So this is the day I went viral.
As you can see, it's a picture from a couple of years ago (ahem). In fact it's from about 1998 when I would have been about 25 or 26. In other words, it was back in a time when the phrase 'going viral' didn't even exist. But in so many ways I did go viral, and it evokes numerous similarities with today's thinking - or lack of it - as the case may be.
What you see before you is an aspiring writer (which I still am!) who moved to London seeking fame and fortune, inititally working in pubs, with the grand and romantic idea of writing a novel (which I still have!), determined to make ends meet in the meantime. I was working part time in the box office at the Royal Albert Hall when I met Neil who, obviously unbeknown to me at the time, would go on to be the second most influential man in my life (after my Dad), my best mate and best man at my wedding.
Neil was also working part time in the box office whilst editing a free listings magazine called Footloose. I waxed lyrical about how I wanted to write and he offered me the chance to cover film and theatre reviews for the publication. Quicker then Trump changes his mind over tariffs, I leapt at the chance and embarked on an adventure of private screenings for some incredible (and some terrible!) movies, free tickets to West End shows and was given opportunities I could only have previously dreamt of.
One weekend, my parents were in 'town' to visit and as we walked through London's theatre land, my eye was drawn to a billboard outside one of the venues, my attention focused on one thing. My name.
To this day I can't remember which theatre it was but there in big (ish) letters was a quote from my review of a play, 'Stone In His Pockets'. I was completly and utterly gobsmacked.
"The most entertaining and well acted piece of theatre I have ever seen. A must."
Such an incredibly cliched statement (I mean...'A Must', come on Adam, you could have done better than that surely!), not exactly of Sunday Times calibre and not REALLY that huge a thing as I hadn't really seen a great deal of theatre at that point in my life. But hey! It didn't matter. There it was in glorious technicolour.
So what on earth does this have to do with going viral I hear you cry? (I was terrible at getting to the point in my reviews too - I did once write one that went into great depth about my tedious commute to a film screening as that proved far more entertaining and interesting than the subsequent movie!). Looking back I think that quote adorned the theatre for several weeks - I should know - I tried to casually stroll past it every day to admire my handiwork. Thousands of people will have walked that way during that time. What percentage of people saw it, who knows? What percentage of those people then went and bought a ticket based on my 'eloquent' words? Who knows?
Which makes me think the same applies to posting on social media. Those that chase the big numbers may never know EXACTLY what the tangible outcome of what they said actually equates to. Your Instagram post may get a thousand views, of which let's say, 10 give you the thumbs up. Many would be disappointed with such a return. But what if one of those 10 becomes a client or customer. Job done surely? But how many of those are fake views anyway? And by that I don't mean bots but rather 'uninterested views'. Thousands of people will have walked past my words of wisdom, maybe even read them, but had absolutely no interest in theatre. They may have been on their way to a karaoke bar in Covent Garden before quaffing a kebab and falling asleep in the back of a cab, their levels of intelluctual stimulus that night nothing more than being able to read the lyrics of 'Wonderwall' on a screen in a pub.
I believe that we can't really quantify social media when it comes to business. We expect immediate results in everything we do. But it's something like 5% of buyers are in the market to purchase at any given time. Scrollers and swipers may see your post but not act upon it NOW. But something in their subconscious may kick in, days, weeks or even years down the line that will bring them to your website or shop.
It also goes to show that you may not write the most prophetic, meaningful, beautifully crafted post but still a huge amount of people will see it. It's about being honest, genuine and saying what you think at the time. Back in the late 90s, I firmly believed that this play was one of the best I had ever seen. I may not have executed the post/quote as well as my future self would hope. But the sentiment was genuine.
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