Interview with Chris Pirillo

I recently did an email interview with Chris Pirillo who is a well known blogger and entrepreneur. I asked him a few questions regarding linkbait, blogging, his conference and the web. He had some very interesting things to say and I am sure everyone will enjoy the interview.

I had the privilege of speaking with you at SES San Jose where Rand Fishkin talked about Value Spam. What are your thoughts on Value Spam?

Never in human history has there been a bigger oxymoron. "Value spam" doesn't exist. Spam exists, value exists - but never are they one and the same. When you create value to get attention, you're creating value. When you're creating spam to get attention, you're creating animosity.

Value is value, spam is junk.

I think you're referring to what some call "link bait." My response to that is simple. If you're writing to get attention, then everything you write should be "link bait."

You created a neat website called Rent My Chest where people can rent a piece of your chest and promote their website, how did you come up with this idea?

I would never describe RentMyChest.com as "neat," but it's certainly a great conversation starter.

I offended a community by doing something wacky on television. To "apologize," I scribbled something sappy on my man boobs with a Sharpie marker and uploaded a Webcam snapshot to their forum. Soon thereafter, I wondered if people would pay me $20 a pop to have my partner scribble their message on my chest (with Crayola washable markers).

$2,000 later, I had my answer.

Then, I got tired of doing it - and installed a piece of software that would allow anybody to buy a keyword of their choosing on a photo of my chest. That's worked out pretty well for me, too - adding about $8,000 to the running total. In fact, PC World just voted RentMyChest.com the 25th worst Web site - ever.

How much is YOUR chest worth?!

What kind of success has Rent My Chest had?

More than I ever imagined (or hoped) possible. It will be around forever - long after I'm dead and gone. I'd like to see a screen shot of it hanging in the Smithsonian, and I won't stop until that happens.

Or, until I make a million dollars from it - whichever comes first.

You run a successful tech conference, Gnomedex. What would you attribute to that success and what is in store for the future?

Oh, that answer's easy: Ponzi. Not the scheme, my fiance. Ponzi is her nickname, based on the last syllable of her first (birth) name: Latthanapon Indharasophang. She's at the center of my successes, both at home and in business.

The conference, itself, is successful because we set the stage for an amazing experience. First, it's very affordable. Second, it's a lot of fun. Third, we treat everybody like VIPs. Fourth, we concentrate on the "user" experience. Fifth, we limit the audience size. Sixth, we design it as the conference we'd love to attend ourselves.

The future? Who knows.

On your personal blog the about section says that you are a "Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, and Thicker Quicker Picker Upper." If you had to pick one of these, which one describes you the best?

Geek. The other crap is there just to take up space.

You are currently the number 1 Chris on Google and Yahoo, in your opinion, what factors lead to your successful search engine rankings?

I've been doing this "stuff" since 1992. I was "blogging" long before blogging was blogging, and certainly started blogging when blogging started to become blogging. Part of that rank has been achieved by luck, but a lot of it has come through hard work.

You, by the way, always make your own luck.

Where do you think the Internet is heading, if anywhere?

My outlook is hopeful, but bleak.

We're going to be stuck in the digital dark ages until leading brands can break down their walled gardens and interoperate with one another. We're going to be stuck in first gear forever if people continue to create intrinsically useless bits.

Assholes, as always, are going to ruin it for the rest of us.

The Internet will get faster, smarter, and much more pervasive - but culture does not adapt to change quickly. People are the Internet, as far as I'm concerned. Without us, the network would not exist. Your real question is: "Where do you think humanity is heading, if anywhere?"

If anywhere? Exactly.

The worldly systems in which we function do more to promote disparity than equality, while simultaneously projecting the opposite.

The Internet has no borders, no single culture, no monetary system, virtually no restrictions - it's as close to Utopia as our civilization might ever come. It has the potential of uniting our world, once and for all.