So, I’m working late this past Saturday night. OK, fine. It was already early Sunday morning. I’m almost done but have one more thing I want to search Twitter for. And as I search, I happen to catch site of the Trending Topics on Twitter – the top 10 things folks are talking about right then.
Normally, I take a look and move on, but this time something made me stop: Alley Cats Strike was trending. I was… intrigued. Could it be the Alley Cats Strike I knew? Nah. Why would it be? And yet…
Alley Cats Strike, you see, happens to be the name of a movie I wrote. Thing is, it was a Disney Channel movie that aired back in 2000. Surely, this was something else, I told myself.
No! It turns out that the Disney Channel was repeating Alley Cats Strike (at 2:45 in the morning!) and hundreds and hundreds of Twitter users were talking and tweeting about it. Enough people so that an 11 year-old Disney Channel movie was trending.
Most of the folks tweeting had seen the movie when it first aired and were having fun watching it again (or even just hearing the name again). A lot of them were quite enthusiastic about the film, too.
For me, it was the first time I’d EVER had any sense that folks had watched and liked the movie. It was amazing – 11 years later, I was finally seeing that the script and the cast and all the folks who worked so hard on the movie had connected with the people we wanted to connect with.
So, instead of going to bed, I had some great chats, read some tweets that made me laugh, and realized that it is for these wonderful, happy, random moments that I love social media so. It was incredibly fun for me, and I thank everyone who tweeted. 
At one point, Alley Cats Strike was number five on the trending topics list. Today, other than a few sad spammers trying to ride a formerly hot topic, there hasn’t been a single tweet about the movie. What happened that night was just a moment in time, a common bond forming that disappeared quickly.
Yet I can tell you this… it meant a lot to me.
I hope each of you gets to experience something this fun. And my guess is, if you hang around social media long enough, you probably will.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
So very cool!!!
What a wonderful moment for you to experience. I believe this was a happy accident for you.
You happened to be exactly where you needed to be. (Doesn’t really sound like an accident to me…hmmm…but I have been known to read more into things like this.) Thanks for the reflective post.
Cindy Paul´s last [type] ..Duet – Illustration Friday
Oh Greg, I love this story. A living breathing happy accident story.
Greg, that is crazy! I’m glad you were awake to notice it. One of your happy accidents
Julie Musil´s last [type] ..Dialogue-Make it Matter
Go, Alley Cats!
Very impressive!
What a great story – thanks for sharing! There are no coincidences!
That is cool!
I love this serendipitous event! I also love how beloved pieces of our past keep getting picked up and admired, even if only for a second. Maybe the entire interwebs is just one giant scrapbook:)
That’s great, Greg! When the social media connection clicks, it can be an awesome thing.
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So glad that shiny little moment didn’t sneak past you.
Thanks, y’all. It was a fun moment, and I’m also glad I happened to catch it (coincidence, happy accident, and serendipity notwithstanding!).
Greg Pincus´s last [type] ..The Surprise Joys of Social Media
Amazing!
Ray Anderson´s last [type] ..Peak-Bagging
That is SO cool. You’ve convinced me: I need to tweet.
So why were the alley cats on strike? And striking from what? Is this a metaphor for that whole air traffic control thing?
Save that screen shot, print it out and hang it somewhere in your office. Or maybe get a trending topic tattoo, if that’s your thing.
I bet that made you feel great. Did you got to share it with other Alley Cat alums while it happened?
I didn’t get to share it in real time with anyone other than the folks tweeting. Part of that was due to the late hour, but the other reality of that type of production is that I am only in touch with one other person from it. I did email him. I also tweeted Kaley Cuoco, who was in the cast, though I doubt she saw the tweet (or would know who I am!). Nonetheless… it was a blast!
Greg Pincus´s last [type] ..Links the Greg Edition!
Amazing!! And even more amazing that it could have happened without you knowing. Maybe it’s happened before. Maybe it happens all the time.
Maybe similar happy accidents are swimming in and out and over us all the time, and when you dipped your hand in the social media pool, this is the one you caught.
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I’m sure these types of things happen all the time, though not this SPECIFIC type of thing. Who knows, of course. I don’t check the trending topics that often. Maybe every night an old Disney Channel movie trends. But I think it’s just more likely, as you note, that this is the one I happened to catch….
Greg Pincus´s last [type] ..Links the Greg Edition!
Interesting story. I usually stay up at night to finish my work at times and I’m browsing around stumbleupon, facebook or twitter. So far, such a happy accident hasn’t happened to me. But after reading yours, I’m kind of hopeful now.
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A happy accident indeed!
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I just love – and miss! – Greg!!!
I miss you, too, Lori (assuming, as I do, you’re the same Lori who commented on Facebook, too. If you’re a different Lori, it’s possible I miss you, but I can’t say for sure!). We’ll get up your way at some point, I’m sure….
Greg Pincus´s last [type] ..Links the Greg Edition!
Recently I went to my first twitter party. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I was surprised how many people were tweeting at the same time. I couldn’t keep up with it for sure. So many different views going at one time.
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