It's Friday, Friday...

Today is Friday April 15th.  Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday.

On Friday March 11, 2011, Rebecca Black's viral song and video had only 3,770 hits on YouTube.

A mere five Fridays later this video has surpassed 100 million views!

Official YouTube Video Just Before It Went Viral

The tune is catchy, but I believe it is the absurd lyrics that skyrocketed this one to fame.  Let's take a look at some of those lyrics...

"7am, waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal"

"Fun, fun, think about fun
You know what it is
I got this, you got this
My friend is by my right
I got this, you got this
Now you know it"

 

Huh??  If that wasn't crazy enough, it goes on to give us an autotuned lesson in the days of the week...

"Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday 

...
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after...wards"

View the full lyrics to Friday here 

Rebecca Black

 
 

So Who Is Rebecca Black and How Did She Get Discovered?

Rebecca Black is a 13 year old from California.  Rebecca's friend, Alana Lee, told Rebecca about a song and video she had recorded with Ark Music Factory.  Rebecca's mom paid Ark Music Factory around $4,000 to record the song Friday and produce the video.  Ark subsidizes the cost of the the production, but retains a portion of the publishing rights.

Rebecca now has her own website: rebeccablackonline.com 

The rapper in the video is Ark Music Factory owner and co-writer of the song Friday, Patrice Wilson.

Patrice Wilson

 

This massively popular video has spawned many parodies...

Conan O'Brien did a parody called "Thursday".

Even Darth Vader has a parody.  You can view it here.  

Darth Vader "wakin up in the morning"

 

I've saved the very, very best parody for last.  

This is much better than the original and I have watched it many times.


Stephen Colbert Performing Friday on the Jimmy Fallon Show

You can also watch the rehearsal here.

7am, wakin up in the morning...

I see my friends...

Which seat can I taaaaake...

Partying, Partying, YEAH!

So chillin’ in the front seat...

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday...

Ladies and Gentlemen... Taylor Hicks!

Yeah!

Ladies and Gentlement... The Knicks City Dancers...

It's Friday, Friday...

 

Experiment #5 - Try For A More Unique Post

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Based on our experiments to date, I have come to the conclusion that posting on super hot and popular topics is not turning out to be a good strategy at this point in time.  Maybe it is the newness of this blog, but whatever the reason, the posts aren't ranking anywhere near the top on any of the search engines and as a result we are not getting any traffic.

With this experiment, I'm going to try for the opposite approach.  I'm going to take some very specific items that should be much less common than the latest viral event.  I'll get lots of these unique keywords and load up a webpage with them.

For experiment #5, I'm going to try paint color numbers from Benjamin Moore.  I compiled a list of 150 of their color names and numbers.

These paint colors have unique names and numbers like:

• Brookline Beige HC-47
• Butte Rock AC-8
• Butter Pecan 2165-70

I wrote a few introductory paragraphs geared to someone who is struggling to find just the right color for whatever room they are trying to paint.

View my post related to Experiment #5 here.

Picking Paint Can Be A Difficult Task

If you're not a decorator and you're intimidated by the huge selection of colors to choose from, you're not alone.

If you're finding it difficult to select the right color for your room, use the list below to trim down your search.

Whether you're painting your bedroom, living room, dining room, hall, baby's room, basement, family room or study it might help to have the choices narrowed down somewhat.

The following is the top 150 most popular Benjamin Moore paint colors. If you choose from this list, at least you will know that you are in good company and you're not choosing some color that is way out in left field.

