By Tony “Phruishun” Spires
The Comedy Doctor
Has anything that you’ve done or were a part of ever
resulted in crazy numbers on the Internet? Has any
content you’ve created ever gone “viral,” as it were?
If so, was it deliberate? I mean, did you do it on
purpose? Did you study the latest trends? Did you
thoroughly examine all the popular social media
platforms and pertinent apps?
After your initial
success (if you had any), have you been able to
repeat it? Have you gotten it down to a science?
Are you now or have you ever made money from
your viral efforts? If you answered yes to the first few
questions, that’s very nice. If you answered yes to all
of the above queries, congratulations are in order –
and so is some “respeck on your name!”
Are you able to understand modern popular culture
and social media trends to the point that you’re able
to impact an Internet-savvy marketplace? If so, you
are already winning, even if not financially… yet. And
if you’re able to garner big-time numbers without
pandering to brain-dead phone junkies or rehashing
mindless, drunken rumbles on the block, you’re good.
If you’re able to stand out without exploiting cute,
cuddly, kittens or other furry creatures, AND you’re
making money, you are a Boss! Well, you at least
have the makings of one. In any event, you obviously
have mad skills in this arena. Real, sustained success
could be very, very near.
The fact that you’ve monetized those skills of yours –
even once - theoretically makes you a valuable
candidate for a gazillion jobs on websites, media
portals and other content hungry entities. Or, like a
true boss, you’ve discovered that you yourself have
what it takes to start your own company. You could
seek-out a staff of other talented people with similar
and/or complementary skill sets, hire and/or partner
with them and create your own platform. You would
then truly become your own “Boss!” Come on. You
know you’ve thought about it.
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It could happen, really. That, boys and girls, is the
good news. For the not-so-pleasant flip side info, do
read on.
Now, for the rest of us… I mean, rest of you, doubtless
you’re wondering about the bad news? Funny you
should ask that. And me being The Comedy Doctor,
you’ve come to the right place for the answer! Okay,
here it is. It’s already spring 2017 and either you’ve
never, ever gone viral – not even a teensie-weensie
bit - or you luckily stumbled upon some “viral-ness”
once or twice by happenstance but like that best
ever pot of gumbo you made last New Years or that
300 point bowling fluke you had back in the 90’s, you
just can’t seem to do it again! Never fear. You are
not alone. In fact, if there really is strength in numbers,
you and your fellow hopefuls – and there are millions
of them, believe me - are looking like a huge,
conquering horde, right now! Well, sort of…
The fact is your content really is great. Actually, it’s
more than great. It’s inspired. It’s absolutely brilliant!
You, The Lord, yo’ mama and everyone else who
loves you and knows you like that, knows that you are
a genius! Even your haters know it, though they
would never admit it. (They wouldn’t be very good
haters if they did!) But you just can’t catch lightning in
a bottle! Okay, so you’ve created yet another
masterpiece. You prepped the masses for weeks with
promos and teasers and the like. You even paid for
some advertising. You got all 123 of your followers
(Just kidding. I know you have well over 200) on all the
hot sites to agree to view, like, comment and share
your epic… and this time… The numbers are worse
than ever! But you’re not the kind to quit. You try it
again. But this time, not to be defeated the same
way twice, you have an idea.