Image by codecarnage You probably know the legend as Bigfoot, the yeti, or the Abominable Snowman. The mysterious, gigantic hairy biped eludes human contact in mountainous regions, vying for its own survival. Thrilling and scary at the same time, northern cultures dream of this elusive and powerful icon of the unexplored wilderness. Similarly, PR and marketing types alike dream of the influencer, the person who will trigger an online contagion (a.k.a. viral event). They desperately look for that powerful personality who will become their brand hero.
Perhaps you saw the news. Wael Ghonim, the Google Exec behind the Egyptian Facebook protest page “We are all Khaled Said,” has been signed to write a book, Revolution 2.0. It is ironic that the faceless revolution that has swept across the Middle East is now finding its faces, its influential voices. Really, this seems to be an inevitable result of cause and effect: Folks like Wael Ghonim and the unfortunate Libyan rape victim Eman al-Obeidy have remarkable stories. Because we have identified with their stories and struggles, they are now influential voices. In essence, they have been coronated by the media and the public after the fact of their brave protests. Influence came after these acts. In the case […]