It’s a cute but cautionary tale: tiny Swiss village goes global by promising real-world fame to virtual travellers. As reported by Creativity Online, the tiny village of Obermutten became a social sensation on Facebook by offering an ego-boost incentive to cyber-visitors:
When the village launched its Facebook page, it carried a video showing the mayor, who promised that anyone who ‘liked’ Obermutten would have their profile picture posted on the village’s official notice board. [Nearly 10,000] people so far have become fans of the village; the campaign has been reported in over [32] countries and was even reported on a main news bulletin in South Korea. (Meanwhile the notice board is full up, so the village has resorted to posting the pictures on barn walls).
The campaign has already attracted hundreds of real-world travellers, with thousands more promising to visit in person.
The downside of this popularity? The person-power (and colour cartridges) required to print out and post the Facebook profile photos of all these people — the village only has 79 residents.
If you think this is an idea worth stealing for your cause, head to Creativity Online and watch the video. Just be careful what you wish for.
