We Are All Weird – #weirdDomino

Now how can you not pick up a book with that title?  And the fact that it is written by Seth Godin only makes it more compelling.

I downloaded the book to my Kindle a few months ago and finally took the time (all of about 90 minutes) to read it on the very long plane ride home from PRSA International Conference in Orlando.  I finished my friend Kelly Dietrich’s dad’s book Pass Line on the flight as well (if you like to gamble, I suggest you read it).

The basic premise of Godin’s book is that “mass marketing” is dead.  With the increase of technology in our everyday lives, mass should no longer be the goal.  Instead, embrace the weird and change the definition of “mass.”

Mass marketing came about in the industrial age.  The ability for organizations to develop products quickly and efficiently that would appeal to many was a recipe for success. As consumers, we could count on these products to do what we needed them to do when we needed them to do it.

But as Godin’s manifesto declares, mass is dying and this is a good thing.  What we thought of as normal should really not be the goal anymore.  Weird (meaning not normal) means you have made an independent choice, that you are doing what you believe in and not playing follow- the-leader.

He points to four forces for weird:

• Creation is amplified – the ability to reach and change those around us has been directly impacted due in large part to access to technology.  You can do anything, be anywhere with a click of the mouse.
• Rich allows us to do what we want and we want to be weird: the more we have the more we want and we now have more access to more weird.
• Marketing is far more efficient at reaching the weird: because you can go straight to the epicenter of weirdness to reach who you want to reach.  Want to connect with blue-eyed, blonds, age 22-30, who have a butterfly tattoo and enjoy reading Hunter Thompson’s work…I bet you can find an online chat room with just those people in it.
• Tribes are better connected – see above chat room reference, we can be closer to our tribes at any given time.

The biggest cultural shift that the Internet has amplified is the ability to make an impact on your own culture.  It’s easier than it has ever been to make a video or spread an idea or live your life surround by like-minded people….

He further declares if you cater to the normal you will disappoint the weird. And as the world gets weirder, that’s a dumb strategy.

So what are you going to do to embrace your weird?  Share here and/or on Twitter using the hashtag #weirdDomino.