Friday, December 27, 2019

The Parkinsons Disease - 1596 Words

Many people around the world today suffer from Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. A movement disorder is a disorder impairing the speed, fluency, quality, and ease of movement. There are many types of movement disorders such as impaired fluency and speed of movement (dyskinesia), excessive movements (hyperkinesia), and slurred movements (hypokinesia). Some types of movement disorders are ataxia, a lack of coordination, Huntingtons disease, multiple system atrophies, myoclonus, brief, rapid outbursts of movement, progressive supranuclear palsy, restless legs syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, tics, Tourettes syndrome, tremor, Wilson disease, dystonia, which causes involuntary body movement, and Parkinsons disease. Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, and tics are one of the most widely known of these disorders, known to impair people of movements and rob them of their lives. Tics are a common movement disorder where one involuntarily moves due to unwanted muscle contractions (motor) or vocal outbursts (vocal). Motor tics can cause contractions that can be serious enough to affect activities in normal life. The muscle contradiction relieves urges, or sensations felt by the patient. There are also vocal tics. Vocal tics are short, repetitive noises that come in sudden bursts. Tics are repetitive and habitual and are very hard to control. Examples of tics include blinking, clearing the throat, facial twitching, grunting, and shrugging the shoulders.Show MoreRelatedThe Parkinsons Disease761 Words   |  3 PagesMathur states that â€Å"Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger† (Mathur). Parkinson’s Disease (PD) exhibits this pattern, with the vast majority of PD cases being idiopathic, likely the result of combined genetic and environmental factors. While many researchers previously sought symptom-specific treatment, recent breakthroughs open the door for the discovery of genetic and environmental causes so that disease prevention, and even reversal, emerge as viable possibilities. Recent research demonstratesRead More Parkinsons Disease Essay1764 Words   |  8 PagesParkinson’s disease (PD) is a striatal dopamine deficiency disorder as a consequence of neuronal loss in the substania nigra. It is named after James Parkinson, a British apothecary, who first fully documented its physical signs in 1817. Since then, significant advances have been made in our understanding of characteristic pathophysiology as well as in the medical treatment of different stages of PD. An overview of condition features in terms of epidemiology, manifestations, diagnosis and diseaseRead MoreParkinson’s Disease Essay1446 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s Disease is known as one of the most common progressive and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. It belongs to a group of conditions known as movement disorders. Parkinson disease is a component of hypokinetic disorder because it causes a decreased in bodily movement. It affects people who are usually over the age of 50. It can i mpair an individual motor as well as non-motor function. Some of the primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are characterized by tremors or trembling in handsRead More Parkinsons Disease Essay1642 Words   |  7 PagesParkinsons Disease Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the shaking palsy first described by James Parkinson in 1817, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which affects in upwards of 1.5 million Americans. The disease begins to occur around age 40 and has incidence with patient age. One survey found that PD may affect 1% of the population over 60. Incidence seems to be more prominent in men, and tends to progress to incapacity and death over one or two decades. Clinical diagnosis of PD isRead MoreEssay on Parkinson’s Disease1305 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s Disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disease that effects about 329 per 100,000 people in the US. The average onset of this disease usually is for people over the age of 50, with the baby boomers getting older there may be an increase in this disease, as much as 9 million people worldwide. (Pawha 2010) Etiology The disease happens when the cells in the brain are damaged or stop-producing Dopamine, which helps with muscle movement, thus leaves those patients unable to control theirRead MoreParkinson’s Disease Essay1260 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s Disease (PD), known for its degenerative abilities and debilitating affects, is an illness that affects approximately 1 million Americans. The cause of this disease has not been pinpointed, although strides have been made towards a cure. As our elderly population increases, so does our overwhelming need to find a suitable cure that may one day eliminate this disease. Concepts of PD After watching the video: My father, My Brother, and Me, viewable at www.pbsRead MoreParkinsons Disease Essay1504 Words   |  7 Pages Parkinsons Disease Parkinsons is an idiopathic, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that attacks neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine. Dopamine is concentrated