The nature of really breaking out of the startup pack these days is becoming a viral or word of mouth (WOM) overnight success. Outside of Facebook’s social graph anaconda, Twitter has been parlayed forward by Ashton, Oprah, Britney and many of the other known-by-one-name celebs into the next Digg/Facebook/etc.

If American Idol is a barometer of talent - or Susan Boyle, an example of instant stardom (even if it took xx years to get there); then Twitter and now FourSquare are showcases of how to enter the media fray successfully.

Even Facebook with its recent privacy outcry is getting the attention of everyone who (somehow) never heard of the social network. It’s almost the equivalent of a young would-be celeb’s sex tape made public: it extends their reach, adds a healthy dose of controversy or color, and intrigues or fetches new audiences.

How do startups make noise - i.e., cut through the media clutter - in this day and age, considering ubiquitous SEO, SEM practices, viral loop engagements and other marketing approaches?

Via SAI’s Making Sense Of VC Pile-Ons:

Building a successful company is super hard.  Not only do you need a great team, a great idea, and be fishing in a big enough pond, but often times you also need some serious unfair advantages.  Take Twitter, for example.  No startup on the face of the earth has ever gotten so much free PR in the history of entrepreneurship.  That occurred to me one day last summer when I was watching Fox Saturday Baseball Game of the Week: Red Sox-Angels.  They got into a Twitter conversation that lasted a full six minutes.  What would it have cost to buy up that much national airtime during the broadcast for a commercial?  Now, it’s everywhere—making their cost of acquiring a customer essentially zero.  That’s an unfair advantage.