Maura Welch on Social Media

Sh*t my Dad Says

 Here's another great example of a rising social media meme getting snapped up by old media that will no doubt serve as further inspiration for aspiring writers.

If you've never visited "Shit my Dad Says" I recommend it.

Within moments you'll be laughing out loud and then telling other people about it.

It began as a Twitter feed ... "I'm 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says." Currently at 1.4 million followers.

Then the Twitter feed was posted to Facebook - Number of fans: 929,000

Next came the book deal with the Harper Collins It book label a new popular culture imprint dedicated to entertainment, music, fashion, design, and sports. I believe it came out in May.

And now there is a new TV series starring William Shatner.

I kid you not.

Coming this Fall on CBS.

If only it was unedited and on HBO.

 

Evolving books

So a year or so ago my Aunt started using the Kindle. An avid reader who has read more than one book per week for 60+ years...to see her move to this new form was an eye-opener for me.

Perhaps this thing really had a chance.

So today when I read that Kindle is the top selling item on Amazon for the holidays, it's confirmed. The book is evolving.   

I used to work for Houghton Mifflin - a large-scale publisher. I once met a guy there who had the job of going to pick out the forest that would be harvested to make our books. So, as much as I love paper and books, I do see the wisdom of a new form.

Forrester estimates that 3 million e-books will be sold in 2009.

I tend to think we'll move toward reading books on our iPhone type mobile devices and not a dedicated reader...but whichever - 10 years from we'll probably be discussing books in the same way we discuss vinyl records today.