in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra. The neurotransmitter dopamine is a chemical that regulates muscle movement and emotion. Dopamine is responsible for relaying messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control body movement. The death of these neurotransmitters affectsRead MoreEssay Parkinsons Disease3763 Words   |  16 PagesParkinsons Disease In 1817, James Parkinson published his famous treatise: An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, describing the symptoms which now collectively bear his name. Although many scientists before his time had described various aspects of motor dysfunction (ataxia, paralysis, tremor) Parkinson was the first to collect them into a common syndrome; one which he believed formed a distinctive condition. His sixty-six page essay contained five chapters describing symptoms, differential diagnosesRead MoreParkinsons Disease Essay784 Words   |  4 PagesDiagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease is extremely important in terms of treating the symptoms before the disease gets worse. It is common for patients with PD to have motor symptoms such as gait disorder, which comes from muscle stiffness/rigidity, bradykinesia, postural imbalance, etc. Gait disorders can generally help determine how far the neurological disorder has affected the motor function and control of the individual. Many physicians in general c linics determine if a patient has PD or if it hasRead MoreEssay on Parkinson’s Disease2135 Words   |  9 PagesParkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s disease is a disease with a wide variety of disabilities recognizable as changes in appearance, posture, walking, and balance. In 1817, the English physician James Parkinson described these symptoms in his patients and has had his name become synonymous with the disease. In 1893 the substantia nigra of the basal ganglia was identified as an area of disease for Parkinson’s. Examination with the naked eye reveals a lack of black pigment in this portion of the brainstem

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Into the Wild Essay - 1386 Words

In April of 1992 a young man named Chris McCandless, from a prosperous and loving family, hitchhiked across the country to Alaska. He gave $25,000 of his savings to charity, left his car and nearly all of his possessions. He burned all the cash he had in his wallet, and created a new life. Four months later, his body was found in an abandoned bus. Jon Krakauer constructed a journalistic account of McCandless’s story. Bordering on obsession, Krakauer looks for the clues to the mystery that is Chris McCandless. What he finds is the intense pull of the wilderness on our imagination, the appeal of high-risk activities to young men. When McCandlesss mistakes turn out to be fatal he is dismissed for his naivetà ©. He was said by some to have a†¦show more content†¦So in this way Jon and Chris were alike even though their goals were different. Another way the two were similar was the fact that they both had family problems. Though his parents and sister loved him Chris secretly despised his parents for covering up the fact that his father had been raising two separate families. Just like Chris’s father Lewis Krakauer had already begun to prepare him for a career that he didn’t want to be any part of. I think both sons were consumed by a sort of blind rage when they found out that their fathers were less than perfect. This anger fueled them to rebel and go against their fathers wishes to make their own futures. The biggest (and most obvious) difference between Jon and Chris is that one died living out his dream and the other lived to walk away from it. Most people would say that Chris failed because his goal was to survive in the wilderness. Others would say that Jon succeeded because he made it too the top and lived to tell his tale. However were the incidents really that different? Chris lived in the Alaskan wilderness almost a hundred days before his fateful mistake that cost him his life. Jon also had a few fateful mistakes that could have cost him his life but didn’t, like the time he caught his tent on fire or when his supply plane couldn’t come because of bad weather. Most people wouldn’t even dream of doing either of these feats. When the risks are as high as either of these menShow MoreRelatedInto the Wild1043 Words   |  5 PagesIn Jon Krakuers novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging an d the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakuer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakuer protrays McCandless as a young man who is recklessRead MoreExistentialism : Wild ( 2014 ) And Into The Wild1739 Words   |  7 Pages Existentialism: Wild(2014) and Into the Wild(2007) For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they knowRead MoreExistentialism : Wild ( 2014 ) And Into The Wild1779 Words   |  8 Pages Existentialism: Wild(2014) and Into the Wild (2007) For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they knowRead MoreInto the Wild2374 Words   |  10 PagesRhett Jackson English 12B: American Literature 15 March 2012 Into the Wild Temperament Type Analysis The novel Into the Wild is a nonfiction novel published by Jon Krakauer who investigated the life and death of a free spirited individual named Christopher McCandless. McCandless was