Balls: Part II How To Use Them

I, like thousands of others, got taken in. Yes, it does happen. The people behind TheChive.com, who have come up with other hoaxes, landed this one with the hope of going viral once again. Congratulations, guys: you got more people to regurgitate your make-believe story (*applause*).

Before you start giving them props and kudos for successfully spinning a tale about "Jenny", the disgruntled employee who quit her job using a series of 31 dry-erase board photo messages, you might want to consider another angle. In a way, I'd like to thank theChive.com guys not so much for their prank, but what their prank highlights: Social Media and Internet journalism is rife with regurgitated, over-spun stories instead of innovative, action-oriented content that inspires, improves the quality of life, or fills a need that makes a difference. 

If we really have the balls, as I wrote about in my previous post "Balls: Not Only On the Guys", we would be action-oriented. We would be more like the people who are about to take the stages of the numerous Seattle Geek Week activities August 13 - 22, such as Austin Heap's work to help Iranian dissidents, or Johnny Diggz' Geeks Without Borders. 

The Jenny story gave us some kicks and giggles. But if I wanted to be entertained, there is enough noise and  Internet drivel available out there (and I've probably supplied a drop or two of that myself) on Youtube and Facebook from which to select for a good laugh. If I wanted to be emotionally manipulated for someone else's pleasure, I could find someone to re-enact a form of relational sadism upon me until my dying days (or just watch "The Notebook").

It was pointed out to me that perhaps the "Jenny" story served another purpose. Maybe the offshoot is that it inspires other people who hate their jobs to actually do something like "Jenny" did. I thought long and hard about it (about five seconds). Nah. I am not ready to assign that kind of credit for inspiration to change, when these guys knew they'd have to call it a hoax in less than 24 hours. True inspiration doesn't come from single acts of random people, but from consistent leadership that flows from character. I would rather applaud the people who will be coming to the Gnomedex stage August 19 - 21. There's no hoax involved. They are the real deal, and I am proud to be involved in curating the content that will be on the stage for this conference. 

Maybe as our own little prank, those of us who got taken in by the "Jenny" story should invoice the Chive guys with the estimated cost of our wasted time. I'm sure the Jay Leno show and the Today Show might have some hefty bills. Let's see now: I charge $110- $175/hr for coaching. I took thirty minutes to respond to other people on FB and Twitter about the story, and ten minutes to review the hoax when it was revealed. I spent another five minutes responding to Twitter retweets, and fifteen minutes writing this blog post. 

I'll be fair. The invoice for my time looks like about $110 sixty minutes, but I got an idea that's worth a million bucks to me out of the experience. That idea is this: keep doing original actions, and keep writing original content. Keep dancing original choreography, and keep performing original music. So, we'll call it even. 

Thanks guys. By negative example, I figured out exactly who I don't want to be.