Many bright, business-oriented people spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure out what exactly gets re-tweeted on Twitter or re-posted on Facebook. It’s almost considered one of the holy grail of secrets, along with the secret to a longer life or what women want. The answer is so painfully simple, that it can’t really be that easy, can it?
These past weeks, many of us have watched the events that occurred in Egypt. Protesters hit the streets in swarms, speaking out against an oppressive government. Largely peaceful and enthusiastic (though at times violent and unruly), these people spanned age ranges and demographic differences and passionately make their voices heard.
But how did it happen? After three decades, why now? Why suddenly?
On NBC Nightly News, an Egyptian woman was caught on film by reporters saying: “the young people on the internet, they started this…they started this revolution.” The same channel showed a photo of a man holding a sign written in both Arabic and English: “Thank you Facebook.” Photos have popped up from around Egypt of protesters equipped with smart phones and laptops, and even Facebook and Twitter logo graffiti on walls.
Twitter and Google responded – when their services were blocked by the government, they set up a service for users to phone in their tweets. Even the US State Department started tweeting in Arabic.
Many bright, business-oriented people spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure out what exactly gets re-tweeted on Twitter or re-posted on Facebook. It’s almost considered one of the holy grail of secrets, along with the secret to a longer life or what women want. The answer is so painfully simple, that it can’t really be that easy, can it?
People share things that make them feel things. Things that affect them. It can be something funny, or something that tugs at their heart. Maybe it’s something they say, “right on!” and agree with. A good idea that’s clever and well said germinates in the mind then blows up and spreads like the little seeds on a dandelion. At its core, these services are the networks that the ideas spread though. They create a community. We find something we agree on, share it, and it brings us together. In Egypt, it did all that, then brought them to the streets.
Businesses want so badly to be that thing that gets shared, they beg us consumers to find them on Facebook and tell all our friends too. On Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice,” the producers have challenged contestants to create viral advertisements for various companies. But you don’t create something viral. You create a video, something smart and true and amusing, and maybe it becomes viral. There are no shortcuts, no keywords you can slip in, no tricks you can pull, just like you can’t force a woman to love you. Marketing in these mediums comes down to the same thing it’s always been: a strong, big network, and a good, well formed message.
In Egypt last night, the protesters won and the targeted Hosni Mubarak resigned. It’s unclear if anyone anywhere anticipated that social media could have this kind of power, to collapse a whole governmental regime. No doubt Egyptians young and old wrote their suffering, shared their ideas, connected with each other, and made a revolution happen.