a recent Emory University graduate who sought to suck the marrow out of life through an independent experience in nature and purposely sought to this experience in the rawest form of supplies. He was found deadRead MoreComparison Of Into The Wild, By Cheryl Strayed And Into The Wild936 Words   |  4 Pageswith the natural world. Although Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer share the same word in their titles, the two are completely different stories with separate narrative purposes. Wild is about the author’s journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance through hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and Into the Wild is the author’s discovery of Chris Mccandless’s natural journey, which ultimately led him to his death. Even though the ending of Wild leads to Str ayed’s renewal of lifeRead More Into The Wild Essay1684 Words   |  7 PagesInto the Wild #9;Sometimes a character may be pushed over the edge by our materialistic society to discover his/her true roots, which can only be found by going back to nature where monetary status was not important. Chris McCandless leaves all his possessions and begins a trek across the Western United States, which eventually brings him to the place of his demise-Alaska. Jon Krakauer makes you feel like you are with Chris on his journey and uses exerts from various authors such as ThoreauRead MoreThe Call Of The Wild1092 Words   |  5 Pages The book ‘The Call of the Wild’ uses the characters, storyline and subject matter to explore ideas that almost all of us experience. This lesson will fill you in on these themes, help with understanding the storyline, and offer a few questions to test your comprehension. !!!’’The Call of the Wild’’ - The Basics Author __Jack London__ wasn t your typical storyteller. Born in 1876, he drew inspiration for his work as a novelist and journalist from his early life experiences in poverty, as a sailorRead MoreEssay about The Call of the Wild Versus Into the Wild1246 Words   |  5 PagesChris McCandless and Buck serve as examples of the archetype of the wild through their experiences of leaving where they feel most comfortable and answering the call of the wild. They show that each experience is inimitable because the wild is unique to every individual. For Buck, the wild is a place outside of civilization and his dependence on man, where the external threats of nature exist and he must prove himself as a true animal with instincts for survival. In McCandless case, the placeRead MoreThe Call Of The Wild754 Words   |  4 Pagesauthors in history, wrote a book called The Call of the Wild and a short story called To Build a Fire. These two writing pieces share similar attitudes and setting. In addition, their endings and travel style are much different. The Call of the Wild and To Build a Fire have these two similarities and two differences that add a lot of meaning to each story. The four parts of setting in these stories are very similar. On page 15 in The Call of the Wild it says â€Å"Buck’s feet sank into white mushy somethingRead MoreThe Wild, And Its Effects1556 Words   |  7 PagesInbreeding in the wild, and its effects, has been a largely contested subject over time. Not only has the occurrence of inbreeding depression in nature been questioned, but also the strength of it, that if it did occur if it was even worth noting. This has recently been explored within the literature both through field experiments as well as laboratory observations and model constructions. Not only has it been confirmed to occur in nature, but it has also been deemed of greater strength than previously

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Not-for-Profits and the Integration of Employment Law Policies

Question: Describe about the not-for-Profits and the integration of Employment Law Policies and Practices. Answer: Introduction The not-for-profit organizations, from now on referred to as the NFPs, are regarded as the primary investors in the social welfare of Australia. It has been founded by the Productivity Commission that the NFPs apart from rendering the those required services, they also help in the promotion of the change in the issues of social, cultural and the economic environment. in addition to that the other services of the NFPs include assisting the expansion of the social network between the persons in a community and making the investment in the assets for the benefit of the generations of the future. The NFPs in addition to the contributions to the society, also contribute or comprise towards a larger portion of the economy of Australia. In the year of 2010, it has been seen that the NFPs made a contribution of $43 billion in the economy of Australia, which in approximate terms figured as 4% of the GDP of Australia. The NFPs made the employment of 4.6 billion persons. There is an additional number of five million volunteers that made the contribution of an amount of $14.6 billion that is unpaid[1]. The NFPs are also subject to a regulatory structure that is evident in a structure of business for profit. There is also the requirement of the integration of the practices and policies of the law of employment about the NFPs. It has been seen that the majority of the NFPs are unincorporated and not large associations, but the law relating to them are often