Joel Comm

Comm began his career as a radio personality, where he played music and was a weatherman. He later became a mobile disc jockey and then moved to Internet marketing because he knew he could become wealthier with an online career.{{cite news|date=2015-05-20 |title=What Can You Learn From A Digital Superstar? |url=http://www.radioink.com/article.asp?id=2929949&spid=24698 |newspaper=Radio Ink |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125023/https://www.webcitation.org/6bVD8HwZm?url=http://www.radioink.com/article.asp%3Fid=2929949 |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }}

Comm began using the Internet in the 1980s, experimenting with modems and bulletin boards related to playing computer games.{{Harvnb|Banks|2008|pp=153}} In 1995, Comm started his first website, WorldVillage.{{cite news|last=Strauss |first=Steve |date=2014-07-06 |title=Ask an Expert: Celebrating entrepreneurs |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/strauss/2014/07/06/steve-strauss-celebrating-entrepreneurs/12267525/ |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730034332/http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/strauss/2014/07/06/steve-strauss-celebrating-entrepreneurs/12267525/ |archive-date=2015-07-30 |url-status=dead }} WorldVillage is a virtual village where created by Comm's company InfoMedia.{{cite news|last=Szadkowski |first=Joe |date=1997-06-17 |title=Families tap into popular Web site for children |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EB0F287050E4351?p=AWNB |newspaper=The Washington Times |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125303/https://www.webcitation.org/6bWAtiUpy?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EB0F287050E4351%3Fp=AWNB |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }} The children's website offers trivia competitions and games.{{cite news|last=Davis |first=Yusuf |date=1998-11-01 |title=Tech News for Kids - Little People Discovery Farm |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EADA3FE65114812?p=AWNB |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125344/https://www.webcitation.org/6bWBQRROe?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EADA3FE65114812%3Fp=AWNB |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }} He maintained the site solely through online advertising.{{Harvnb|Banks|2008|pp=154}} According to Radio Ink, he made several hundred dollars daily from Google's AdSense. Comm also founded DealofDay.com, WorldVillage's sister site, in 1999. DealofDay.com is a directory of several hundred discounts. Comm receives money from businesses every time his site refers a purchaser. The network of sites in 2003 had 130,000 members.{{cite news|last=Stafford |first=Jim |date=2003-12-20 |title=Consumers overcoming online fears |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF9C4DE73454657?p=AWNB |newspaper=The Oklahoman |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228191940/http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF9C4DE73454657?p=AWNB |archive-date=2023-12-28 |url-status=dead }} Comm is the CEO of InfoMedia, a social media consulting company.{{cite news|last=Soat |first=John |date=2010-01-04 |title=7 Questions Key To Social Networking Success |url=http://www.informationweek.com/software/social/7-questions-key-to-social-networking-success/d/d-id/1086153 |newspaper=InformationWeek |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913223700/http://www.informationweek.com/software/social/7-questions-key-to-social-networking-success/d/d-id/1086153 |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}

He created ClassicGames, a family-friendly multiplayer gaming website that offers widely played card games and board games like bridge, checkers, chess, Euchre, Go, hearts, poker, and spades.{{cite news|last=Abram |first=Malcolm X |date=1997-09-21 |title=Personal Technology - Tech for Kids - Multiplayer freebies |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EADA34AAA4391B6?p=AWNB |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125426/https://www.webcitation.org/6bWCiAQmG?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EADA34AAA4391B6%3Fp=AWNB |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Manning |first=Ric |date=1997-09-15 |title=Golf and other games on the Web |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/127E2BA6C91A42E0?p=AWNB |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125506/https://www.webcitation.org/6bWDB2qPR?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/127E2BA6C91A42E0%3Fp=AWNB |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }} In 1997, he sold ClassicGames to Yahoo! for $1 million.{{cite news|last=Carlson |first=Nicholas |date=2009-05-22 |title=Yahoo's Entire, Sorry Acquisition History |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoos-sorry-acquisition-history-2009-5 |newspaper=Business Insider |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913185749/http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoos-sorry-acquisition-history-2009-5 |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Glaser |first=Mark |date=1997-10-09 |title=Come Into the Online Parlor, Relax With Board Games Like Checkers, Chess |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-09-ca-40708-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913202021/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/oct/09/entertainment/ca-40708 |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=live }} Yahoo! used the acquisition as a basis for starting the website Yahoo! Games in April 1998.{{cite news|last=Walker |first=Leslie |authorlink=Leslie Walker (author) |date=1999-05-27 |title=A Guide to Games on the Net |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/tech/techthursday/dotcom/webguide.htm |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913190036/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/tech/techthursday/dotcom/webguide.htm |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}

