It’s that time of year again when certain houses in the neighbourhood take on a well honed ‘sci-fi’ like appearance. Each year my daughter and I have given marks out of 10, to the houses we drive past and the bar is getting set higher and higher every year. Wherever you look santas, snowmen, reindeer and sometimes even religious iconography pepper the landscape with seasonal greetings and heartfelt tintinnabulations.
A few years ago I recall reading this great article regarding the economics of Xmas lights and the association with online content…and in a strangely surreal and spooky way, this is what I feel ‘m doing now?!
Following on from last month’s theme, the concept of the marketing tribe truly resonates here, in that everyone has the capacity to derive inspiration by passing through decorated streets containing Xmas lights. In some communities there are even collaborative forces in play where committees are created (probably when Easter Eggs roll the roost) and each member is tasked to share and contribute to the creation of this seasonally decorative event. This concept of sharing and contributing is no different in the online theatre for whenever you post a blog, a tweet or post comments on the worldwide web, everyone can be part of it and readily access it; but only true tribe members or followers will get the true benefit.
Secondly, like blog writing, no one actually gets paid to put up Xmas lights in the same way that a casual whip round is NOT going to accompany this latest blog article!
The final point about the broken windows theory is particularly interesting; where there is festive lighting there is a greater degree of happiness and productivity and these attributes are as important for online communities as they are for the temporarily transient and twilight world of the Xmas lights!
Wishing you all seasons greeting and even more heartfelt tintinnabulations!
