Chicken pox for the soul

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not-so-far-away, there lived a young upholstered prince who saw life through rose-colored spectacles. He was an eager young lad, full of vitality and aplomb but alas, a curse befell him and he has been trapped in an ivory tower ever since. Meals became his life’s recourse, and one of a few sources of disport during a period characterized by extreme haplessness. It was the stodgy days and so-called weekends that got to him the most.

Now what the bleep is this Toff yapping about? If not for a mother who’d constantly check up on me, a brother and friends who’d call (also, what is bombarding their Twitter feeds with categorical nonsense?), and my own Dorota a.k.a. Jocelyn who’d help me medicate and give me pennies for my thoughts, you would think that I had been a mad cow-infested Tajima-ushi cattle, being prepped for wagyu slaughter. Yes, the prince (or rather I, not a prince but a “poxster”) had been on two-week quarantine because of a curse that struck me. In modern day tête-à-tête, this curse is known as chicken pox.

Chicken pox, unlike its chicken soup not-so-contemporary, can fashion heavy implications for the soul. You’re riding life’s high one moment (how many apple pie shots can you down with your friend?) and then suddenly, isolation. You’re having merienda with your friend and then suddenly, emergency room. But chicken pox can be liberating as well. In the two weeks that I had it, I gathered my thoughts (for what else is there to do, really) and ruminated on things I otherwise wouldn’t have had the time of day for. Ah, looking at the proverbial bright side of life.

Brand “Youth”

I realized that monetary stability these days has become the impregnable unicorn to the youth of the 21st century. Success stories, formerly dime-a-dozen, are now diamond-in-the-rough. Fact: with tough economies, unstable job markets, and rapid turnovers, you could easily fall behind if you don’t get with the program. Fact: it’s a cruel world out there. Unless you’re an artista, a scion, or a TV personality, how exactly are you supposed to sustain a family, maintain or improve your lifestyle, and/or stay afloat (without the help of your parents, that is)? Note to self: learn Chinese and become a taipan. Note to self: learn HTML and create a social networking site like Facebook. Note to self: network with Mr. M and join Pinoy Big Brother. If all else fails, find a benefactor.

The same, however, may not be said of the youth’s growing social capital and inter-media correspondence. I learned that when activated properly and corroborated with self-awareness, branding, and intuitive use of social network (which reads nowadays as social “net worth”), it can actually usher the new age young’n to where he wants to go. Think Mark Zuckerberg and how a simple college geek became the world’s most formidable billionaire, all before the age of 30. Think notable bloggers of their respective fields who are capitalizing on social media influence and dictating streams of public thought. Brand “Youth” in a time of rising social media can be so powerful that it could easily be the sleeper hit of the 21st century.

Pox And The Ubermensch

Oftentimes, however, the youth take for granted what we, as our own enablers and “brand ambassadors,” enjoy in superabundance. As young’ns, we feel that at this junction of our lives, all the world’s our oyster fueled by barrier-breaking social media. We feel unlimited, unstoppable, as if nothing could stand in our way. By the way, do you know that there is such a thing as “tweet seats” now in theaters across America, usually reserved in the last two rows, where you can tweet during live performances and engage in online discussion? Sure, there is scarcity in the plight for monetary security, and there is promise in the youth’s “e-mancipation.” But social media has become so unstoppable, and vitality so confused with social mobility that we are shocked and awed at wit’s end, when we are thrown a curveball like chicken pox, that we are still human.

As a young’n, I thought of myself as an ubermensch or superman. I did everything I put my mind to, oftentimes simultaneously and to the extreme. I’m blogging on one part of my screen, I’m watching 90210 on the other, and my mom barges into my room and I’m updating her on my condition, which begs the question: with my super-self split three ways, four-ways including Twitter, five-ways including Snoopy’s Street Fair, am I truly blogging? Am I truly watching? And am I truly in conversation? Or could it be that like most young’ns, I’ve become essentially half-baked?

I ask the same of people who tweet and twitpic during a vacation: “Wow, what a beautiful sunset! Wish you could all be here.” Well, if it’s so beautiful, why don’t you just friggin’ enjoy it? And then we’re back to “tweet seats.” Why watch a performance if you’re really just going to tweet the whole time, or pay sh*tloads for a concert if you’re perpetually videotaping it on your camera or iPhone? You might as well have watched the DVD of Adele’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Is the youth’s new E! True Hollywood story an E-reality?

Harvey Gabor And Joseph Kony

In my sudden affliction, I found the time to watch a 30-minute viral video that had been taking social networks by storm. Who is Joseph Kony and why should we care? I come to learn that Kony is a militia leader who has been spearheading anonymous killings in Uganda. He is wanted for his crimes by the International Criminal Court though no large-scale efforts have been made to capture him. Sadly, there is no long-term economic interest for the US in establishing military presence in the region, which explains the lack of urgency among world players. How, then, would this terrorist be tried for his crimes? “Turn the eyes of the world towards him,” says the Invisible Children. “Let’s make Joseph Kony famous!”

If you get enough eyes to turn using the power of social media, then people start to care — it seems, the new marketing formula for the 21st century. #magnum #itsmorefuninthephilippines. The effort has snowballed into influential leaders, celebrities, Joes and Janes, and even trolls tweeting, re-tweeting, and taking up the cause.

Another personality whose popularity has skyrocketed recently is retired ad man Harvey Gabor who, in 1971, created one of the most iconic TV commercials in history — the Coca Cola “Hilltop” ad. Here, people of all races were seen holding a vintage Coke bottle while singing “I’d like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company.” The idea of connecting people through a brand was so simple yet spot on, and yet today, it’s message is as relevant as ever. Through social media, despite geographical or racial barriers, we are very much connected.

In 2011, Google, as part of an advertising experiment, brought Gabor back from retirement to re-imagine his coke commercial and make his idea relevant again to a new generation of creatives. The result? A revolutionary Coca-Cola vending machine that allows you to buy a coke, and then send messages to anyone in any part of the world where another such Coca-Cola vending machine was planted. The video reaffirmed that even if the means by which ideas are carried out have changed, the truth of human connectivity is as potent.

My two weeks of physical isolation are up but it’s like I never left. I was in my room the whole time but I was still very much a part of the world I lived in. In fact, with all the knowledge I had acquired, I felt more connected than ever. Ideas are everywhere. You just have to look in the right direction.