In 2007, Joel Comm conceived of the show The Next Internet Millionaire with Eric Holmlund.{{cite news|last=Johnson |first=Kimberly S. |date=2007-07-30 |title=Who wants to be an internet millionaire? |url=http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_6495430 |newspaper=The Denver Post |access-date=2015-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717041116/http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_6495430 |archive-date=2015-07-17 |url-status=dead }} Based on the NBC show The Apprentice, it was the first Internet reality show.{{cite news|date=2007-11-23 |title=Ex-Reginan wins online game show |url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=33bf4b9b-4aa6-4554-84f5-a2406c99bf9f |newspaper=Leader-Post |agency=Canwest |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913171329/http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=33bf4b9b-4aa6-4554-84f5-a2406c99bf9f |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }} Hosted by Comm, the show pitted 12 contestants against each other to vie for a $25,000 finalist prize and the opportunity to join Comm on a project with the goal of earning $1 million.{{cite news|last=Strange |first=Adario |authorlink=Adario Strange |date=2007-06-05 |title=The Next Internet Millionaire: Startup As Reality TV |url=https://www.wired.com/2007/06/the_next_intern/ |newspaper=Wired |access-date=2015-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717041453/http://www.wired.com/2007/06/the_next_intern/ |archive-date=2015-07-17 |url-status=dead }}

Comm in 2008 created iFart Mobile, a best-selling app that he sold on iTunes Store. The app plays a fart noise when triggered. It has a "stealth" addition that enables people to set a timer for when the app will emit the fart sound. iFart further has a "security" feature that triggers a fart sound if the phone's position changes.{{cite news|last=Kincaid |first=Jason |date=2008-12-12 |title=iFart And Pull My Finger Battle To Stink Up The App Store. Please Keep These Under Control, Apple. |url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/12/12/ifart-and-pull-my-finger-battle-to-stink-up-the-app-store-please-let-it-stop-here/ |publisher=TechCrunch |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913211554/http://techcrunch.com/2008/12/12/ifart-and-pull-my-finger-battle-to-stink-up-the-app-store-please-let-it-stop-here/ |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }} The $0.99 app{{cite news|last=Siegler |first=MG |date=2008-12-27 |title=A Christmas iFart explosion: Nearly 40,000 downloads and $30,000 net |url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/12/27/a-christmas-ifart-explosion-nearly-40000-downloads-and-30000-net/ |publisher=VentureBeat |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913214558/http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/27/a-christmas-ifart-explosion-nearly-40000-downloads-and-30000-net/ |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }} was ranked first on Apple Inc.'s App Store after its initial 14 days, having been bought 100,000 times.{{cite news|last=Kincaid |first=Jason |date=2010-06-01 |title=Former App Store King iFart Gets Blocked From The iPad |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/06/01/former-app-store-king-ifart-gets-blocked-from-the-ipad/ |publisher=TechCrunch |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913212028/http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/01/former-app-store-king-ifart-gets-blocked-from-the-ipad/ |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }} It used to be in the 20 most downloaded iPhone apps ever and in October 2010 had 20,000 reviews. VentureBeat in December 2008 noted that the app was making Comm almost $10,000 daily.{{cite news|last=Siegler |first=MG |date=2008-12-23 |title=iPhone fart app pulls in nearly $10,000 a day |url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/12/23/iphone-fart-app-pulls-in-nearly-10000-a-day/ |publisher=VentureBeat |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913214152/http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/23/iphone-fart-app-pulls-in-nearly-10000-a-day/ |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}

He authored The AdSense Code: What Google Never Told You about Making Money with AdSense, which describes for businesses how to achieve the highest revenue from Google's AdSense. It started as an e-book readers could purchase on his website, and in 2006, it was published by Morgan James Publishing. The book was on The New York Times Best Seller list and the Bloomberg Businessweek bestseller list in 2006.{{cite news |last=Hendee |first=Caitlin |date=2014-04-16 |title=Q&A: Joel Comm markets his social media message |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2014/04/16/q-a-joel-comm-markets-his-social-media-message.html |newspaper=Denver Business Journal |access-date=2015-09-13 }}{{cite news |date=2006-07-10 |title=The BusinessWeek Best-Seller List |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_28/b3992108.htm |newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518074742/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_28/b3992108.htm |archive-date=2007-05-18 }} The New York Times described the book as a "user's manual for how to attract targeted traffic by a deeper understanding of Google Adsense code".{{cite news|date=2006-08-06 |title=Paperback Business Best Sellers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/books/bestseller/200608bestpaperbusiness.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125546/https://www.webcitation.org/6bWLSeV5o?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/books/bestseller/200608bestpaperbusiness.html%3F_r=0 |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }} In his 2007 book Clear Blogging, Robert Walsh wrote that despite The Adsense Code{{'}}s having a "'Make Money Now!' tone", it was an "extremely useful book" for being successful with AdSense.{{Harvnb|Walsh|2007|pp=255}}

