day 1237: #AddaWordRuinAMovie The Meme

"They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven..."

#AddaWordRuinAMovie may well be the funniest and best Meme I have ever seen on Twitter.  The Meme was created on Friday night and by the time I saw it on Saturday morning, it was blowing up.  Why?  The social media people in our marketing departments try so hard to come up with something that will go viral and catch the jet stream.  Millions of dollars are spent experimenting and trying to come up with something that catches on. And, then along comes something so simple that grabs a ton of attention.  Let's dissect why #AddaWordRuinAMovie has taken off.  First, without even thinking much about it the Meme title intrigues us and we want to know more.  Once we click on the Meme we realize that it's a simple and fun game that anyone can play.  We all know movies.  We all can be creative enough to add a word to a movie title, and we can laugh, and sometimes be amazed, at the creativity of someone else.  A simple and compelling game that we can play with others. That's what we should be thinking about it if we want to create something that gets our customers/consumers engaged with our product/service.

Could it be that we are actually God's created Memes?  Could it be that we have been created to be accessible to others, intriguing enough for others to watch our lives, and additive individually and collectively for God's Kingdom?  I think that is right.  If we think of ourselves as God's Meme in our workplace we will be cognizant and deliberate in the way we work and work with others.  What are we doing today to extend the Meme, which is our life?

Reference: 1 Peter 1:12 (New Living Translation)

day 1014: #'s

"...Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

We were watching TV the other night and while in the middle of the show up on the screen comes a random watermark set of words with a # in front of them.  It was so blatant and obvious that it was kinda obnoxious.  The Producers were trying to create a meme on Twitter, but in my estimation, didn't do so well or elegantly.  Everyone wants to # something these days.  Put a # in front if it and let's see if we can make it popular. But, there is the other side that we need to watch too.  That is the what our consumer and customers might # about us. If you are in the airline industry you know how important this can be and they are a good industry for the rest of us to learn from and about. One set of seats that come unbolted and there will be hundreds of #'s created to then be managed against. We might not have this level of problem, but even a handful of people can create lots of noise. So, let's watch the # and be ready to proactively and defensively create and respond.

I have been thinking recently about what would be the words that I would # to describe my example to others? In an earlier time we would have just said what is our, example, description, reputation, brand, elevator pitch, etc. So, its the same with the #.  What is it that we would want to have #'d about us? What I would like to add to the question too is are we ready for the immediacy of what the # could be created?  What I mean by that is that with each word, action and behavior we are creating a # and others are also creating them about us right now.  The power of the # is one for us to think about today.  Right now, ask yourself, what are the 2-3 #'s that would summarize a week well-worked for the Kingdom? Write them down and then at the end of this week go back and take a look to see if they would still hold up on Friday like they did today?

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Translation)

day 1013: Memes

"...Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

Having just come out of the political season, I learned much about memes.  I watched and participated in the creation of memes that went no where and a few that caught wind and became a part of the social media jetstream. But, it's not as easy as putting together a few words, sticking a hashtag on it and then getting a bunch of people to tweet or share it around.  There has to be much more thinking and consideration behind it before it will become something relevant.  Timing and personal adoption are two things that I learned are so important.  A thought before or after its' time goes no where.  A thought that others can't adopt and internalize also will be die before it gets going.  But, when the two come together, lightning gets caught in a bottle. Our internal and external messaging about our companies and organizations are the same.  Timing and personalization, if focused on intently can be the difference between a successful product launch and a failure. We should always be asking, what is the right time and what do we need to do to have people make this personal?  Get those two right, and there is no stopping.

What is our own personal meme that we are trying to create?  If someone had to sum it up today what would it be?  What we need to know and recognize is that God's timing for us right now and always.  He wants us to be living out His example today, tomorrow and ongoing.  So, there is no debate on whether or not we should wait.  Sometimes we might feel like we are not good enough or ready to live for Him.  This is the same thinking that keeps us from starting to exercise until we lose a little more weight.  Irrational, but how we as humans think. So, if timing should be clear, then how is that we make this thing of our lives being lived with purpose something that is personal to others?  This is where Paul gives us the power of our example.  This is in some ways is our most powerful tool for the Kingdom. Our meme for God is in our words, our actions, our love, our grace and yes, the purity that we can pursue. Memes are infectious and memes are powerful. You are a meme for God, if you want to be.

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Translation)