I found my thing. I didn’t even know I had a thing. Question is, do I really need a thing? Another question, what exactly is a thing? Still another question, If I need a thing, why do I need a thing? Famed news anchor Walter Cronkite had a thing. He ended every ABC news broadcast with, ‘and that’s the way it was’. As a Matter of fact if you google, ‘and that’s the way it was’, Walter Cronkite pops up. Groucho Marx’s thing was repeatedly
raising his eye brows while flitting his cigar. Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell where each others thing. While Ali most certainly would have been heavy weight champion without Cosell. Howard Cosell on the other hand arguably may not have risen to such popularity without the verbal sparing that went on between the two. Both of them no doubt gained more attention and popularity because of their thing. When you buy a Stephen King book you know you’re buying a horror story. The “thing” is part of branding. A corporations trade mark is another part of branding. For MGM think of the roaring lion that lets you know this next movie was filmed by MGM. NBC has its’ peacock. You get the idea. My thing and your thing is the thing that brands us. It tells an audience what to expect based on their previous experience with our service or product. More importantly when that thing is brought up outside of the context of your product or service it can bring your product or service to mind. When one of your dinner guests gives you a hard time about your vegetarian menu by asking ‘Where’s the Beef’, you might be reminded of Wendy’s. Maybe you’re walking down the Los Vegas strip and the person you’re with says ‘wow, these light are blinding.’ Instead of thinking of how bright the lights are all around you, the statement immediately brings to mind the song Blinding Lights by the Weeknd. That’s the power of effective branding. I’m finding out we need a thing because agents and publishers want us to have a thing. Without a thing it will be difficult for us to get published because writers are the ones responsible for marketing and selling theirs books, and it’s easier to sell if you establish a thing.
For now I’m glad to have found a thing. If this is the first blog of mine you’ve read you most likely still do not know what my thing is. My thing is the last sentence of this websites mission statement and my blogs. Who knows, maybe I’ll find more things. Now, It’s time to write.