IN PRINT: Managed Spontaneity

IN PRINT: Managed Spontaneity

An amateur video of Diet Coke and Mentos candies mixed together to produce shooting fountains of soda was one of the most-watched videos on the web last year—and it also proved to be invaluable free advertising for Coca-Cola. To capitalize even more on the advertising windfall, the Atlanta-based beverage company hired the video makers—a professional juggler and a lawyer—to create another video of the soft drink and candy, and star in a 30-second Coke ad at the end. Coca-Cola is far from alone in embracing the advertising and marketing potential of consumer-generated videos, which exploded in popularity last year after video-hosting site YouTube became a cultural phenomenon. Companies like Doritos and MasterCard are jumping on the bandwagon of consumer-generated ads and inspiring startups like UGENmedia and ViTrue to spring up and help them manage their web content. Find out more about the new trends in user-generated advertising in the Red Herring cover story, "Managed Spontaneity," on newsstands Monday. Here is a peek into the rest of our lineup:

• "Taking the Plunge" follows the journey of a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley adapting to the challenges of investment—and local culture—in China.

• The top cricket website moved to India to be closer to the cricket craze, and now others are looking to cash in on cricket sites, as featured in "Jolly Good Play, What?"

• "Voice Control" explores the complications faced by IT managers and service providers to control hacking on VoIP networks.

This is the kind of in-depth reporting and analysis you will find in the print edition of Red Herring. Sign up for your subscription today!