February 14, 2008 (Computerworld) You've been had. Some geeky guy with a bad comb-over just convinced you to click 100 times on your Gmail account to somehow tap into a Google TV beta.
Like any good Internet hoax, the guys who made the Google TV spoof knew that a sucker is born every minute -- or maybe that's every second in Internet time. It had all the hallmarks of a good con: a product or service that is hard to obtain yet highly desirable, a brand name that people trust, a quirky geek who seemed oblivious to the fact that he looks like the long-lost nephew of Bill Gates, and a viral video format. (Full disclosure: I fell for it, too.)
Over the past year or so, several cons have appeared in one form or another -- some in video form, and a few blog hoaxes. In some ways, it's a disturbing trend because the Internet doesn't need more inaccurate information to go along with the erroneous Wikipedia entries and opinionated blog postings. There are plenty of older hoaxes that have received more than their share of publicity, but here are my top six recent ones. If I missed your favorite Internet hoax, be sure to let us know in the comments at the end of this story.
Once subscribed, you could watch endless episodes of Prison Break without paying a dime -- which is yet another incentive. What made this hoax even more interesting is that it spurred so many other related hoaxes, such as viewers showing how they made it work.
Metalosis was described as "a disease which affects patients with medical implants."
A pan shot over various body implant parts and a low rumbling soundtrack just add to the potential for public hysteria. Like the Google TV hoax, the con also plays on our desire to learn about something new and under-reported, to be "in the know" before the next guy. The film uses well-designed graphics and interviews with seemingly knowledgeable experts and mirrors the documentary style of Michael Moore and others. A matching Web site at Metalosis.com -- complete with Google ads and links to more information -- carries the ruse even further.
One of the reasons this hoax worked had to do with the timing. As tech workers were getting ready to pull their chairs back from their workstations for a long needed break, they clicked into a seemingly nefarious scandal. It worked because we partly want to see a rumble, and partly because we just can't stop reading blogs. (When I met Lyons at the Consumer Electronics Show this year -- by sheer accident -- he said Apple would never sue him in a million years. I suspect the company will eventually ask him to stop impersonating its CEO.)
Nuclear bombs are not even remotely funny, but this hoax had a few unique attributes beyond a mildly well-done fake nuclear explosion. Hackers broke into a Czech weather station and transmitted what looked like a live video feed of the bomb exploding as the camera pans back and forth. The transmission was then uploaded to YouTube.com, where it suddenly went viral -- mostly on blog sites, since YouTube users pretty much debunked it right away. The hackers -- who were participating in an art experiment -- now face up to three years in prison for the stunt.
Similar to the Google TV hoax, this is an instructional video, which supposedly allows you to use household chemicals to make a bottle of Mountain Dew glow like a neon torch.
It's a little simplistic to actually be true -- pour in the ingredients and watch the exciting results! -- but it plays on the Mentos-and-Diet Coke fountain trick that actually works and borrows from the idea in Google TV: If it's something people really want to do, they will suspend their disbelief.
It also uses clever video editing tricks, just like the Google TV spoof -- that make you think the concoction actually works.
John Brandon is a freelance writer and book author who worked as an IT manager for 10 years.