So here’s the thing. Those of you who follow me know I have a very…odd sense of humor. Last Thursday, I literally spent five minutes in Pixelmator creating something that made ME giggle because I am sooo totally over this farking election. I had a thought that cracked me up, so I made a meme.
(And contrary to one random dude on my Fb page whose comment I deleted, yes, I WAS the original creator of this meme. Watermarks. Get your eyes checked, bro.)
And then I posted it on my Facebook page, on my Trybe group, a couple of other groups, and on Twitter, and here on my site. I also, at the behest of my bestie, immediately created a couple of other memes using the sock puppet from the commercial Walken was in, and other images, and added the #moarcowbell2016 (think haz cheezeburgers) tag because, well, FUN. HELLLOOO. She wanted a version she could use as a Facebook banner.
And, apparently…
Well…
It sorta kinda went…well, viral.
Like bedbugs in a college dorm viral.
I mean, I was expecting maybe a few dozen likes and comments, a couple of shares, whatever. But by nine o’clock that night I was exchanging text messages with my bestie because I was kind of absolutely freaking the fark out panicking and hyperventilating that I was over 10k on post reach and it was climbing. And by the time we stopped texting at about 2am, it’d hit 200k post reach.
And when I awoke the next morning…
1.1 MILLION post reach. (Said in my best Dr. Evil imitation.)
And as of right now, it’s had 16.7 MILLION post reach, 56 THOUSAND likes, and 196 THOUSAND shares. My Facebook page itself has had almost 5k new page likes.
*thud*
(That was me hitting the floor.)
So THANK YOU to the 99.9% of the people who liked it, took it in the spirit it was meant (fun and to give us all a well-needed laugh), and responded with an LOL comment, or who said we NEED more cowbell (SNL skit), and the people who said I made you laugh or made your day. THANK YOU. Thank you also to everyone who’s shared it. I’m seriously humbled and blown away by how widely this has spread.
I’ve been deleting partisan comments (fortunately, very few were truly nasty and a couple downright scary) because I want this to be FUN. (Anyone who wants to make those kinds of comments do so on your OWN Facebook walls, where you have every right to say whatever you want, but on my virtual real estate, I get to keep it positive because I want people to laugh.)
If I can make you snort beverages out of your nose or piddle your pants in the process, that’s just a double-win. LOL
I think its popularity is obviously a statement about how frustrated people are on BOTH sides of the aisle in terms of candidates, issues, and the current election. (Giving ALL of the candidates in ALL of the parties serious side-eye here, you all. Seriously. Take note–we’re pissed off at ALL of you and the bullshit. So straighten up and LISTEN to your CONSTITUENTS and NOT to special interest money, mmkay? Thanks.)
We’re PISSED OFF as a nation. On BOTH sides. We’re tired of the political games. On BOTH sides. This is not a Democratic or a Republican thing.
This is an AMERICAN THING. We’re ALL sick and tired of the collective bullshit.
Period.
So there’s that part of this equation, I’m sure. Had I made it a partisan meme, I’m relatively sure that it would have not been shared as much. I’ve had people who are Republican and Democrat and Libertarian and Independent and others sharing it. I’ve had people saying they’ve had people sharing it on their streams who they know are not my typical demographic (ie readers of my Tymber Dalton fiction), so there’s a very broad appeal here.
The other part of this is I did NOT pay for this post to be boosted. I don’t pay for post boosts, period. I didn’t spend money on a Facebook ad, either. ALL these crazy numbers?
Totally organic.
It. Just. Exploded.
Ka-BOOM.
Valuable lesson to my fellow writers: Do NOT pay for Facebook advertising, because, honestly? I have not seen a bump in book sales with this. Then again, once this exploded I sort of retreated and stared in shock at this that it got SO FARKING HUGE in such a short amount of time. I honestly wasn’t sure how to respond other than deleting fortunately few trolls and breathing into a brown paper bag to keep from passing out until I could take my next Xanax. LOL
My bestie, who held my hand through this, tonight said duh, start advertising your books like you usually do on your page again. IT’S YOUR PAGE. Just because this one post exploded doesn’t mean you retreat. You have bills to pay. Do what you normally do. Some people won’t like that and will unlike your page, and that’s okay. And I know she’s right, but I am literally…scared, in a way. Paralyzed. Because up until now, if I had a post that reached over 1,000 people, I was like whoo-hoo!
This…
And again, a serious THANK YOU to everyone who has taken this as I intended it, as a light-hearted opportunity to smile.
So yes, I’m going to go back to my usual posting routine.
Once I take another Xanax and finish breathing into this paper bag.
And don’t forget: #moarcowbell2016 #walkenbusey2016
And if you don’t know where the “more cowbell” thing came from, this is a link to the original SNL skit that will explain it.
Oh, and to whoever it was who mentioned Dennis Hopper as a potential candidate, sorry. He’s been dead since 2010. Now maybe Zombie Dennis Hopper…
LATEST RELEASES
Liability (Suncoast Society 33, MMF, BDSM)
The Great Turning (Book 1, writing as Lesli Richardson)
Tony’s Collection (Suncoast Society box set)
Drunk Monkeys series (Books 1 – 10 now available!)
Bleacke Shifters Box Set (Books 1-3, writing as Lesli Richardson)
Siren-BookStrand Author Page | Tymber’s Amazon Page | Lesli’s Amazon Page
Whoo whoo! We will get them elected, yet! Btw- you were spot on with being fed up. Everyone I know would agree with that statement.
Too funny!
And your creations impacted even more people than indicated by the “post reach” numbers. I sent two of them to my family (mother, father, brother) on the day you posted them by photographing them with my phone camera — they were great! 😀
#moarcowbell2016!
My hubby stumbled across this and absolutely loved it. I told h I’m that one of “my authors” created it and he was sorta stunned, I think. What would really be hysterical is a write in campaign.
Congratulations, Tymber. You’re the first person I know to go viral!