Tag, I'm it... A word on meme's

Friend and resident New England expert on social interaction Chris Brogan has tagged me through his blog and Twitter with an Internet meme. Not familiar with the term, I thought for sure I was in some kind of trouble... not the case. Rather, in this example, the 'tagger' looked to the recipient to share 4x4 things about themself with a wider audience - and then pass the buck to a few more.

From Wikipedia - 'An Internet meme is catchphrase or concept that spreads in a faddish way from person to person via the Internet.' With that definition, viral emails such as "Forward this to ten friends and you'll become rich" would be considered Internet memes.

While such emails are pointless and fall in the digital pollution category, this is quite different. It helps strengthen the online relationships I've established. It puts me in a position to share something I otherwise wouldn't - which helps to provide some context around who I am - especially for those who only know me through an online relationship. It also helps create new relationships. Click back through Chris's tag - follow his links to the person who tagged him - in this case Peter Kim - and so on. Peter used to be a firewood broker - how cool is that?

In the past 30 minutes, I've read some fascinating stuff about folks I'd otherwise have no exposure to. I'm following them now, and my social network has grown that much more. It's also interesting to watch the rules evolve as information flows from person to person.

So - my 4x4 and subsequent tag victims

    Four jobs I've had in my life :

1. My first paying job was as a farm hand at McArthurs Farm in Holliston, MA.
2. McDonalds Drive-through operator - Would you like to super-size that sir?
3. Radio Jock - Before realizing I'd never be famous, I was spinning the top-40 on your AM dial
4. Friendly Helpdesk Guy - Back in the days of Gopher - This is when I fell in love with the 'net (92'ish?)

    Four shows I DVR :

1. 24 - Love the show, just hoping they never do a 24 movie... Not sure I could sit still that long
2. Lost - They're back, and I'm ready for weeks on end of no real answers
3. SNL - Yes, I still record it with hopes that someday it gets funny again
4. Anything on the HD Discovery channel - This stuff is *amazing*

    Four places I've been :

1. Alaska - Sat atop an Iceberg - Caught a salmon thhhiiissss big - swatted eagles away like they were pigeons
2. Mexico - Man do I love the Yucatan Penninsula. Also, could be nicest people in the world
3. Ireland -   The whole left hand side of the road thing nearly got me killed
4. St. John - Having just gotten back, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give a shout out

    Four favorite foods :

1. I really need to live closer to a Chipotle
2. Starbucks - Hi, I'll have a venti cafe latte with xtra whip, .7 pump vanilla, 141.3 degrees please
3. Papa Gino's - Folks outside of New England wish they had pie like this
4. Lastly, it's all about the pancakes

In the interest of watching this meme continue to evolve, I'd like to hear from the following folks...

• Adam Cohen - Principal at Brulant and all around decent guy
• Sean O'Driscoll - One of a handful of key folks who really got me juiced about SM
• Mark Twomey - aka Storagezilla. Frankly, I'm just hoping to drive some traffic to his blog ;)
• Mark Kramer - A Senior Info Architect @ EMC - Someone I've yet to meet but would like to know more about

So - let the meme continue... Looking forward to watching this evolve.. And thanks, Chris, for the tag.

Comments

[Peter Kim]

Hey Len - great info. I was once a DJ too, graveyard shift at a classic rock station. It was there I learned the real reason why DJs love Freebird.

[Adam Cohen]

LD, nice work. I'm on board, finally. I reserve the right hate you for it one day.

And by the way, I was also a DJ on WHHB 91.5FM in Holliston, but I was 14 and unpaid so I didn't list it in my 4x4 here:

http://adamcohen.typepad.com/adamsblog/2008/02/tag---im-it.html