#TheDress. Do you remember that one? Was it black? Was it blue? Was it white? I couldn't even remember the two color options without looking the hashtag up on Twitter. No white, just black and blue.
But then I noticed something unexpected. People are still talking about #TheDress. An ad campaign with a woman literally beaten black and blue used the hashtag, and was nominated for a 2016 Webby Award. Some were jokingly causing arguments with their parents, who weren't aware of the phenomenon a full year after the event. Others were pairing it with other hashtags, like #ReasonsHumansWillGoExtinct.
#TheDress debacle was ignited in February 2015. Now, over a year later, I bet most of you know exactly what I am talking about, even if like me you can't remember the colors involved. That is the thing about making an impression: the imprint that it leaves on our minds is stored, retained, until something brings it to the fore. If the impression was strong enough that it evoked an emotional response, then those feelings will flood in and you relive the moment.
Some people may say that social content is ephemeral, that our fickle nature sustains something "viral" for a short time, and then it fades into oblivion.
Sorry, but I completely disagree.
Everything on the internet is forever, even if it gets relegated to the second page of a Google search. The information is there, and when the right person shares it, that information is imbued with new life. When that happens it reaches new people, activates old impressions, creates new ones, and amplifies its future potential.
As someone who sees just how much content is out and how it can endure, I try my to make each article meaningful and thoughtful. The volume can keep you afloat in a sea of daily outputs so that your voice is heard, but what's the point of that if what you are saying is valueless and unoriginal. Fortunately every article has a chance to strike a chord -- just like #TheDress. Every article has a chance to live in the minds of readers long after the flurry of likes and shares have subsided.
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That's why social media is anything but fleeting, even against nature. Platforms may come and go, but once you have touched someone's life, you never know when that influence will rise to the top of their minds and make a difference. Increasingly more influential leaders realize that this is a way in which they can give back to the world, and I honestly think that we live in a new age of enlightenment.
Never before has it been so easy to get into the heads of corporate giants. There is more value on social media than an MBA course -- you just have to be selective about what you retain as meaningful.
"Easier said than done," say those who believe that social media is vapid and superficial. Ultimately, each of us is in control of where we follow that sea and which rivers we drink from.
About the Author
Anurag Harsh wears many hats. He is an entrepreneur, a public company executive, a digital guru, a blogger, a McGraw-Hill published author, an angel investor, and a classical musician who has performed two sold out solo concerts at Carnegie Hall. Follow him on Twitter.