seen as unclear and complex. There are also certain specific challenges that are related to the interpretation of the law of the NFPs and the practices of complex ways of fundraising and the requirement of a centrally governed law[2]. This report will make the outline of certain difficulties that are faced by the NFPs in making the interpretation of law. Such law includes the law of the policies of employment. This report also puts forward an argument for making the reform of making the law much more easily accessible to nearly 60,000 evident NFPs that are in operation in the border areas of Australia. Practices and the Policies of the Employment Law The law of employment is regarded as a complex procedure and includes certain jurisdictions that are overlapping and also involves several bodies of regulation. It also includes common law and statute practices of law. For instance, the maximum numbers of the NFPs operating in the territory of Australia are regulated by the Fair Work Act of the year of 2009. The associations that are unincorporated are regulated by the Industrial Relations Act of Act and the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act of 1993 about standard the of employment. The federal awards also govern the NFPs[3]. The next challenge for the NFPs is making the understanding of the laws that governs them are capable of making the determination whether the workers have the qualification as volunteers, contractors or employees. Since this issue is faced by almost all the businesses, the conditions of employment of the workers of the third sector might blur those lines in between the categories. For the purpose of making the appropriate determination, the NFPs perform certain tests that emerged in the case of Zuijs v Wirth Bros Pty Ltd (1995) 93 CLR 561. In case then workers of the NFPs are considered as the employees, then shall be treated by the standards of National Employment that are declared in the Fair Work Act of 2009. The contractors are subject to protection under the Independent Contractor Act of 2006. On the other hand, the volunteers are not subject to be covered by the standards of National Employment but are subject to general protection by the Fair Act of 2009[4]. The statutes that are mentioned above are not the ones that the NFPs are sole subject to. The definition of employee given in the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, states a broader definition of the term. In accordance with that Act, the term employee can be termed as any person who is given the payment for the number of hours work rather than the performance of work, under the contractual terms. Hence there is a requirement for the payment of superannuation or else they would be considered as the independent contractors. The meaning of the term worker got expansion in the Model Health and Safety (WHS) Act that regarded the inclusion of contractors and volunteers as workers[5]. Requirement for Reform There is a requirement of the reform in the regulation procedure of the NFPs. Myles McGregor, the winner order regarded that there has been the generation of 50,000 pages from the legislation and enquires of the government about the reform of the regulation of the NFPs in the past two decades. The report on the Productivity Commission's Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector made the stipulation of the fact that the regulatory framework of this sector lacks transparency and coherence and is also complex[6]. In spite of the above report, the progress of the reform of the regulatory measures of the NFPs is very limited. The reforms got enacted in the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, that made the establishment of the recent framework of regulation. There was the establishment of the definition of charity through the Charities Act 2013 and the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC). There has been a criticism relating the fact that the there has not been the collaboration between the regulatory authorities of the NFPs. But, it has been seen that the ACNC has put its step forward in the right direction[7]. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that there is the requirement of the proper regulation of the NFPs not for the public protection but also for the workers of the NFPs. It is evident that the increases in the costs and the limited support of the Government have lead to the strain and pressure of the NFPs. Hence, there is a large requirement of having clarity in the regulatory process of the NFPs[8]. Reference List Benn, Suzanne, Dexter Dunphy, and Andrew Griffiths.Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge, 2014. Conroy, James W., Steven J. Dale, and Robert P. McCaffrey. "Current and Emerging Trends for Residential Supports for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Impact of Managed Care Initiatives." InHealth Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities across the Lifespan, pp. 255-263. Springer International Publishing, 2016. Goodwin, Susan, and Ruth Phillips. "The marketisation of human services and the expansion of the not-for-profit sector." (2015). Meese, Alan J., and Nathan B. Oman. "Hobby Lobby, Corporate Law, and the Theory of the Firm: Why For-Profit Corporations Are RFRA Persons." InHarvard Law Review Forum, vol. 127, p. 273. 