The Couch Potato Critic
----------------------------------------------------------
Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint,
distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free
bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are
made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is
included.
---------------------------------------------------------- The
Couch Potato Critic
By Stephen Bucaro
This is an idea I've had for a while about a Web business. I
don't know if it's a good idea - you be the judge. You are free
to use this idea because I won't have the time to use it myself.
Picture a Web site titled "Couch Potato Critic". The header
displays a photo of you, laying on your sofa, bathing in the
glow of your big screen TV, with a beer or pop can in one hand
and the remote control in the other.
The Web site content is your articles criticizing TV shows and
commercials. I'm not talking about critiques from an
entertainment "expert", that's been done. I'm not talking about
Hollywood gossip, that's been overdone. I'm talking about the
opinions of "beer can Joe" or "soda pop Sally".
Who on earth would care about the opinions of beer can Joe or
soda pop Sally? Advertisers and network executives, and anyone
who is a TV junkie or can't get enough trivia about their
favorite TV show.
The fact is advertisers and network executives pay a ton of
money for demographics and studies trying to find out what beer
can Joe and soda pop Sally are thinking. That's because the
majority of the TV viewing audience has the beer can Joe and
soda pop Sally mentality. Beer can Joe and soda pop Sally are
the people who purchase those products advertised in TV
commercials.
On your Web site's "About" page, present your qualifications to
be a TV critic: overweight college dropout with slightly below
average IQ who spends 40 hours or more per week in a mental haze
in front of the TV set, occasionally nodding off. If a TV
commercial can get it's message through to you, it's a marketing
success.
This might be your findings: many TV commercials are too
creative. After you've seen the commercial, you have no idea
what the product was! Every TV commercial should have the same
pattern: show a sad person, present the product or service, show
person using the product or service, show a happy person.
What are all those computer generated special effects in car
commercials? Show people being envious of someone else's new
car. That'll sell cars. What is all that creativity in fast food
commercials? Simply shove a burger in the viewers face and then
show someone enjoying eating a burger. That's how to sell fast
food.
You can judge TV commercials on the following criteria.
1. Did you understand the commercial? 2. After viewing the
commercial, did you know what the product was? 3. Did the
commercial provide enough information about the product? 4. Did
the commercial create a desire for the product?
You can use similar criteria to criticize TV shows. What's with
those Star Trek shows? I don't understand those convoluted
temporal loops, or alien intelligence taking over the brains of
the crew. That's way too complicated. Just show me man against
alien or man's technology against nature.
You can use photos and sound bites from TV in your articles.
It's not copyright infringement if you use them for news,
critical, or educational purposes. That's called "fair use".
How do you make money from a TV critic site? If you have
traffic, you can generate revenue from any kind of general
advertising. If your site experiences strong demand from
advertising and network executives, you might make it a
subscription based site.
One way you might NOT want to make money is when one of those
advertising or network executives offers to pay you for your
opinion or to use your opinion in their advertising. This would
undoubtedly bias your opinion, causing your Web site to lose
credibility. Resist that money!
Can you image earning a living by laying on your sofa all day
recording your unqualified opinion of what you see on TV? The
Couch Potato Critic - good idea, or crazy idea? You be the
judge.
----------------------------------------------------------
Resource Box: Copyright(C)2003 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to
maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a
Web site and make money on the Web visit
http://bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp
Newsletter Send a blank email to
mailto:bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com
----------------------------------------------------------