The power of the crowd

We've all been talking about the power of social media and crowd sourcing, but I had the chance to see it first hand last night.

As did some 100 million other people, I  tuned into the Superbowl last night to watch the ads. (In case you care, I thought the Miller 1 second ads were in my mind the most best -- it's like texting or twitter for TV ads. Get the message across in a second. Brilliant!) I also loved the Hulu ad because it was one of the few that was both funny, and actually made you remember the brand.

So I was happily Tweeting away my responses to the ads, when the GoDaddy ad-bomination ran. Their incredibly stupid sexist banal advert really annoyed me, so I tweeted :
"@kdpaine oppty for someone to provide a classy, female friendly web host alternative to GoDaddy I'd switch now."
Sure enough, there were a number of people in the Twitterverse that shared my longing for what Ford's Scott Monty dubbed a "GoMommy" hosting sollution.
 
Scott included Network Solution's @Sashib (Shashi Belammkonda) in the conversation who happened to be monitoring the Network Solution Tweetstream. After the initial outrage, and my response, the tech-savvy twitter crowd pointed out that there were a number of cheaper alternatives and that Network Solutions was definitely too expensive to switch.
But by midnight, Shashi was offering what I dubbed a "DumpGoDaddy" coupon to anyone who wanted to switch hosting companies.
All of which made for some interesting lessions.

• Lesson #1-- Thanks to Twitter, those of us who get annoyed by TV ads can now actually DO something with that anger.
• Lesson #2 - Everything has its price. I switched from Network Solutions to Go Daddy initially because it was cheaper. So now that the price is comparable, thanks to Shashi's coupon, I'll go with the brand that has both a good reputation, and doesn't piss me off. 
• Lesson #3 - Twitter recommendations are powerful things. There were a number of other hosting companies suggested (1and1, Register for example, that I would never have considered, but when recommended by followers on Twitter, I checked out. But because I had an existing relationship with Network Solutions, it was easier to go back to someone I already knew.
• Lesson #4 - Social media offers an incredible opportunity to organizations that listen carefully and can move quickly in response to a Twitstorm.

Got to go now. ... I have a lot of web sites to switch..

View Order | Network Solutions.

Comments

[Brad @codero]

Social networks have improved the way and speed at which the message gets through to audience. By getting a website or message to go viral, you would get thousands of views in a very short time, and sometimes more than TV ads. Personally I haven't seen the GoDaddy advertisement, but I agree with you that Twitter and other social networks are a great way to express your opinion (or anger as you termed it) and a great way to get recommendations about which products or services to use. Having good following on such social networks is important to get the most out of the experience, as the more people, the more recommendations and the more people will see your message.

[Submit my Coupon Code]

I have a few sites hosted in Godaddy and I am pretty satisfied with the service so far. Kudos to your for this enlightening article.

[Sammie]

Go daddy just announced some of the older renewal promo codes to expire.. But i looked on a few sites and discovered a new list of coupons in which to receive discounts throughout 2009 and into 2010 by starting to enter in the new list of Godaddy promo codes.

Hot sheet of non-expiring Godaddy.com codes:
ZINE7 - $7.49 .com domains (and renewals too)
ZINE5 - 10% off whatever
ZINE6 - $5 off all orders $30 or more

A closer look:
ZINE7 - $7.49 .com domains (and renewals)
Use this Godaddy coupon for all your domain name needs. It works great for both new domains and renewing your existing domains at Godaddy. Free private registration when you register at least five domains.

ZINE5 - 10% off anything
This Godaddy code functions outstandingly well for those items like domain name transfers, .net domains and anything else that the other coupon codes don't cover.

ZINE6 - $5 discount on all orders over $30.
This "catch-all" coupon is ideal for when your cart totals between $30 and $50. It's a great hack to get an instant $5 savings.

Please reply in this thread and tell everyone just what kind of discount you got with these Godaddy coupon codes. Let's get a Godaddy coupon code thread of discounts rolling!!

[Sammie]

Go daddy just announced some of the older renewal promo codes to expire.. But i looked on a few sites and discovered a new list of coupons in which to receive discounts throughout 2009 and into 2010 by starting to enter in the new list of Godaddy promo codes.

Hot sheet of non-expiring Godaddy.com codes:
ZINE7 - $7.49 .com domains (and renewals too)
ZINE5 - 10% off whatever
ZINE6 - $5 off all orders $30 or more

A closer look:
ZINE7 - $7.49 .com domains (and renewals)
Use this Godaddy coupon for all your domain name needs. It works great for both new domains and renewing your existing domains at Godaddy. Free private registration when you register at least five domains.

ZINE5 - 10% off anything
This Godaddy code functions outstandingly well for those items like domain name transfers, .net domains and anything else that the other coupon codes don't cover.

ZINE6 - $5 discount on all orders over $30.
This "catch-all" coupon is ideal for when your cart totals between $30 and $50. It's a great hack to get an instant $5 savings.

Please reply in this thread and tell everyone just what kind of discount you got with these Godaddy coupon codes. Let's get a Godaddy coupon code thread of discounts rolling!!

