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In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about the top three relationships between the worst show on Television and the Internet.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

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All the best,

The worst show on Television can teach you things about the Internet
American Idol offers more to smile about than you might think

As fans of my old It's All Geek to Me Newsletter know I am a big fan of the worst show on Television, American Idol.

I can make all the usual excuses about how I was in choir when I was a kid, spent a month touring Europe with American Music Abroad in my glory days as a tenor, I even performed at Notre Dame - but since I've been watching this show faithfully for 8 years now I don't think I can keep using these excuses. I also enjoy Twinkies and Velveeta cheese, and neither of those have much redeeming value either.

For those of you that haven't seen the program, American Idol is a singing contest - contestants sing a song, viewers call in and vote - and eventually a winner emerges. Basically it is an awful lot like The Gong Show with no gong. It's been the number one show on TV for fours year now, about 30 million people watch the program each week.

So what the heck does American Idol have to do with the Internet ?

Over the years I have written a number of articles on American Idol and once again this season the show doesn't disappoint in providing Internet lessons. In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll cover the top 3 relationships between the show and the web, call 1-866-IDOLS02 to vote for your favorite and they'll be back next week (just kidding).

CPC Predictions - 100 % Accurate
Cost per click marketing (no idea what CPC is ? Click here.) offers information on inventory - the number of searches performed for particular key words. The keyword selector tool can be very useful, it'll show you how many people are searching for particular products and what words they use to search for them. There is a relationship between the number of searches for a particular contestant and the outcome of the show - as I have shown in the past. More searches for a contestant name, means more interest, means more votes. This season one of the most popular contestants is David Archuleta, and when we check inventory we see 8,000 searches were performed last month. One of the least popular contestants is named Chikezie Eze and last month there were zero searches for his name. This is not just a simple anecdotal type relationship - CPC inventory has correctly predicted the winner of the show for the last 4 years in a row. Lesson: Use CPC inventory to tracks trends in your own business.

Software Predictions - Making Money with Google AdWords
In 2004 programmer James Hellriegle came up with a little piece of software called Dial Idol that dials the phone over and over - presumably to help you keep your favorite contestant in the running. It also measures busy signal levels and reports back to the Dial Idol website, which creates a way for predictions to be made about who wins and loses. It was 91% accurate last season and it survived a cease and desist letter from Idol Producers. The site gets oodles of traffic and is of course covered with paid ads that sell everything from ringtones to hair products to music. Lesson: One simple good idea can lead to lots of money in online ad revenue.

Influencing the outcome - Social Groups
In 2000 a twenty year old Internet Entrepreneur from Chicago named Dave created a site called Vote For The Worst. The object of the site is sort of obvious and it even directly states that the main goal is to piss off the producers of the show. This site gained fame when Howard Stern threw his hat into the ring in support of last year's contestant Sanjaya Malakar. Last week so many people visited this website that their servers crashed. Lesson: the power of groups of people online - motivated by things you might not expect - can not be underestimated.

Remember - the Internet is everywhere and good entrepreneurs keep their eyes open for lessons every day.

Hey! Are you free for Lunch Tomorrow in Farmington?

I'll be at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce offices at 407 Wilton road giving my free seminar "The Three Things". Why not come on by and learn a bit? Please RSVP to the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce office: info@franklincountymaine.org or (207)-778-4215.

I hope to see you there. You should bring a brown bag lunch - mention you heard of the seminar here in the Web Enlightenment e-newsletter and you'll get a delicious cookie for dessert. These cookies are home made by my friend Chuck, also known as the man opening Big Mouth Burrito in West Farmington this spring. :-)

Speaking of speaking...
Places to be if you want to get enlightened

Thursday March 20th at 6PM

My next seminar is Thursday March 20th - at the Jay Middle School Cafeteria. The Three Things - free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Bonnie Perkins at the Jay, Livermore , Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce: info@jay-livermore-lf.org or (207)-897-6755

As always you can see all of upcoming seminars by clicking here.