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Deep(ish) Millennial Thought of the Week

I went viral with this Tweet. After 15 years of waiting for one of my thousands and thousands of thoughts (most which probably should have remained in my head) to be acknowledged by the masses, I broke through the endless noise on Twitter. Now that I had finally achieved temporary stardom, did my life change forever? Possibly, but not for the reason you may think.

Before diving into the impact of this Tweet, as a thank you for subscribing, I want to give all of my readers the secret formula to going viral.

Step 1: Make a lighthearted observation about a cult show that is highly memeable. You may not have seen Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave yet on Netflix, but you’ve most certainly viewed some of its content second-handedly through its incorporation into some of the best meme content on the internet. A new season is around the corner - it’s a “Curb Your Millennialism Must Watch.”

Step 2: Tag a highly followed, much bigger than you meme account in your post. In this case, I have @ITYSL_Memes and its 60K followers to help thank for 99% my amplification.

Step 3: Get retweeted by aforementioned meme account. This is what truly led to me getting 188K views on my tweet.

Now, after thousands and thousands of people viewed and engaged with my witty observation, you would think that I became internet famous. Well, fame is fleeting and here’s what actually happened:

“What the hell?” indeed. That’s right, zero new followers. There’s a number of reasons why this didn’t net me any new followers. But for the sake of simplicity and making this one of the briefer longer thoughts, let’s just do what every great social media manager does and blame it on the algorithm.

Despite my disappointment, this whole experience taught me a few lessons.

1. Going viral is a nice feather in your hat (see what I did there), but it’s not going to change your life. It seems obvious, but for me this is like going to Vegas. It’s fun to do once, but once is enough. I’m glad it happened, but I don’t need it again.

2. You will likely not gain a new following from this anymore. Perhaps in the early adoption days of Twitter, this would have netted me more followers. It may also not have broken through at all.

3. There is a much better strategy to increase your online following: be nice to people and engage with their own content. This single tactic has helped me get more subscribers for this newsletter than any other type of promotion I’ve done for it. And employing it will make you feel better at the end of each day. It’s slow, but it’s rewarding.

These days, it’s easy to go to the dark side and try to gain an audience through sh*tposting. In a way, my own Tweet here is borderline poking fun at Wirecutter’s coverage of sun hats. That being said, try accumulating positive interactions online and see what happens. I dare you.

THE VERDICT: Growth online is defined by you and the actions you put into the universe. You don’t need a massive audience to feel like you are making an impact.

Less Deep(ish) Millennial Stuff of the Week

• THIS HOT DOG COSTS $29! In one of the most shocking stories of the week, Axios reported of a restaurant in NYC selling this hot dog on a potato bun for $29. $29?!?!?! We’re ready to put this up against the $1.50 Costco hot dog and soda combo any day.

• I’LL HAVE FRIES WITH A SIDE OF A.I. Sticking with food, The Wall Street Journal highlighted that Wendy’s (not home of $29 hot dogs) is partnering with Google to to roll out artificial-intelligence chatbots at select drive-though locations. We’ll have to try it before we can fully weigh in, but expect something like this to go down before the kinks are fully worked out.

• THE CASE AGAINST ARTIFICIAL SUGAR MOUNTS. The World Health Organization this week sent out a warning that artificial sweeteners should be avoided, as they do not actually help in the reduction of body fat in adults and children and may lead to increased health risks. CNN went on to report that the new guidance applies to everyone except those with preexisting diabetes. This is one to continually monitor - the more info, the better.

• IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN A HOME, YOU ARE NOW NOT FIXING IT UP. Home Depot had a terrible first quarter and it’s all because of Millennials not running their errands. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but CNN stated that first quarter sales are down 4.2% from last year. Post-pandemic spending away from the home is most likely the culprit here.

• ZELDA’S STILL GOT IT. The latest game in the Millennial-favorite The Legend of Zelda series launched late last week. Early reviews of Tears of the Kingdom are extremely positive. You can read more of what led up to its release in this excellent interactive feature from The New York Times. If you need any tips on how to explain to your significant other/boss/etc. on why this is necessary to play to connect with your own childhood nostalgia, shoot us an email.

Millennial Product Spotlight

This may not be as sexy of a product to shine a light on as last week’s, but it has proven itself worthy of this week’s spotlight time and time again. Since 1882, Bar Keepers Friend has been doing all of the dirty work to keep your beat up stainless steel and porcelain looking as good as new. I was curious to learn more of this miracle worker’s rich history and just how it came into existence.

As reported by Bob Vila, Bar Keepers Friend was actually discovered by accident back in 1882 when chemist George William Hoffmann was cooking rhubarb with an old pan. Using the powers of his eyes, he saw that the rusty pan was cleaner after he had used it and ultimately determined that oxalic acid, found in vegetables like rhubarb and spinach, could remove rust, tarnish and lime stains from metallic surfaces.

George went on to sell his new formula to tavern owners, who quickly bestowed the moniker of “Bar Keepers Friend” on it. The rest is history. Today, Bar Keepers Friend remains widely used in Millennial households everywhere while being family-owned. Even more impressive, it managed to break through before TikTok even existed!

I particularly find Bar Keepers Friend effective but gentle on my stainless steel grill, but go ahead and try this out on really anything you can think of. Stoves, bath tubs, golf clubs, shoes even - they all deserve a shot at being cleaned and restored. Available at almost any point of distribution that sells home cleaning solutions, Curb Your Millennialism salutes you (free of any paid sponsorship, but we’d take it in a second), Bar Keepers Friend. You’ve proved that a rich legacy combined with a history of producing results can keep you at the top of cleaning lists throughout time.

Millennials of The Week

Curb Your Millennialism scours the globe to find top Millennials making an impact on the world that embody the spirit of being part of the best generation.

This week, instead of honoring just one Millennial, coming off the heels of Mother’s Day, we are recognizing Millennial moms everywhere. What you do is incredible and you deserve the nod this week and every week.

Have someone you feel deserves some special attention? Tweet your suggestions at me for future MOTWs.

That’s all for this episode…

Before I go, a little about me:

I’ve been in omnichannel marketing, business development, sales and operations for startups and big brands alike for over 15 years now. If you’d like to talk with me about consulting, find me on LinkedIn or Twitter or reply to this email. Or you can get creative, I know you have it in you!

Thanks for tuning in. Until next time…