2014. Murphy, Maria L. "Preventing and Detecting Fraud at Not-for-Profits: Environment, Policies, and Controls Can Help Organizations Steer Clear of Problems."Journal of Accountancy220, no. 6 (2015): 77. Townsend, Keith, Paula McDonald, and Abby Cathcart. "Managing flexible work arrangements in small not-for-profit firms: the influence of organisational size, financial constraints and workforce characteristics."The International Journal of Human Resource Management(2016): 1-23. Weimer, David L., and Aidan Vining.Policy analysis: Concepts and practice. Routledge, 2015. Wenzel, Ramon. "Work learning in the Australian not-for-profit sector: A review, reconceptualization, and research agenda." InAustralian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, p. 19. 2014.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Viral Marketing Essay Example

Viral Marketing Essay History Unbalanced scales. svg The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (September 2008) There is debate on the origination and the popularization of the term Viral Marketing, though some of the earliest uses of the current term are attributed to Harvard Business School graduate Tim Draper and Harvard Business School faculty member Jeffrey Rayport. The term was later popularized by Jeffrey Rayport in his 1996 Fast Company article The Virus of Marketing , and Tim Draper and Steve Jurvetson of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson in 1997 to describe Hotmails e-mail practice of appending advertising for itself in outgoing mail from their users. [3] Among the first to write about viral marketing on the Internet was media critic Douglas Rushkoff in his 1994 book Media Virus: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture. The assumption is that if such an advertisement reaches a susceptible user, that user will become infected (i. e. , accept the idea) and will then go on to share the idea with others infecting them, in the viral analogys terms. As long as each infected user shares the idea with more than one susceptible user on average (i. e. , the basic reproductive rate is greater than one the standard in epidemiology for qualifying something as an epidemic), the number of infected users will grow according to a logarithmic curve, whose initial segment appears exponential. We will write a custom essay sample on Viral Marketing specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Viral Marketing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Viral Marketing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Of course, the marketing campaign may be wildly successful even if the rate at which things are spread isnt of epidemic proportions, if this user-to-user sharing is sustained by other forms of marketing communications, such as public relations or advertising. Among the first to write about algorithms designed to identify people with high Social Networking Potential is Bob Gerstley in Advertising Research is Changing. Gerstley uses SNP algorithms in quantitative marketing research to help marketers maximize the effectiveness of viral marketing campaigns. In 2004 the concept of Alpha User was released to indicate that it had become ow possible to technically isolate the focal point members of any viral campaign, the hubs who are most influential. Alpha Users can today be isolated and identified, and even targeted for viral advertising purposes most accurately in mobile phone networks, as mobile phones are so personal. In response to its use, many sites have started up trying to describ e what viral marketing is and to offer viral marketing services as an outsourced extension of a business. [citation needed] [edit] Notable examples * The Ponzi scheme and related investment Pyramid schemes, are early examples of viral marketing. In each round, investors are paid interest from the principal deposits of later investors. Early investors are so enthusiastic that they recruit their friends resulting in exponential growth until the pool of available investors is tapped out and the scheme collapses. * Multi-level marketing popularized in the 1960s and 70s (not to be confused with Ponzi schemes) is essentially a form of viral marketing in which representatives gain income through marketing products through their circle of influence and give their friends a chance to market products similarly. Multi-level marketing is rarely as successful as the promises given at sign up, with many in the lower levels spending much more than they can earn on the products. [4] Examples include Amway and Mary Kay Cosmetics among many others. * Early in its existence (perhaps between 1988 and 1992), the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 had limited distribution. The producers encouraged viewers to make copies of the show on video tapes and give them to friends in order to expand viewership and increase demand for the fledgling Comedy Central network. During this period the closing credits included the words Keep circulating the tapes! [5] * In 2000, Slate described TiVos unpublicized gambit of giving free TiVos to web-savvy enthusiasts to create viral word of mouth, pointing out that a viral campaign differs from a publicity stunt. [6] * In 2001, BusinessWeek described web-based campaigns for Hotmail (1996) and The Blair Witch Project (1999) as striking examples of viral