A Perfectly Wonderful Tale of Good Social Marketing and a Pinch of Luck

At this very minute, there are a kabillion invisible waves zooming through my house. Microwave, internet, TV remote control, wireless phone, mouse and keyboard...I'm sure there are more.

Sometimes I remind myself that these waves must, surely, be passing right through me. Makes me go all tingly inside thinking about it.

That's exactly how I felt recently as I watched two teens have some online buzz turn into 15 minutes of sure 'nuff fame.

The backstory is a clear example of using social media to Publish. They say 40s-50s movie star Lana Turner was "discovered" at an L.A. drugstore. Today Lana would have put herself up on Facebook before she went to get that milkshake.

This story also demonstrates something that I often encourage people to do: meeting folks online where they are by getting your message out on as many sites as you can comfortably manage.

Here's the Perfectly Wonderful Tale:

There once were twin 16-year-olds, Megan and Liz, from Niles, Michigan. Megan plays guitar and both girls sing. They're good. As of today, they've attracted 87,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel where they've uploaded their catchy performances of covers and originals. They have a song on last.fm and another on iTunes.

"Megan and Liz" -- that's their group's name -- have 83,000 fans on Facebook and 11,949 followers on Twitter. If you search for "Megan Liz YouTube" you will also pull up fan sites created by tweens and teens passionate about their Megan and Liz.

I read those still growing fan numbers as a digital, distant rippling...the thunder before the thunder before the storm. In a country as big as the U.S., having fewer than 100K in your entourage doesn't cut it, but it is clear that the girls and their talent are attracting loyal fans. More important to me: the girls have built that following, it would seem, on their own. I don't smell the icky scent of a stage mom in this story, and there's no big- or small-time record company.

It's at this point in the story that, as in so many fantasy tales, comes Oprah.

Lady O's a-freakin'-mazing producers found Megan and Liz and their YouTube cover of a Taylor Swift song. Thinking they were going to have a Skype e-interview with the O Show team, the girls were surprised on the air by Oprah and Taylor in the flesh. Well, digitized video flesh at least.

I dare to say that a scarce handful of people over the age of 21 knew who Megan and Liz were on Tuesday, October 13th. After Wednesday, October 14th? I believe the appropriate term here is, woot. With coverage on live and syndicated television, oprah.com, YouTube and heaven knows what else, I can't count high enough to count the number of people who have now heard and will continue to hear their story.

I don't think even Stephen Hawking could adequately measure and track the flashes of information and connections that will circle and recircle the globe in reference to good ol' Megan and Liz. No way to know who knows who -- I mean, whom -- among those connections. Your paperboy could be Jay Leno's nephew. Don't laugh. It could happen.

How many people does it take to get a record deal? Just one. All it takes is one.

Instead of waiting to celebrate once Megan and Liz sign a contract, the Goddess chooses to celebrate THIS moment. The bated-breath seconds when Opportunity knocking drowns out everything else.

The Wild West, frontier, "you could find a gold nugget tomorrow", gamblin' spirit is part of what I love about the Web. I'll bet Megan and Liz feel the same way.