Quiddity! - the SEO Blog

Up there with the most famous and effective marketing slogans of all time has to be "We're bigger than Jesus", a paraphrase of "... We're more popular than Jesus..."

If you didn't already know, this wasn't conceived in a room full of flash suits perplexing one another with their archaic and impenetrable mantras regarding focus groups and ROI. No sir, this particular nugget was coined by none other than a certain John Winston Lennon, who met an untimely death on this day, 27 years ago.

I was five when the shooting was announced on the evening news, and I vaguely recall having to ask either my mom or dad who John Lennon was.

I have since learned that he was not only cut off in the prime of his life, but also a talented musician, songwriter, and veritable poet; a subversive and a rebel; a peace campaigner with a sometimes misguided faith in human nature; a cynic with an acidic tongue; a shrewd marketeer and self-promoter. He was the embodiment of a walking dichotomy, and yet an inspiration to us all.

I think that had he been here today, he would've warmly embraced the entire social media phenomenon with the openness and relish he fired into his songwriting and other pursuits. Just imagine what a blog by John Lennon would've read like. I feel that unlike his contemporaries he'd still have been there at the cutting edge, making his voice heard regardless of who he might upset, remaining vocal and outspoken in his criticism of oppression and discrimination wherever it may manifest (albeit from the comfort of a county pile). I would like to think that true genius never fades away - it just loses its edge with the progression of time.

A few weeks back I posted about the 6 types of blogger. In it I used a picture of John Lennon to illustrate my example of the subversive. Over at Sphinn it received a comment from cr8pc that said, "Imagine all the  people, sharing all the world... I'm with John Lennon, who imagined the internet." 

Indeed, the song 'Imagine' could be interpreted as a template for the whole social media scene.

Written and recorded in 1971, 'Imagine' is probably John Lennon's most famous and popular song, possibly one of the most popular songs ever. Personally, out of his solo stuff I always preferred 'Working Class Hero' - something I've always aspired to be - but that's only my opinion.

Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too
The internet has opened the world up to us all. Countries may still hold and protect their borders, but there are no such barriers in cyberspace. Through social media we are now able to connect in real-time with people the world-over. Like-minded persons who we'd never have connected with otherwise. User-generated content (not just that of the big corporations or those that can afford it) can be shared across the globe; peoples daily and weekly thoughts, opinions, and endeavours are there for us all to see and enjoy, learn from, and disagree with. There's not a stone left unturned, nor a niche uncatered for, and it's created for the people, by the people. Web 2.0 has revolutionised the way we operate and make ourselves heard. Whilst war and tyranny rages in the outside world, if you've carved a niche in the blog-o-sphere (regardless of impact) or dipped your toe into the social networks that are out there to be found, then cultural differences, geographical borders, skin colour, and religious conviction mean absolutely nothing. We are equal, despite what the trolls and various other undesirables might try and have us believe, nothing more than a series of binary digits projected onto a monitor (apologies to all the techies for this rather basic, probably innacurate, concept of how my words actually reach you).

Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man
A brotherhood of man, indeed (and I don't mean the cheesy, trouser suit-wearing group that won Eurovision '76 with 'Save Your Kisses For Me').  The blog-o-sphere has united with one common goal. To make themselves heard. Whatever the niche, whatever the quality, there's an infinite amount of voices out there, just screaming to raise their heads above the parapet and be noticed. These range from the small-fry just getting noticed to the power-bloggers that command enormous respect within their field. Social media has given us the opportunity to be heard without the constraints of finance holding us back. An unthinkable notion for the average man in 1971. (And don't think me naive enough to believe that the blog-o-sphere is populated by commentators motivated by altruistic intent, for it is a steady income for many, but this doesn't detract from the content they provide.)

Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world
The internet is the one place where we can share the world, for although there will always be those that try to seperate themselves from the rest and use whatever clout they possess to do so, they hold little sway with the majority of bloggers and social network users that are out there. We will judge an individual on what they have to say and what they bring to the table. A conglomorate such as News International or Virgin Media, though they may control the means of expression and distribution of that expression in the physical world, they can't (yet) stop the tiniest of voices sharing their thoughts and feelings across web 2.0.

You may say that I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will be as one
Unfortunately, in John Lennon's time he was dismissed as a dreamer. People were conditioned to be happy with their lot and not to expect anything more from life. It still goes on today. Believe me, I've experienced it first-hand. But that change can be made, and the internet has removed a great deal of the boundaries that until now have kept us out. Personally I would like to thank the team here at Essence SEO and Essence Design for their part and support in this.

John Lennon hoped that someday we'd join him, and the world would be as one... Social media, the blog-o-sphere, web 2.0, whatever you wish to call it; they've brought this dream a step closer.

A world united in cyberspace, if not in reality. When we've all been blown to smithereens our legacy will live on. A cache of information to be found by a distant alien race who'll look at it and think yes... maybe they did do something right.

Imagine

John Lennon - 9th Oct. 1940  -  8th Dec. 1980