It seems that trends in whatever the situation sometimes get too strong not to notice them. Yesterday Twitter showed Susan Boyle as a popular trend. The Twitter search showed some interesting comments so once again a quick click begins the journey.
A very interesting and emotional video presents a woman with a beautiful singing voice. Then you notice the number of views. As of this writing it is at 32.7 million. Yesterday when viewed it was at 29.7 million. 3 million views in one day. Even if you count everyone seeing it twice, the numbers are phenomenal for something learnt through this ‘word of mouth’ Internet process.
Now the comments and blog posts abound with various scenarios of reason and expertise. I just seem to have questions about how did this all come about? There isn’t a PR or ad agency in the world that could get that number of views for anything. It seems there is nothing to sell here. It is just a very transparent view of human nature. We see and hear a story and for a brief moment relate to it by whatever fashion. I wonder if just an audio of the event would have that garnered that sort of impact. There are so many components working in that clip you have to view it more than once to be able to realize what is taking place.
The outcome will be different for each person. For me it once again spoke to people are just people. We are social creatures. Our emotions for a lot of the time are just unexplainable and when we try to explain them they loose their magic.
Twitter plays a part here that is unique. Individuals, unedited individuals, are offering their views in small readable sentences, about things that matter to them. It isn’t necessarily a matter of what are you doing but more what are you thinking, what is having an impact on you right now. The experts are out detailing the top-10-whatevers you need to follow with Twitter for sure but the key thoughts and ideas of each person keep ringing true. It is amazing to watch but also be a part of times like these. We never really know the impact of anything until it is viewed in the rear-view mirror. It does seem the earth’s axis did tend to shift a little this last week.
Tinfoiling 
Gene,
What a great post. I posted about it – talked about it twittered about it. The “it” being Susan Boyle’s amazing performance. And so I have to ask my self “Why?”
I think it was the “bitch slap” heard ’round the world.
The crowds’ jeering, laughing, eye-rolling, mocking, I-can’t-wait-to-see-you-fail, OMG you can’t be kidding………..and then, she opened her mouth.
SMACK! Take that all of you people who play it safe and are treading water in mediocrity.
SMACK! You want to see talent Simon? I’ve got it…whatcha gonna do with it!
SMACK! Dream. The song was about a dream………..wow……..what’s YOUR dream………
Thank you Susan.
I loved this story and I also love your post. I think we all secretly root for the underdog because at times we all feel like the underdog. Susan is certainly an underdog. I love that Susan just showed us who she is. No made up, stylized glamor; just a gal with the voice of an angel singing about dreams. Wow. I love the thought of all of us just being who we are. I think we can all take a lesson from her. It doesn’t have to be about singing, but just doing what you love – and letting everyone else feel the joy.
In a way your comments on Twitter too speak to the heart as well – It is about things that matter and what we are thinking and feeling. It is also about fun and laughter. I think I get more good laughs reading tweets each day than from anything else. I know Twitter is changing as so many people, brands and organizations are joining the conversation. I hope I don’t lose that personal connection that for me is the heart of what I love about Twitter. Thanks for the great post.
I imagine this will be the subject of dissertations to come.