3 Things People Share to Make Them Look Clever and Cool
Nothing is more irresistible than a secret shared
On the corner of North Charlotte Street and Albyn Place in Edinburgh, Scotland you wouldn’t pay much attention to the little red barbershop tucked in between a delicatessen and an estate agency.
It’s called Panda & Sons.
If you were to stand opposite you would observe that the shop had no customers all morning. No one would come or go until mid-afternoon.
Then you would notice a steady trickle of couples entering the shop and disappearing down the staircase to the left. Perhaps a small group of friends would make their way in, too. And you would wonder why it takes so long for them to get get a haircut.
If you were inclined to investigate, you would enter the shop and descend the same staircase. At the bottom, you would turn right and come to a stop. Facing you is a bookcase. There is nowhere else to go.
This makes no sense.
Where have all the people gone?
Then you hear the faint sound of music and chatter.
The Secret
Panda & Sons is a classic Prohibition style Speakeasy behind the facade of a Vintage style Barbershop.
Despite not advertising, Panda & Sons is a busy place, and when full to capacity they disappoint many customers when they are turned away. They do this to ensure every customer has a seat and receives first-class service.
Hosts show customers to tables, where they are given free snacks and water prior to ordering. Their extensive cocktail menu is a booklet. As customers (I include myself) peruse the cocktail menu, we are mesmerised by the fanciful concoctions being delivered to the other tables.
A bell jar filled with smoke. Hidden inside is a smokey rum concoction. And we all want one.
It’s a neat idea. Panda & Sons ranks third on Tripadvisor’s best bars in Edinburgh — behind an escape room and a comedy club.
I Can’t Help Myself
Whenever I hear people are going to Edinburgh I ask if they have been to the barbershop. I take friends there who have never been, and delight in their surprise.
This is social currency. People share things that make them look good to others. We are wired to do it. We are not just sharing because we want others to experience it, we find pleasure in the sharing. Sharing is its own reward.
What we share matters. We prefer to share ideas and experiences that make us seem agreeable, amusing, or clever. It’s our social currency.
Writing for Social Currency
Word-of-mouth recommendations work. We see it here, people mention other writers or their writing. If it’s so exceptional, we need to read it too.
We are drawn to the remarkable. Which article would you rather read?
Four Books That Aren’t Worth Your Time
Four Books So Powerful They Can Rewire Your Brain
The first has less than 100 claps by two people. The second by Anangsha Alammyan has over 13,000 claps and 179 responses.
In the first article, the books aren’t worth my time, so neither is the article. It might warrant a glance, no more. The second draws you in with its remarkable claim.
Have you ever wondered why there are so many articles on Medium about money the author has earned or why the mainstream media write so much about the rich and famous?
It’s gamification.
We don’t just care about how much Medium pays us, we concern ourselves with how much others are getting. It matters to the average human where we stand relative to everyone else.
Who is the top dog? Why are they earning more than me? What are they doing differently?
We compare our health, fitness, looks, and more to others. Old school friends get the once over. We are fascinated by youthful celebrities — how do they do it? And in the back of our minds, we wonder how we look in comparison.
Every second article by Tim Denning mentions money in some shape or form. His social currency is his status as a writer who has earned more money than most writers. What good would it do him if nobody knew?
I’m going to let you in on a secret.
My ex-boss was an expert communicator. He always made me feel like I belonged in his inner circle. He took me into his confidence.
Occasionally it was a whisper in the ear, sometimes he would beckon me to his office and close the door, on other occasions he’d put his arm around my shoulder and take me to the side to tell me something.
What he told me wasn’t always a big secret, but the way he did it was conspiratorial. It made me feel like part of his inner circle.
And that was all I needed to motivate me to work hard for him. He didn’t have a budget to award bonuses. We got paid the same if we did a shit job as a half-decent job.
When asked who I thought was the most outstanding person I worked with, my ex-boss’s name would trip off my tongue. My social currency was being able to explain why he was an outstanding leader.
You can add all these things to your writing.
Take Tom Kuegler. He has 57k followers on Medium. In his latest article, he hit all three. I Made $80K In 2022 — Here’s 3 Big Business Lessons I Learned.
He makes a remarkable claim— $80k is remarkable. A survey of 50,000 writers carried out by the University of Glasgow showed the average author income in 2018 was £10,497 and continues to decline.
He gamifies his success, offering facts and figures. And because we fall short, we want to know his secrets — his 3 big business lessons.
His first point cites that “If you make good stuff people will market it for you. Don’t ever underestimate word of mouth.”
And here’s me passing it on.
If you want to get people talking about your writing, make it irresistible to share. Give your readers their social currency.
Oh, I forgot to say — there’s more by Malky here. You can get an email when Malky publishes. Read and learn, write and earn by joining here.
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