Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Kim, the Internet and I.


Last week I got an email from an unknown admirer on linked in.com. A fellow ad professional who told me, in glowing terms, how much he had enjoyed my prodigious postings of Kim Jung Un photos and my fictional, sometimes funny, captions.

Lately, the tumblr blog that I maintain has been a hotbed of activity. Picking up new followers by the boatload. Sadly none of them have any media connections and can do me any good.

Just out of curiosity I went back to the archive and noticed I have been relentlessly poking at the Pudgy One since April 2013.

Do the math.
That's close to two years.
Holy crap I thought, I gotta get a life.

But then I had a different thought.
This is my life.

I love the idea of finding these strange photos, slapping on a few choice words and sending it out over the ether knowing that it provokes a giggle, a laugh or even, if I'm lucky and having a really good day, a spit take of coffee over an unguarded keyboard.

You'd be surprised how little effort it takes. The pictures come from the official mouthpiece of the DPRK. And if the caption doesn't materialize in 5 minutes, I usually discard it and move on to another photo.

I doubt anything will come of the collection, though I'd like to turn the entire collection into a book. But I do subscribe to the notion that "good luck favors those who put in the hard work."

Or even the flippant, meaningless work.

Besides, it keeps my name out there and on the radar of agency recruiters. And junior copywriters who must be thinking, "this old man is off his rocker."

Then again, it's not as if the venture hasn't produced some dividends.

Because now that I'm on Tumblr and I have close to a thousand followers and I have access to their newsfeeds, which tend to be far more eclectic and interesting than my newsfeeds on Twitter or Facebook.

"Had a great chicken asada burrito while in Austin last week at SXSW. Zzzzzzzzz…"

There's Japanese Manga.
Teenage girl angst.
White supremacist propaganda.
And lots of GIFS.

Tumblr is awash is GIFS. Most not worth watching. But occasionally there will be a share worthy diamond in the rough.

Enjoy.





1 comment:

george tannenbaum said...

Love this post.



In an era where everyone says they're a story-teller, you actually tell stories. And good ones.

No wonder you get so much work.