marketing, but warned of some dangers for imitation marketers. [7] * Launched in 2002, BMW Films was among the earliest viral marketing ampaigns. It attracted nearly 55 million viewers and helped to elevate the career of Clive Owen. * Some accuse Publius Enigma, a series of unusual postings in 1994 that relate to The Division Bell, to be viral marketing to gain attention for the album. * Burger Kings The Subservient Chicken campaign, running from 2004 until 2007, was cited in Wired magazine as a striking example of viral or word-of-mouth marketing. [8] * Cadburys Dairy Milk 2007 Gorilla advertising campaign was heavily popularised on YouTube and Facebook. The release of the 2007 concept album Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails involved a viral marketing campaign, including the band leaving USB drives at concerts during NINs 2007 European Tour. This was followed up with a series of interlinked websites revealing clues and information about the dystopian future in which the album is set. * In 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment promoted the return of Chris Jericho with a viral marketing campaign using 15-second cryptic binary code videos. The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho, although speculation existed throughout WWE fans over whom the campaign targeted. 9][10] The text Save Us and 2nd Coming were most prominent in the videos. The campaign spread throughout the internet with numerous websites, though no longer operational, featuring hidden messages and biblical links to further hint at Jerichos r eturn. [11][12] * In 2007 the New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott wrote about a business-to-business viral campaign for a software company, showing that viral advertising has application in areas outside of consumer marketing. [13] * In 2007, Portuguese football club Sporting Portugal integrated a viral feature in their campaign for season seats. In their website, a video required the user to input his name and phone number before playback started, which then featured the coach Paulo Bento and the players waiting at the locker room while he makes a phone call to the user telling him that they just cant start the season until the user buys his season ticket. [14] Flawless video and phone call synchronization and the fact that it was a totally new experience for the user led to nearly 200,000 pageviews phone calls in less than 24 hours. [citation needed] * Avirginsplea. om claimed that a 25-year old virgin living in Toronto named Geoff needed five million hits on his website in 30 days in order for Jenn, one of his very hot platonic female friends, to help him lose his virginity. * The 2008 film Cloverfield was first publicized with a teaser trailer that did not advertise the films title, only its release date: 01Â ·18Â ·08. Elements of the viral marketing campaign included MySpace pages created for fictional characters and websites created for fictional companies alluded to in the film. The Big Word Project, launched in 2008, aims to redefine the Oxford English Dictionary by allowing people to submit their website as the definition of their chosen word. The viral marketing project, created to fund two Masters students educations, attracted the attention of bloggers worldwide, being featured on Daring Fireball and Wired Magazine. [15] * The marketing campaign for the 2008 film The Dark Knight combined both online and real-life elements to make it resemble an alternate reality game. Techniques included mass gatherings of Joker fans, scavenger hunts around the world, detailed and intricate websites that let fans actually participate in voting for political offices in Gotham City, hidden phone numbers and websites in the queue lines of The Dark Knight roller coasters at Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Great Adventure, and even a Gotham News Network that has links to other Gotham pages such as Gotham Rail, a Gotham travel agency, and political candidates pages. The movie also markets heavily off of word of mouth from the thousands of Batman fans. Both the second and third games in the Halo series were preceded with viral marketing in the form of an alternate reality game called I Love Bees for the second game, and Iris for the third game. * In December 2009, podcasters of The Mike OMeara Show launched a viral marketing campaign on Facebook to encourage others to download the show. * Between December 2009 and March 2010 a series of seven videos were posted to YouTube under the name iamamiwhoami leading to speculation that they were a marketing campaign for a musician. In March 2010, an anonymous package was sent to an MTV journalist claiming to contain a code which if cracked would give the identity of the artist. [16] The seventh video, entitled b, appears to feature the Swedish singer Jonna Lee. [17][18][19][20] * On July 14 2010, Old Spice launched the fastest growing online viral video campaign ever, garnering 6. 