“The United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward, and so will space.” ~John F. Kennedy, 1962
We’ve all been mesmerized in one fashion or another by the Space Shuttle’s final trip. It’s been such a wonderful representation of how, when we all support something and believe in something, we can do great things.
I’m a little bit melancholy today about it and instead of dwelling on that, I’m choosing to witness and celebrate how our culture has come together. Driving around Los Angeles and Orange County today, I saw so many places where people joined each other to share the Shuttle’s last ride. In this season of political unrest and divisiveness, we can all empathize with what the Space Shuttle represents and still get teary-eyed watching it fly across the sky.
Facebook and Twitter are on-fire with photos and video of the Shuttle. There’s so much sharing of this wonderful event because we all want our friends and family to see it too. Whenever we come across anything in our daily lives that touches us, we want to share that goodness with others.
I spend a lot of time convincing naysayers about Social Media’s impact. I’m not sure whether it’s because they’re not users of the space or because they’ve heard negative things about it in the other forms of media or perhaps they just think it’s a fad. The Space Shuttle experience today is evidence of how well Social Media connects us and connections are how a business thrives.
We haven’t even scratched the surface yet on what Social Media can do for us as a culture. As a marketing medium, we’ve never had anything this significant.
The Space Shuttle’s journey is proof that awesome content brings people together. I saw people lined up along Harbor Blvd near Disneyland. I saw people near the Hollywood Sign cheering as the Shuttle flew over. I saw the Shuttle fly-by LAX before landing with a crowd to welcome it. This is the essence of how we humans operate.
People don’t share facts, people share feelings. Something stirs inside us and that’s remarkable. Evoking emotions with storytelling and relevant content is what incites a thought, creates an inkling to share. This is the fundamental goal of content marketing.
So the next time you hear someone – a client, a vendor, your boss – say Social Media is a waste of time, think about the Shuttle and how connected you felt the day you saw it fly across the sky for the last time. Awesome content gets liked, commented-on and shared. The awesomeness is your responsibility.
Here’s JFK’s historic “We Choose to Go to The Moon” Speech at Rice University, Houston, Texas on Sept. 12, 1962:
Here’s an awesome video of the Space Shuttle’s LAX Fly-By on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012
