And one of the new (and free) offerings in the world of personal, 3D avatars is Big Stage.

With Big Stage, you simply sign-up for a free account, upload anywhere from one to three headshots of yourself (they need to be JPG files, 640×480 or higher resolution)…and just like that, Big Stage will turn your photos into a personal, 3D avatar.

From there, you can use “Sims-Like” tools to modify yourself however you’d like.  You can also add your avatar to still photos or videos that Big Stage provides.

I took the photo of myself that appears in the “About The Author” section of this blog, uploaded it to Big Stage and spent a few minutes playing around.  The results are below:

Me morphed into a baby bear:

Me with a fireman’s shirt, tropical background and cornrows:

 
If you’ve got some time to kill…and happen to be looking for a fast and free way to create an avatar of yourself, you can check out Big Stage here.

The story goes like this.  Neenah Pickett is a 42 year-old New Jersey woman who has never been married.  By 2010, she wants to find a husband (or the man who will eventually become her husband).  The problem is that Neenah is a career woman.  She has no interest in bars or the cattle-call style dating sites.

So Neenah decided to put up a web site…marketing herself…through web video.  And because she happens to be marketing savvy, she’s even included video testimonials…from her friends

But she’s taking it a step further.  You see, rather than meeting her potential suitors at a restaurant or a coffee house…she’s first going to meet them through video based mini-dates.

This will eliminate all the “PhotoShop Kings” (people who don’t actually look like they appear in photos), save her moutains of time…and…allow her to get an idea of the type of chemistry she has with a person quickly and easily.

But come on now – can an unknown person…with a tiny web site…actually attract a mate this way?  You bet.  So far, Neenah has had over 70 men submit profiles (men must complete a profile for consideration from Neenah…they can’t just shoot her an email…that’s called qualifying your prospects in marketing circles).

It’s also a testament to the power of web video…when used with creativity and marketing savvy.

To see exactly what Neenah is doing, just go here: 52Weeks2FindHim.com.

But what are the characteristics of a viral video? Is there a pattern to them? A formula? Well, Mike Laurie over at the shipsbiscuit blog believes there is.

And he believes he’s identified the patterns. Actually, 21 of them.

Now, his post is a bit tongue in cheek. But it contains a nice list of videos that have gone viral…and if nothing else…they are worth a look so you can identify your own patterns (or at least try to). Remember, people try to make viral videos every day. And you’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning. But still…you do have a chance.

Here’s a link to Mike’s shipsbiscuit post. And below is just one of the videos he lists: