So I know it has been awhile since I have posted here on Contagious and I swear it’s not because I am slacking. It’s because I have been spending the majority of my time here and here recently.

This morning I was inspired to update this blog to talk about being a finger, not a nostril. There is a joke that I heard a long time ago that I always seem to whip out at parties during that time after you meet someone and you realize you have very little in common with that person but you need to say something. Here’s how it goes:

Why do gorillas have big nostrils? Because they have big fingers.

Funny right? Yeah, not one of those jokes where people leave the party commenting on how hilarious I am by any stretch. But this joke does bring up an interesting topic on how you do work, push the envelope, and blaze new trails. The joke insinuates that the gorilla’s nostrils got big because his fingers were so big and it stretched them out. It did not mean his fingers grew larger to accommodate the large nostrils. This is an interesting distinction.

Playing in an existing space, bouncing around on the inside and exploring is fine. You see people and companies do it all the time. But until people start “enlarging the nostrils” by pushing from the inside, nothing will ever grow, evolve, and advance.

We’ve had our fun in the social media/Web 2.0 space. We’ve gone to the parties, the Tweetups, and the conventions. We’ve tried “our best” to convince big companies and clients to have a social media presence only to fall short with a measley Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in 2 months. Now it’s time to enlarge the nostrils. Who’s ready to wield a bigger finger?

Gorilla image from Nailbender. Some rights reserved.

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