[Krystle]

It is true that judging a company solely on the content of their ads may not be the best way to do it, but for the average American, that's what will shape their opinion. In today's world, social media is a company's chance (sometimes their only chance) to keep and attract consumers, and a tasteless, sexist commercial is probably going to offend some people. It serves as an important reminder for all practitioners in this social media world that every message you send out, no matter how long or how short, counts.

[Jacob Colker]

Hi there,

What about crowdsourced volunteering?

The Extraordinaries is crowdsourcing smartphone software that allows volunteers to perform tasks on their smartphones in just a few minutes. We allow anyone to do social good from any place on Earth within cell reception, and make the process feel like a game so that people regularly engage. We're talking about constructive use of spare time for science, medicine, nonprofits, government and more. Nearly anything you do on a regular computer you can do on a smartphone.

Here are some examples that we have mocked up: http://www.youtube.com/theextraordinaries
Here are more screenshots: http://www.theextraordinaries.org/screenshots.html
More volunteer tasks we envision people could doing in a few minutes from their smartphones: http://www.theextraordinaries.org/tasks.html
More info: http://www.theextraordinaries.org/about.html

Thanks for spreading the word!

--------------------------------------------------------
Jacob Colker
Co-Founder / Project Lead
The Extraordinaries

Blog: www.BeExtra.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/extraordinaries
Facebook: www.causes.com/theextraordinaries
YouTube: youtube.com/theextraordinaries

[Shashi Bellamkonda at Network Solutions]

Thanks Katie –It certainly makes a difference to have an ear to the ground. Hoping that the discounted rate is just the first good thing our new customers experience from Network Solutions.

[Rosa]

Another great thing about the ads this year is the presence of consumer- generated content. According to this: http://www.newsy.com/videos/super_bowl_ads_recession_proof/

the Doritos Crystal Ball commercial was created by 2 brothers and not an ad agency. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend in the next few years.

[KDPaine]

Michelle, I'm not leaving GoDaddy because Network Solutions "acknowledge my concern." I'm switching AWAY from GoDaddy because I don't like what they stand for and the way they advertise. As it happens, I'm switching BACK to Network Solutions, where I'd been very happy before, but they got too expensive. They're now being very smart marketers and taking advantage of a competitors misstep to gain market share. Seems like a sound business practice to me. Of am I missing something?

[Michelle Greer]

Apparently because I work for NameCheap, I am not allowed to disclose Network Solution's reputation online. I invite you to do that on your own.

Please note that just because a company is quick to respond to bloggers' criticism of another company, it doesn't meant that company is any better.

I am not defending GoDaddy. It just seems rash to switch companies simply because someone acknowledged your concern. You may find yourself with a host of other concerns later on.

[KDPaine]

Janet, I have to vehemently disagree. If we don't vote with our pocketbooks, corporations will never notice. Which is why I don't shop at Walmart, I don't buy Exxon gas, and I won't use GoDaddy.

[Janet]

Though I was disappointed by the ads by GoDaddy, I don't think the solution is to leave. If we gave up on everything/everyone the moment they did one thing to our disliking, then we would never stay put. People and companies will always disappoint you, and I'm not saying stick with something that you hate, but if the big reason for your hatred is some lousy commercials, then that's kind of a bad reason to switch, don't you think?

[Connie Reece]

KD, Shashi has posted a Network Solutions discount code for anyone to use who wants to dump GoDaddy as a result of Super Bowl ads: Use Coupon code PCXXX02740 for $8.75 /yr transfering a domain Name

BTW, my last name is spelled w/ a "c" and not an "s" -- @conniereece. :-)

[Michelle Greer]

Don't forget us! You can transfer any domain name to NameCheap for just $6.99. This includes one extra year on top of your remaining time on your domains. Just use coupon code SWITCH2NC at www.namecheap.com

[Jake McKee]

This is a great case study, and a great story about the power of online community to affect our lives and businesses.

So can I ask a favor? Can you post this story over at the Connected By Distance site? I think it'd make a great addition to the archive!

[Darryl Parker]

Price is typically a great way for you to discriminate especially in regards to quality. Its a conundrum to me that people can hold high expectations of low prices. The adage "you get what you pay for" is so true! Its too bad you insisted a quality provider match a lower quality providers price - it debases the ability for the quality provider to continue to do a good job.

Its even worse that NetSol offered this deal because it has devalued their service unless there is a way for them to increase the price back to normal levels in the future at which point one can assume you will change providers because of price. Hence a conflict is pending because of this transaction.

GoDaddy specifically has to resort to sensational advertising because their prices are so low and volume is their driver (that and the CEO is a chauvinist). They must continually feed the machine with less discriminating buyers like the college kids portrayed in the ad. You are right in thinking its no way to appeal to a business owner, but the business owner is NOT their target!

If quality is now your primary deciding factor and you have selected a vendor on quality, you should be happy to pay a higher price to get that consistency. But, alas, price continues to win and expectations continue to be shattered. Like I said, a conundrum.