Top 150 Benjamin Moore Paint Colors

Acadia White AC-41
Acorn Yellow 2161-40
Adobe Beige AC-7
Alpaca 1074
Apple Blossom 479
Apple Green 2026-40
Arizona Tan 2162-50
Audubon Russet HC-51
Baby Pink 2085-70
Barely Beige 1066
Barley 199
Barley Harvest 1070
Black 2132-10
Bleeker Beige HC-80
Bleeker Beige HC-80
Bold Yellow 336
Bradstreet Beige HC-48
Brookline Beige HC-47
Butte Rock AC-8
Butter Pecan 2165-70
Camouflage 2143-40
Casabella 102
Cedar Key OC-16
Celestia Blue 1429
Chestertown Buff HC-9
Classic Caramel 1118
Clay 1034
Cloud White OC-130
Coastal Dunes 1032
Concord Ivory HC-12
Confederate Red 2080-20
Coppertone 2161-10
Costa Rica Blue 2064-50
Cream Yellow 2155-60
Creamy Orange 2166-50
Dark Beige 2165-40
Decatur Buff HC-38
Decatur Buff HC-38
Desert Tan 2153-50
Dorset Gold HC-8
Dry Sage 2142-40
Dry Sage 2142-40
Dunmore Cream HC-29
Fennel Seed 1101
Forest Green 2047-10
Fresh Butter 290
Georgian Brick HC-50
Georgian Green HC-115
Goldfinch 187
Grape Ice 1395
Greenbrier Beige HC-79
Greenfield Pumpkin HC-40
Guilford Green HC-116
Guilford Green HC-116
Hawthorne Yellow HC-4
Hay Stack 317
Hepplewhite Ivory HC-36
Hillsborough Beige 1033
Hint Of Pink 884
Hot Spring Stones AC-31
Ivory Tusk 2153-70
Ivory White 925
Jamaican Aqua 2048-60
Jet Stream 814
Kennebunkport Green HC-123
Kittery Point Green HC-119
Lenox Tan HC-44
Light Yellow 2022-60
Lily Lavender 2071-60
Limesickle 2145-50
Malton 1073
Manchester Tan HC-81
Mantis Green 2033-60
Maple Leaf Red 2084-20
Marble White OC-34
Marshmallow Bunny 2001-70
Mayonnaise 2152-70
Milkyway OC-110
Misty Lilac 2071-70
Monroe Bisque HC-26
Monterey White HC-27
Montgomery White HC-33
Moonlight 2020-60
Moonlight White 2143-60
Muslin 1037
Nantucket Gray HC-111
Navajo White OC-95
Neon Red 2087-10
New London Burgundy HC-61
Oklahoma Wheat 2160-50
Olive Branch 2143-30
Pale Sea Mist 2147-50
Palladian Blue HC-144
Peanut Shell 2162-40
Pear Green 2028-40
Pearl Harbor 2165-50
Philadelphia Cream HC-30
Philipsburg Blue HC-159
Pismo Dunes AC-32
Pottery Red 2085-20
Powell Buff HC-35
Prescott Green HC-140
Providence Olive HC-98
Putnam Ivory HC-39
Raisin Torte 2083-10
Raspberry Truffle 2080-10
Rich Cream 2153-60
Roasted Sesame Seed 2160-40
Rosemary Sprig 2144-30
Roxbury Caramel HC-42
Saddle Tan 1124
Sailor`s Sea Blue 2063-40
Salisbury Green HC-139
Sandy Brown 1046
Sanibel Peach 72
Sapphireberry 2063-60
Saybrook Sage HC-114
Sepia Tan 1116
Shaker Beige HC-45
Shelburne Buff HC-28
Shenandoah Taupe AC-36
Simply White OC-117
Soft Fern 2144-40
Soleil AF-330
Springfield Tan AC-5
Squire Hill Buff 1068
Starry Skies 821
Stone House 1039
Straw 2154-50
Summer Blue 2067-50
Swiss Coffee OC-45
Valley Forge Brown HC-74
Van Alen Green HC-120
Van Deusen Blue HC-156
Wales Green 2028-50
Weekend Getaway 473
Westminster Gold 200
Weston Flax HC-5
Wethersfield Moss HC-110
Wheeling Neutral HC-92
White
White Dove OC-17
White Sand OC-10
White Satin 2067-70
Wilmington Tan HC-34
Windham Cream HC-6
Yarmouth Blue HC-150
Yellow Freeze 2020-70
Yosemite Sand AC-4

Happy Painting!!

SNL - Saturday Night Live April 9th (s36e20)

Host: Helen Mirren
Musical Guest:  Foo Fighters

Opening: [5/10]  We've seen too many Barack Obama openings lately.  I gave it a 5 because at least they kept it short and sweet.

Helen Mirren's Monologue: [6/10] Monologue was pretty weak.  A few jokes that were obviously written for her.  They did a bit of musical number with other cast members which wasn't too bad.  Again, they were wise to keep this one short and sweet which is why I gave it a 6.

Usually it would be a bad sign to get the show off to such a weak start, but they recovered nicely with the next five skits...

Mort Mort Feingold - Accountant for the Stars: [9/10]  Very solid and nice and tight.  It gave a lot of the cast members a chance to showcase their celebrity impersonations which I always enjoy.  This one even had a few laugh out loud moments for me which is why I gave it a 9..

Digital Short - Touching Helen Miren's Breasts: [8/10]  This one started off lower than an 8, but it got better as it went on.  Kristen Wiig came in at the end and raised it from a 7.5 to an 8.

Fox & Friends: [7/10]  It was funny and pretty solid to start with.  They probably should have wrapped this one right before they did the telecast with Helen Mirren.  This is when the skit started feeling like it was dragging on.

Frankenstein: [7.5/10] This skit was clever.  It had me smiling, but not laughing out loud.


