Did you watch Jim and Pam’s wedding on The Office last Thursday?  Did you catch the scene where the wedding party dances down the aisle to a cool hip hop song?  As mentioned on the show, this was inspired by a YouTube video call JK Wedding Entrance.

So an ordinary couple, Jill and Kevin, decide to spice up their wedding, which if you ask me, people should do more often because weddings are usually dull and generally forgettable.  They had this great idea to do something that has probably never been done before – having the wedding party dance down the aisle to a hip-hop song.  Sure dancing is a usual part of weddings, but it’s not necessarily part of the actual ceremony.  And the hip-hop song they danced to – “Forever” – is not your typical Pachelbel’s Canon.  As you can see on the video, Jill and Kevin succeeded in making their wedding unforgettable to their guests.  But, when they decided to post it on YouTube, they made their wedding something the entire planet marveled at.  The video quickly went viral and people spread it like wild-fire.  I remember receiving an email about it when it was released in July and it definitely struck me at the time.

But when I saw The Office wedding last week, I was shocked.  The popularity of a homemade YouTube video of a real-life wedding had crossed over to the big leagues and was actually being broadcast on an extremely popular TV show.  This is a big deal!  This means that people like you and me, Joe the plumber, your barber, your mailman, WE can all be the trendsetters now!  The tables have turned.  In the past, big media like TV, movies, and magazines have set the trends.  Remember when Jennifer Aniston’s haircut on Friends was all the rage and every girl on the block wanted it?  Or in the 80’s when Flashdance made leggings and the oversized shirt popular?  Or in the 60’s when Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s made the little black dress and the oversized sunglasses fashionable? We used to wait for them, the select few who had the power to manipulate big media to tell us what’s popular and interesting.  Now, with the advent of Social Media, everyday people with great ideas are in the mix too!  Everyday people, with no budgets, no power or powerful connections can make a huge difference in the world more easily than ever before.

So what are YOU going to do about it?  Does your business do amazing things for it’s clients?  Have you taken on a great cause that people need to be made aware of?  Does your organization have extraordinary stories to tell?  With Social Media, you have no excuse to keep the good stuff to yourself.  Spread the wealth – share your success stories, your great ideas, tell us what you’re doing differently.  Share yourself with the world the way Jill and Kevin shared their wedding video.  You never know who you’re going to touch, or if your story is going to go viral and show up on the next episode of The Office.

Leave me a comment!

• Previous Entry: Obama may have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but with some he just can’t win
• Next Entry: Are You Working Hard at Being Ordinary?