The General’s Gambit

Fleeing British Painting

“But what the British didn't realize was that Washington's gambit was an incredible bluff. Even with the remarkable show of force, he did not have the key ingredient to back it up – Gunpowder.”

Washington was so tight on gunpowder that his soldiers would have only had the capacity to fire just a few shots at the British before retreating. So serious was the colonial powder deficiency that the British could have effortlessly taken the colonial army and obliterated the rebellion at any moment during the previous six months.

If only they had found out, American history might have taken a very different direction.

Washington may have been short of gunpowder, but he proved to have something more crucial: the grit and dauntlessness required to see the Revolution through to the end.”

How does this relate to your fight to get your content to be number one?

Siege of Boston Map

The British Empire at this time controlled over 65% of the colonized world. How does this apply to me you ask? Think of Google as the modern online British Empire, which controls 68% of the search engine market. In this situation – you represent revolutionary America.

Going back to the story, Washington’s missing ingredient was gunpowder. In your case, gunpowder represents the way we send social signals to Google to rank content. Just like Washington could only fire a handful of shots to get Britain’s attention, so do most marketers by sending a limited amount of signals to get Google’s attention.

Washington’s strategy was what won the battle in the end because it appeared like he had the numbers to back up his force. That is where VidPenguin comes in, which closely resembles Washington’s strategy. However, the only difference is that this program gives you all the gunpowder you need to get Google’s attention and win the fight to rank you content higher online.

This is Damon Nelson, co-creator of VidPenguin. Every Friday afternoon I will be sharing lessons “beyond the story” related to my program and other helpful platforms.



Click Here for the complete story


Beyer, R. (2005). The greatest war stories never told: 100 tales from military history to astonish, bewilder, & stupefy. New York, New York: Collins.

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