7 million views after 24 hours, ballooning over 23 million views after 36 hours[21]. Old Spices agency created a bathroom set in Portland, OR and had their TV commercial star, Isaiah Mustafa, reply to 186 online comments and questions rom websites like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Digg, Youtube and others. The campaign ran for 3 days[22]. [edit] Viral Marketing Services Viral marketing services (VMS) include full service marketing, advertising, and media brokerage. There are outsourced companies hired for these services. Like other professional niches, (i. e. lawyer, accountant, IT), companies are now being sought for their professional insight and expertise in Guerilla marketing strategies and advanced Internet and mobility technology in the hopes of providing more leads, sales, and profits than traditional marketing service providers. A VMS company will typically create impressions for a very specific market or audience as defined by a client. The more impressions created for a client, the greater the chance of increasing prospective customer awareness of the client’s products or services. A VMS company’s basis of success is based on the ability to successfully leverage many forms of media to create a large market presence for the client. A VMS company is not responsible for searching out leads. Rather, they are responsible for creating leads through brand recognition by means of market branding and innovative advertising services. edit] Methods * Internet Search Engines Blogs * Target Marketing Web Services * Social Media Interconnectivity * Industry specific organization contributions * Television Radio * Multiple forms of Print and Direct Marketing * SEO Web Development * Customer Participation Polling services * Outbound/Inbound Call Center Services * Mobile SmartPhone Integration VMS target m arketing is based on three important principals: 1. Social Profile Gathering 2. Proximity Market Analysis 3. Real-Time Key word Density Analysis By applying these three important disciplines to an advertising model, a VMS company is able to match a client with their targeted customers at a cost effective advantage. [edit] Motivations Products and services change as consumers demand change. Because of this, businesses have recognized that the method of marketing must change. Marketing is about putting your business in front of the largest interested audience for the lowest cost per viewer. In the early 20’s, radio was the means of reaching a mass audience followed by television in the late 40’s. Television would maintain the number one spot in terms of mass audience advertising until the Internet took hold in the mid-90’s. Now people are sharing information, collaborating on topics of interest, and networking on the internet in ways not previously imaginable. [edit] Statistics * Two thirds of the world’s Internet population now visit a social network or blog site weekly[23] * 220+ million people visit the top 25 social networks each month[24] * Facebook alone has 500+ million active users[25] Social media Internet traffic has exceeded adult entertainment sites * Time spent visiting Social media sites now exceeds time spent emailing[26] * Consistent polls reflect that 89% of people forward news, events, and vendor specific information to people in their network. [27] * 59% of adults polled state that they use their cell phone to remain connected with their social network[28] Because of statistics such as these, companies – big or small – have seen to it that viral marketing services are integrated into their company. Because the cost per impression is typically much lower in comparison to other forms of media, businesses have been able to reach a very large buying audience at a lower cost when compared to other forms of available media. [edit] Techniques Many companies simply embed key words on their web site to support Search Engine Optimization best practices in order to receive a high ranking on Google in the hopes of building a strong internet business. However, this is only one component to capitalizing on the power of viral marketing. Viral marketing is about connections. The more quality connections a company can make, the more business impressions they will create. The more business impressions they create the higher likelihood that a consumer (or other business requiring a service) will make contact to purchase a good or service. By use of a social profile gathering system, a VMS company is able to create interconnections with web sites and social media groups specific to the client’s market audience. In addition to the more common social media web sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. , the internet is home to over 300,000 social community web service providers. Each of these social community web service providers have from 5 million to 50 million active users thus creating a large community of active consumers. By actively maintaining an extensive analytical database of these connections, a VMS goal is to be able to successfully match a business with the targeted buyers. Technology is the tool that allows b usinesses to moderate, manage, and automate communication with the global scale of Internet users. VMS technology incorporates artificial intelligence which allows a system to communicate with a prospective buyer via their phone (voice), SMS (Text Message), blog site, or email. Without having this level of sophisticated technology in place, a VMS company would be unable to manage the large amount of users and leads available on the Internet; but because of the advancements of technology, targeted campaigns can meet the goals and requirements of businesses from all over the world.