Thank you, everyone ! For so much happy.

I look forward to putting these and other projects on display – right here at hotDiggityBlog.

Stay tuned.

Thank you Greg. Thank you Monica. Thank you Jay. Thank you Eric. Thank you Dave. Thank you Sandie. Thank you Julie. Thank you Richard. Thank you James.

Too much emotion today. I am absolutely in love with life. THANK YOU to all those lovely friends (clients mostly) that put the fire out.

Thank you Tom. Thank you Val. Thank you mom.

Here I come, Kansas City.