My Failed Social Media Experiment

Last Wednesday, while laying (or is it lying?) in bed thinking about my sister having to put her dog Curtis to sleep the next day, I had an idea that made me feel much better – how cool would it be if I could create a viral campaign whereby people the world over would tweet about pets they have loved and lost with the hashtag in memory of curtis? I don’t think my sister is even on Twitter so I don’t know if it would have been a consolation for her but I loved Curtis too and I envisioned it being the perfect way to honor his memory, along with a recognition of the power of animals in our lives (full disclosure: I am obsessed with dogs and cats).

So how would I go about creating this viral campaign when by its very nature, viral is something you can’t control? Not to mention that I am a Twitter novice who is still just trying to figure it all out. Enlisting the help of Liz (a social media enthusiast), I set about my mission. First I signed up to follow some of the biggest Twitter influentials, from Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres to Pete Cashmore of Mashable and Drew of #BlameDrewsCancer and asked them all to encourage their followers to use my hashtag – no response. Next, I asked all the JS2ers to RT my request in the hope that their followers would catch on – nothing (thanks for trying Liz, Gina, Jamie, Amy and Amanda). While I gained followers throughout the day, not one even acknowledged my request. And then it all went to hell – Farrah Fawcett died, followed by Michael Jackson and sweet Curtis didn’t stand a chance.

While it didn’t go viral (not even close), it was a valiant effort. I guess if I knew what made something go viral, I would be a millionaire, sought out by corporations the world over to consult on their marketing initiatives. But I don’t and I don’t believe anyone does. So at least it made me feel better about the passing of sweet Curtis – RIP little boy, you will be missed.