Borrowing Popularity

I debated whether the title of this post cast a negative shadow before the writing actually started...but I think it encapsulates my point quite well. I recently found a link to the garfield minus garfield blog.

This blog is extremely popular with good reason - it is hilarious. The author realized that by removing the Garfield from the comic, his owner Jon appears completely out of his mind. It is worth a look.

Garfield is an insanely popular comic which still appears in papers and online (I see a different strip each day on my iGoogle page). This guy found a new way to look at an old comic...and due to the popularity of the original product, the new product saw huge success as well. Some people would call this 'riding the coat tails'...I call it smart and creative. Anyone can start from scratch...but someone remarkable can find a way to use another's popularity to their own advantage. Obviously copying material is unethical and won't go very far - adding your own twist is the key.

If you haven't look at the blog yet - do it! My personal favorite is the one referring to 'tickling the mailman'...you'll know when you come across it.