Sometimes, we web people can do some really funny pranks. This one’s an ingenious, instant classic.
According to TechCrunch, John McCain’s staff used a “well-known template” to create his MySpace page, without paying for it. This happens all the time.
However, whoever decided to use this template didn’t realize that the images were hosted on the template’s server, and didn’t bother to replace it with their own image on their own McCain server. Pissed off by a) the extra bandwidth and b) the lack of payment, the template’s creator, Mike Davidson (also the founder and CEO of Newsvine) swapped out the original image with a fake image (created by TechCrunch, but hosted on my own sever, thanks to this lesson):
Lesson: not only is hosting images remotely extremely rude, but it has some consequences when people get a little creative.
Technorati Tags: McCain, John McCain, gay marriage, prank, Mike Davidson, MySpace, McCainSpace
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To me this is sort of the bull in a china chop syndrome that plagues campaigns/companies participating in social networks. Participation without respect for the rules and culture of the community.
Hi Todd! Absolutely — which is why the role of the “online sociologist/anthropologist” is going to play an increasingly important part in any successful campaign.