In 2009, he authored Twitter Power, a John Wiley & Sons-published book that introduces readers to Twitter, describing how it became widely used, how to set up a Twitter account, and how to grow their number of Twitter followers.{{cite news|last=Dill |first=Margo L. |date=2010-01-10 |title=The Power of Twitter |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/12D82CDBDF28E208?p=AWNB |newspaper=The News-Gazette |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125103/https://www.webcitation.org/6bVErAkuW?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/12D82CDBDF28E208%3Fp=AWNB |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Freehling |first=Bill |date=2009-05-03 |title=How tweets can tweak business |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/127F487E71B26598?p=AWNB |newspaper=The Free Lance–Star |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527125143/https://www.webcitation.org/6bVFOqZTm?url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/127F487E71B26598%3Fp=AWNB |archive-date=2024-05-27 |url-status=dead }} The book received positive reviews in Entrepreneur, January Magazine, and Mint for being written with simplicity and without jargon.{{cite news|last=Werling |first=Mike |date=2009-02-10 |title=Twitter Gets Its Own Book |url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218355 |newspaper=Entrepreneur |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913034814/http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218355 |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Richards |first=Linda L. |authorlink=Linda L. Richards |date=2009-03-18 |title=Non-Fiction: Twitter Power by Joel Comm |url=http://januarymagazine.com/wp/non-fiction-twitter-power-by-joel-co/ |newspaper=January Magazine |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913040305/http://januarymagazine.com/wp/non-fiction-twitter-power-by-joel-co/ |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Vadukut |first=Sidin |authorlink=Sidin Vadukut |date=2009-06-11 |title=Shift control, and twitter |url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/WyN2mhFU3bHYUM7W752XLN/Shift-control-and-twitter.html |newspaper=Mint |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913041249/http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/WyN2mhFU3bHYUM7W752XLN/Shift-control-and-twitter.html |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }} In CNET article titled "Twitter power? For real?", journalist Charles Cooper criticized the book for providing a "phony formula where you just paint by the numbers" to attempt to lure Twitter followers to become customers.{{cite news|last=Cooper |first=Charles |date=2009-02-13 |title=Twitter power? For real? |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/twitter-power-for-real/ |publisher=CNET |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913041001/http://www.cnet.com/news/twitter-power-for-real/ |archive-date=2015-09-13 |url-status=dead }}

• Internet Family Fun with Bonnie Bruno, No Starch Press (May 1997) {{ISBN|1886411190}}
• The AdSense Code: What Google Never Told You About Making Money with AdSense, Morgan James Publishing (1st 2006, 2nd 2010) {{ISBN|1933596708}}
• Click Here to Order: Stories of the World's Most Successful Internet Marketing Entrepreneurs, Morgan James Publishing (August 2008) {{ISBN|1600371736}}
• Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time, John Wiley & Sons (1st 2009, 2nd 2010) {{ISBN|0470563362}}
• Twitter Power 3.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time, John Wiley & Sons (March 2015) {{ISBN|1119021812}}
• KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays, John Wiley & Sons (June 2010) {{ISBN|0470597674}}
• So What Do YOU Do? Discovering the Genius Next Door with One Simple Question, Morgan James Publishing (October 2013) {{ISBN|1614488517}}
• So What Do YOU Do? Discovering the Genius Next Door with One Simple Question: Volume 2, Morgan James Publishing (October 2014) {{ISBN|1630472514}}
• The Rockstars of JVZoo.com, Morgan James Publishing (April 2015) {{ISBN|1630475874}}

;Footnotes

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

;Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Banks |first=Michael A. |authorlink=Michael A. Banks |date=2008 |title=Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World's Top Bloggers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7NNECorY400C |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |pages=153–161 |isbn=978-0470262146 |access-date=2015-09-13 }}
• {{cite book |last=Walsh |first=Robert |date=2007 |title=Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tHXhp2dyJHcC |location=Berkeley, California |publisher=Apress |page=255 |isbn=978-1430203216 |access-date=2015-09-13 }}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.joelcomm.com/ Official website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comm, Joel}}

Category:1964 births

Category:Living people

Category:American male writers

Category:American Internet celebrities

Category:Marketing speakers

Category:Glenbrook North High School alumni

Category:Internet marketing people