Foo Fighters Performance #1

Weekend Update: [9/10] You can always count on Weekend Update for some good laughs, and as always this one delivered.  Bill Hader's James Carville impersonation was really funny.

Hugh Jackman - The Best of Both Worlds:  [7/10] Helen Mirren does a great job playing a murderous Julie Andrews.

Underground Records: [5.5/10] - Not a huge fan of this skit, but it is so rapid fire at least it doesn't get boring.

The Reelz Channel: [7.5/10]  Helen Mirren seemed up for just about anything.  In this skit she played a lesbian Eleanor Roosevelt making out with Marilyn Monroe.

Perspective Photo Studios: [8.5/10]

Foo Fighters Performance #2


Bongo's Clown Room: [6.5/10]

Click here to watch Saturday Night Live online.

Experiment #4 - Another Try For A Popular Post

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Even though my Glenn Beck post from Experiment #1 didn't generate much in the way of traffic, I'm going to try once more to create a popular post by anticipating what people might be searching for.

This time I'm hoping that a Saturday Night Live post will bring in some traffic.  I know that I often spend some time on Sundays searching Google and YouTube for SNL skits that I may have missed, or wanted to see again.

It doesn't take long for the SNL skits to be taken down from YouTube due to copyright violations.  I'm sure a lot of people will be searching tomorrow and I hope they stumble across my SNL Review post.

Tonight's host is Helen Mirren and the musical guest are the Foo Fighters.  It will be Season 36, Episode 20.  Often referred to as s36e20.  I'll be sure to include that in the post.

A few minutes after the show finished airing I published this SNL Post.

I then posted a couple of comments on some of the review sites in the hopes that they will count as linkbacks.

When I search in Google, my post doesn't seem to be registering.  Once again, I'm afraid that there may be too much competition.  I realize that I'm going to have to learn a bit more about the latest Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques to try to get my pages to register on Google.

Experiment #3 - Link 4 Link

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I just did a Google search for "Blog Experiment" and I was pretty happy to see that this site ranked #2...  Out of 27 Million!!!

 

I was curious who this guy was that claimed to have the "Greatest" blog experiment, so I check out his site.

His blog claims that if I add a link to him, that he'll link back to me.  I have learned that Linkbacks are sites that link back to your blog.  The number and quality of linkbacks that you have is something Search Engines take into consideration when ranking you in their results.

I'm adding a link to his blog (http://thegreatestblogexperiment.blogspot.com/) and hopefully he'll add one back to me.

This was a short experiment, but I am already thinking about a future experiment where we generate a massive number of linkbacks to this site.  Look for it in the near furutre.

Experiment #2 - Setting up AdSense

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Google AdSense Example

You all know what AdSense is - right?

In case you have never seen it before, or have seen it, but not realized what it was, the sample at the left is an example of a Google AdSense ad.

I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of the way AdSense ads look on a blog.  I agree with the people out there who claim that they tend to cheapen the look of a site.  Also, in all the years that they've been around, I can't recall ever clicking on one (much the same way I always ignore the highlighted 'paid' results on my Google searches).

I always assumed websites got paid for displaying these ad.  This is not the case.  It was interesting to learn that sites only make money when visitors click through on these ads.

How much do you get paid for AdSense?

Google doesn't have a straight answer for that one.  They say that it depends, and that the best way to find out is to sign up, see how much you're making and then decide whether it is worthwhile to continue.

Whether I'm a fan or not doesn't really matter.  This seems to be my next logical "experiment", and my first step towards "Monitization".  Blogger really makes the whole process quite easy.

I'm going to start out light and only display AdSense adds after my posts.  Blogger gives you three options...

There is a lengthy Terms & Conditions page to read (or at least scroll through).  Everything seems pretty reasonable and it is clear that I'm just scratching the surface by displaying plain old AdSense adds on my blog.  The Terms & Conditions refers to that as AdSense for Content.  There are other types of AdSenses referenced like AdSense for Search, AdSense for Video, etc.  These are all things to explore, and you can rest assured knowing that they will be the subject of future "experiments".

There was one part in the Terms & Conditions that worried me for a minute.  I had to agree to not disclose Google Confidential Information including click-through rates.  I wanted to ensure that nothing was going to prevent me from being able to update my Scoreboard to let you know how much I've earned.

The good new is that although I won't be able to share details of specific click-through rates, I am allowed to disclose the amount of Google’s gross payments to me.

It looks like I have AdSense setup now.  It will be 48 hours or so before ads start to show.  There will be public service announcements in the meantime.

Once my adds are working and I've seen some of the reporting available, I will update this post.