Skip to main content

JuicyCampus.com Flips Gossip for Profit

In an interesting turn of events, a Cornell University junior claimed JuicyCampus.com has tarnished his reputation by allowing a defamatory post about him.

Where's the profit? Well JuicyCampus.com hosts Google Adsense ads as do many blog and other websites which attract a large audience. These Adsense ads can generate revenue for the web author, and in this case whoever runs JuiceCampus.com. A quick Google search on "juicycampus" can give you an idea as to the popularity of this site in recent days. So, by creating a scandal, the website author has essentially driven traffic to their site for a very low advertising or marketing cost.

While it wouldn't be ethical to setup such a scenario, with the web author directly profiting from the scandal itself, you have to wonder if this is really a student who's been wronged, or a web site cashing in on the aftermath.

Either way, its a good example of flipping information in this modern age and turning scandal info profit.

Nude Photos have also had similar impact in the past, so are these shrewd advertising tactics or nothing more than graffiti on the bathroom wall?

Related Articles
ABC News: Backlash Against College Gossip Site

Popular posts from this blog

Globalization, good or bad?

After reading about Globalization today, I couldn't help but think about how during World War II, Coca Cola obtained rationed sugar by selling bottles of Coke to the military. After shipping the bottles to Africa, Europe, and anywhere else GI's were posted, Coke basically positioned itself to become a global brand (intentially or not). The book For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It talks about Cokes role during World War II, and provides some interesting background on the company. Now you can have a coke and a smile nearly anywhere on the planet. Is this a positive or negative cultural change? When I was visiting some family abroad, I heard a lot of negative comments regarding Cokes activities in other countries, in the olympics, etc. However I still drink Coke (when I'm not drinking water or Mountain Dew!). I just don't see them as an evil empire, just a company with stock holders and a p...

Flipping Willie Horton

In politics, flipping is everything. No, not flipping as in changing sides, but flipping information or ideas, profiting not from their sale, but their acceptance. Willie Horton is again in the news, why? Well, put simply, the holiday political season has begun, and it ain't snow thats raining down. In 1988, Willie Horton was used to dessimate the Michael Dukakis campaign , you can't easily buy that sort of ammunition. What matters is not necessarily the facts, but how you flip the story and sell it to the viewers.

Hilary Clinton and the YouTube Generation

I love YouTube , and so do millions of others around the world. The concept has been proven time and time again. It's a terrific marketing strategy, for the low price of producing a video. How much would someone pay to have a video potentially viewed by the entire world? But wait, its essentially free? When have we as individuals ever had that type of opportunity? Mix in someone in Hilary's position, a US Senator running for President, and you've now got the power to make a difference in your campaign for less than it costs to have a meeting with your staff. Sen. Hilary Clinton has used YouTube and other such oportunities to talk to the voters. Be it searching for a campaign song or reviewing the song entries , videos give her a direct way to promote indirectly, while entertaining those who watch the video. In her latest video, the Senator and President Bill Clinton are spoofing the last episode of the Sopranos . So not only are we talking about marketing to the fans of...