Rage Against the Machine are the Christmas No.1

[davidn]

purplefog, I'm sorry for ever doubting (which I did, quite a lot) :) Even being aware of the incredible irony of someone having got millions of people to buy a song to make a point against millions of people buying a different song, you've got to admit this is hilarious.

The X Factor usually has about... three million hours, it feels like, of TV, huge promotion and almost complete inevitability on its side. Rage Against the Machine had a song that was released 15 years ago, and a Facebook group. The power that Internet campaigns are getting would truly be quite frightening if it were to be turned to anything useful.

Comments

[e-to-the-ipi.livejournal.com]

A song owned and released by the same record company, no less!

[purplefog.livejournal.com]

I doubted too, to be honest... but like I said, I thought it would be fun :)

And I completely agree... if netters got their act together it could be terrifying.

[marcobiagi.livejournal.com]

The power that Internet campaigns are getting would truly be quite frightening if it were to be turned to anything useful.

Didn't it already give a black guy the Democratic presidential nomination? How did that one turn out?

[davidn]

Well, I think said black guy had the initial idea in that case! If it had been a Facebook group called "Let's all write in Jon Stewart for President" and it had worked, then that would have been impressive.

[marcobiagi.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. There was a lot of online buzz before he ran encouraging him to do so, and I think that played a role in letting him think it was worthwhile. He was after all a Senator of just two and a bit years when he declared he was running for President in 2007, and less than that when he made his first visits to Iowa and New Hampshire in late 2006. How about that one goes down as a draw.

As for the John Stewart idea, remember Stephen Colbert (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert_presidential_campaign,_2008) trying something similar? Damn pesky real world getting in the way.