Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Can "Viral" Be Created?


I found this post on the blog Real. Life. Conversation., written by author and radio personality Tim Sinclair. I liked what Tim had to say. He's allowed me to run the post here for you:
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"Pants on the Ground"
Susan Boyle
"Evolution of Dance"
That music video with the guys on the treadmills

Millions of people have watched these videos on You Tube, shared them with their friends, and posted them to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. In several instances, well over 100 million people have checked them out online!

By our modern-day definition, they're "viral".

Have you ever tried to CREATE something viral? Maybe a parody video, a wacky song, or a cleverly-written email? Who wouldn't want to reach millions of people (almost instantly) with their message? I'll admit...I have, or at least been a part of a few radio stations and church groups that have. In fact, some of the world's largest companies pay MILLIONS attempting to create something viral.

Well, guess what? It rarely works...if ever.

If you look closely, nearly everything "viral" has two things in common:

1. It was never intended to be viral in the first place.
2. The person/group involved was simply being themselves and doing what they felt 'called' to do.

The moral of the story?

When it comes to sharing your faith, don't try to reach the whole world at once. Be yourself. Do the things that God has gifted you to do. Follow your calling.

The world tends to notice those things.

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What are your thoughts on Tim's post? If you're an author, how can you apply his words to your writing? Or apply it to the marketing of any product?

Tim is the co-host of "The Morning Show with Tim and Pam, heard weekday mornings from 5:30 to 9 CST on WBGL in Illinois, Indiana and online. You can find Tim on Facebook and on Twitter (@timjsinclair).

4 comments:

Wandering Writer said...

Brandilyn, thanks so much for posting this. I needed to read this today as I woke up wondering why I'm still trying to write and speak when I don't seem to be getting any momentum. I'll leave the "viral" up to God.

smithsk said...

Dittos Karen above ...
Thanks, Brandilyn, for the post and putting life in perspective.
Susan

Cheryl Klarich said...

Amen. Really good thoughts.
"The Lord will perfect that which concerns me."... if I really got that...I would waste less time.

Edwina said...

Brandilyn,
"don't try to reach the whole world at once." That's me - I only started writing last year and always feel like I'm rushing to finish an article, my WIP, whatever. Not because I feel important at all - but because I feel like I started late in life. This made me realize that when I started or my age really doesn't matter. God will lead and guide and accomplish what He wants to accomplish through me.

Thanks for a great post!