If you’ve been under a rock, go check out the video on Yahoo! Sports.

Chances are, you saw this video within the first 48 hours of its release on YouTube or embedded in a blogs. This event is the hottest piece of content to go viral in recent memory. It’s just so darn cute! This guy is the epitome of “AWESOME DAD”, one I personally can relate to better than the fat dumb dad on any number of sitcoms and spots in the past decade.

It has all the elements of a classic story packed into 30 seconds: plot, character, theme, climax and resolution. A father’s pride, a child’s mistake, forgiveness, reconciliation. It’s so tightly bundled in a beautiful way, it becomes an instant Internet meme. It’s ripe for a super mash-up, something savvy marketers crave.

Unfortunately, the MLB lawyers have trumped all reason and yanked the video from all video-sharing sites, and by proxy, all embedded media like blogs and social networks. Video from their own site is coded in a manner that does not allow it to be played from anywhere except their site. Boom boom pow, this is so 2000 and late!

The MLB completely wasted an opportunity for the MLB to attach its brand to a heart-warming story. Mashable agrees. The MLB could have been recast in celebration of fatherhood or baseball as a family game.

I can already see the 30s spot: the touching video, professionally mastered with compelling V.O. or slide copy. That is fine. But it’s so much more sincere relating to the story when it’s shared among friends in ways they already communicate. Forcing everyone to go to a branded site loses a degree of authenticity.

Presumably, the brilliant legal minds at MLB responded from a flat-policy to defend against future video sharing. I understand the protective need, certainly an open license could be granted in these extraordinary cases. That is the difference between thoughtful leadership and policy management. Instead, the MLB reaction suggests pure greed in a game played by millionaires.

At least the Phillys are playing this up. I hear Dad is getting lots of swag and is making the talk-show circuit. That may seem greedy too, but this kind of PR is organic and altruistic. The team is offering up a wonderful story without the expectation of getting something in return. Big difference.

September 21, 2008 to September 27, 2008

# 7Wario Land Shake It!
The Twittersphere lit up with this week linking to this clever YouTube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/experiencewii

# 6Lizzer Simplifies Content Aggregation
Lizzer has a private beta for its online publishing tool. Community managers, bloggers, extranet and web publishers can search Lizzer for links, pics and videos by subject and get simple embedding code. Check the demo at Lizzer.com

# 5Moximity Delivers Location-based Ads
Moximity delivers location-based offers through social media on mobile devices.

I used to co-office with the founders of Wayport and this was the original idea behind their network of hospitality & travel center hotspots. I guess they were just 10 years ahead of their time.

# 4UGC Helps Opex Scaling
@deckermarketing Posted an excellent article on user-generated content in terms of its operation expense scaling – a value proposition that is sure to please CFOs in tough economic times.

# 3Hack the Debate
TV & social media continue to converge. Current TV & Twitter partnered to show real-time feedback during the debates. Jeremiah found it distracting.

# 2Rapid Response Interactive Media
Alan Edget (@ACEdge) is an F500 social media strategist behind those clever FreeCreditReport.com ads (I love these; their funny & work well on TV & radio). He blogs about his attempt to create an algorithm that measures ROI on interactive media placement. The goal is to be able to rapidly respond to the market & change placements, kind of like options trading.

# 1 First Day of Autumn 2008
I see a few SEO companies are leveraging Google’s logo changes for fresh untargeted traffic. This is a clever ploy to prove their SEO mettle and generate a little buzz. Free and easy, this tactic is bound to become a meme. I built upon their accomplishments to develop the Quirky Holiday SEM Strategy.

BONUSDid you know that Google saved all their holiday and event logos for posterity? I love the preservation of campaigns. It’s a good practice for entertainment, history & long-tail traffic.

September 14, 2008 to September 20, 2008

# 7Seth Godin has an exclusive publication of Ed Welch’s PDF: 101 Ways to Destroy Your Tribe.

# 6I wish I had thought of The Palin Name Generator. Traffic from a funny little meme can help generate some serious ad revenue.

My name is “Axe Diesel Palin.”
@aswenson is “Quarter Granite Palin.”
@jmayson is “Revolver Trooper Palin.”
@pcamarata is “Scat Dubya Palin.”
@baczo is “Copper Catfish Palin.”
@cinerina is “Engine Nighthawk Palin.”
@adam is “Shaver Razorback Palin.”

What is yours? Share it!

# 5David Kramerer’s POV re: Twitter probably resonates with Gen X & Y. He sees Twitter’s benefits for workgroups, professional applications and to document a one-time event in real time.

Millennials, however, have demonstrated less concern for privacy. The Mobile Marketer predicts what most of us already see: Millennials will drive the growth in mobile social networking, which is well-suited for micromedia publishing.

# 4I’m digging the Twitter redesign this week. Much cleaner, lightweight & more flexible for add-ons. I also redesigned my own profile page to better convey my expertise in social media and interactive advertising. People seem to be having a few technical difficulties though, which is fairly common with SaaS upgrades.

# 3When my 4 year old little girl wakes up in the middle of the night because she can’t sleep, she crawls up on my lap and we watch some Schoolhouse Rock classics. Yawn.
“I hope and pray that I will, but today I am still just a bill”

And don’t forget… “Conjunction Junction, What’s your FUNKshun!”

# 2Chris Brogan has started an interesting conversation on defining web authority. There seems to be a blurred line between popularity / web celebrity and knowledge / credibility & reputation. He also lists the web analytics tools we used in measuring impact of the BMW and Become An EX campaigns.

# 1A beautiful blend of science and technology. Dr John C. Taylor introduces the The Corpus Clock and The Chronophage ahead of Cambridge’s 800th anniversary. Stephen Hawking unveils the new clock to the world.