Bacn – Derrick Kwa

Bacn (pronounced bacon) is “the term given to electronic messages which have been subscribed to and are therefore not unsolicited but are often unread by the recipient for a long period of time. Bacn is email you want but not right now”.

I think the Bacn buzz can teach us a lot about the making of internet buzz. I followed its seeds from the first few days (see the chronological overview). I learned that the combination of appreciated bloggers (as Chris Brogan), a twitter buzz, and a scoop in Wired were the milestones of its rise, all in less than 4 days. In 8 days it received the attention of The New York Times (it did take them long..).

Remember the formula: a catchy word + 1-2 influential bloggers + twitter (or other sms style spreading mechanism).

Trendspotting blog reports about Bacn.

I first read about it on Chris Brogan’s blog and then on Seth Godin’s blog as well.

It’s an interesting concept, but I think the biggest thing of note is how fast it spread. And how it spread. All it took is a couple of bloggers who came up with it in the first place and a couple more to spread it. These bloggers are just regular people. Smart, intelligent people, definitely. But regular people. And now it’s even been reported in the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

Phil Gerbyshak’s Twofer Tuesday is similar.

clipped from makeitgreat.typepad.com

2 Quotes

“We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.”
– Benjamin Disraeli

“The difference between getting somewhere and nowhere is the courage to make an early start. The fellow who sits still and does just what he is told will never be told to do big things.” – Charles M. Schwab

2 Questions

What are you afraid of creating?

What is a better time than RIGHT NOW to get started on creating that REALLY BIG something?

All it takes for an idea to spread is just a couple of regular people. Why don’t you be the one?

Tom O'Leary September 11, 2007 at 6:07 pm

Hi

Its really interesting how this all works. Ordinary people seem to be able to really make waves in the online world. The trick is how do we use this power in a positive way?

Thanks for the great articles

Tom
Tom O'Leary September 12, 2007 at 12:07 am

Hi

Its really interesting how this all works. Ordinary people seem to be able to really make waves in the online world. The trick is how do we use this power in a positive way?

Thanks for the great articles

Tom
Derrick Kwa September 11, 2007 at 8:33 pm

Yeah. The internet has made it even more possible for ordinary people to make a huge difference. But yeah, as you said, it's using it in a positive way. To take a quote from spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

A good read on a related topic is Chris Brogan's post “The Foundations of Your Power”. He gives some tips on how to build up your power, and in a positive way.

Thanks for the comment.

Derrick
Derrick Kwa September 12, 2007 at 2:33 am

Yeah. The internet has made it even more possible for ordinary people to make a huge difference. But yeah, as you said, it’s using it in a positive way. To take a quote from spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

A good read on a related topic is Chris Brogan’s post “The Foundations of Your Power”. He gives some tips on how to build up your power, and in a positive way.

Thanks for the comment.

Derrick

2 Quotes

2 Questions

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