Viral Marketing in 1972

I was born in 1972 in Grand Rapids, MI. Upon my birth, I imagine that people were made aware of the blessed event primarily by phone messages, a newspaper announcement, letters and maybe a postcard dropped in the mail. (Stamps cost eight cents at the time.) Knowing my family, any pictures taken were probably not developed for months (or years) and were certainly never used to share my arrival with people who were unable to visit me to give me my first kisses. It's possible the only people who really saw me within the first few months were neighbors or church friends who lived within a few miles.

What am I thinking, you wonder?

Back in the 1970's, there were still people who engaged in viral marketing. It just intrigues me to think how today's media has seriously altered the way the message is transmitted, the quality of the message, and how the attention span of the people receiving the message has changed.

Imagine your phone buzzing in your pocket. Your friend is sending you a text message. "Where RU" flashes across your screen. "Club Soda - best Martini's in town, live music," you reply. "Never been...heard about it...lemme know what's good on the menu."

So you become an amateur food critique for the evening, not realizing that's what you've become. But in the 1970's you would have thought about the location, the drinks, the meal and the entire experience for hours, days, or months before you decided to share the experience...possibly deciding that your experience wasn't worth sharing at all.

Our location, the circumstances and the media available often determine our likelihood to share things that are happening. The reality is that most people don't filter their surroundings at all; whatever is happening is happening now...it plays the way it plays. We don't consider that maybe our advice will be good or bad for the person receiving it. We only provide the commentary because that's what the recipient expects.

If we had to think, how different would our message be. Like in 1972?