It went viral.
Was talked about – everywhere.
Made headlines the world over.
Has already generated millions upon millions upon millions of results on Bing and Google.
Hundreds of thousands of people “Like” it and more importantly, hundreds of thousands have already shared it.
And there are no cute little kittens, goofy dances or dancers, crazy stunts, embarrassing moments or any other contrived “make me a viral” moments.
In fact – it’s a simple story. The video was captured by chance and the actors and producer came together by the happenstance of life.
If you haven’t guessed yet…
New York City Police Officer Larry DePrimo offered a homeless man true human kindness – basic goodness – no strings attached, no dogma connected, no qualifications required or requested – religions have been started with less. And maybe that is why the world took notice – precisely because he represented us all, did what we all wish we would (and clearly can) do, maybe even made many believe again….
Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad…fill in the blank…must have been smiling…this one little act – so easy to replicate, so easy to follow, so easy to share – this one little act renewed people’s faith in people…real people who walk the streets, live real lives and shed real tears.
Frankly – what made it all the more poignant for me was that I took part in a discussion about “social sharing” and what kinds of stuff people like to share – hence, the kittens. No one mentioned this – or referenced it as a benchmark in terms of values that are important to people, values that we share in ways we don’t share Gangnam dancing or kittens making faces.
I fear we are losing the human dimension – the random aspect – the connection to values that defy the “Give Me One Of Those” (GMOOT) attitudes we seem to be developing as we look for what we think is the right face to present to the digital world – afraid of being seen as old- fashioned.
So…how about we let an icon of what we worship weigh in…listen:
“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” Steve Jobs
Tools proliferate in our world today. They have become as ubiquitous as the term itself – a buzzword for the latest and greatest, the game changing and paradigm shifting and standard setting…you get the point.
Have faith in people. Have faith in yourself. And use the most powerful tool in your collection as often as you can – human empathy – face to face….
What do you think?
So true David. I think the issue with most ‘social marketing’ is the same as that with traditional marketing – Despite what resides on powerpoint decks, most brands don’t have or believe in living by any human values, which is why they find it easier to put effort and money into connecting with vacuous things like k-pop videos. It doesn’t require commitment or a sustained effort that starting a dialogue based on human values would. Of course, the problem is exacerbated by agencies who don’t take the time to find and guide or show the real values that spread. On that note one probable reason why Gangnam Style spread so fast within Korea is that its the first K-pop song that was also a social comment on the life of the rich in Seoul… at least I hope so.
Great post David.
I believe that the next challenge is to get the actual act of kindness go viral and not only a photo of someone else’s act of kindness. With that said, it is definitely a step in the right direction, since awareness is the first phase.
The companies that are most successful online are those that, in my opinion, are built on solid values. Zappos, for example, has done very well on Twitter and is often spoken of whenever someone wants to share a case of good business behavior.
This shoe company treats people with basic respect. They respond to any issues that their customers have. Too often, even when you speak to a representative of a store face to face, you get ineptitude and disrespect. When companies display a lack of care, an interest in only what type of funds a client can bring their way, their reputation slowly goes down.
Good values make successful companies, online and offline.