What is it about me and #bacon?
08/26/10 3:01 AM
To say that I like bacon is an accurate statement. It is not, however, an understatement. I do not lie awake pondering the salty, smoky, sometimes-chewy-sometimes-crisp underbelly of a pig in its perfect form all night long, but I do like it a lot. Just as much as you do, probably (except if you’re a practicing Jew or Muslim). As for the vegans/vegetarians/etc out there, my research has shown that about 82% of you either have, do, or plan on sneaking bacon at one point or another, because it’s just that good). So, why in the world has it become my personal brand?
It all started with these post on 28 April 2009:
(raw)
(prepared plate) http://twitpic.com/45ozr.
You see, I was just making a little breakfast, and decided to try something original with my bacon. Sharing a photo of it seemed like the right thing to do. I seem to have caught the attention of a few people, because shortly thereafter, I became the grateful recipient of daily bacon updates from across the globe. Here are some recent examples to prove my point:
http://twitter.com/KariAtkins/status/15272951104
http://twitter.com/holdencalgary/status/14873755859
http://twitter.com/WriterWriter/status/14666688871
http://twitter.com/prosperityeng/status/14666320331
http://twitter.com/focuscom/status/13748854059
http://twitter.com/elekin/status/13659689435
http://twitter.com/bethquirie/status/15195015369
http://twitter.com/ChanginJen/status/15056519133
http://twitter.com/kharazny/status/14914209834
As it turns out, bacon (or #bacon, as it is commonly hashtagged in twitter) was already an established internet meme (don’t ask me, see http://ask.metafilter.com/110390/Where-did-the-bacon-meme-start), and I just happened along into it, unawares. Once it started to gain more traction, it seemed as though I was to become one with bacon. So, for Hallowe’en, I had @sewlongago make me a bacon costume. I never got to wear it out much on that sugary holiday, but I have since made excellent use of it, sporting it at such events as #yegHaiti, #yyc4Haiti, #yegRoma, #yegHelp, etc. It has also occupied my profile pictures on most social networking sites for some time now. My business cards are also shaped like bacon: http://twitpic.com/1j67i3. I can assure you that it works as a great ice-breaker.
So, if you ask if I am a bacon addict, I will answer, “no more than the next guy”. The difference is, I found (read: stumbled into) a way (crazy as it may be), to leverage bacon for business.
-Jerry
braised bacon (off the menu at LUX)
creamed corn with bacon. At the time, this was off the menu, and now it is a part of their menu. #osom
Bacon sushi at Mikado. Not on the menu.
5 Responses to What is it about me and #bacon?
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My Daughter wants a pair of those epic bacon high tops!
You know you can customize the shoes, right? Any size, and you can write her name on them!
LOL Here I thought you were the Baconator because you kept putting lipstick on the pigs to sell them!
I never realized you had the same pork affection, that I do.
Cheers
David Pylyp
Living in Toronto
Thanks for the write-up. I wondered how it started.
I have been well aware of the meme for quite some time and when the traditional news started picking up on it in the late 00′s I considered it dead. Then I see some local Edmonton yahoo keeping it going on social media and I just shook my head. Even though I have never met you I thought the whole bacon schtick was hacky and lame. Therefore I considered you must be the same.
Then I started lurking on twitter and watched some of your interactions with e-people. We follow a lot of the same people. I’ve noticed that others tag back to you with #bacon more than you do in a self-referential way. I have to admit that it is a pretty good brand of personal marketing. And really, in the realty world personal marketing is key.
I have no idea why others in Edmonton wish to continually perpetuate your brand or continue a meme that was mostly dead years ago. I can only assume that you are a genuine nice guy and that people have a desire to connect with you and that #bacon is the easiest.
Jerry you are an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a mystery…and not wrapped in anything else.
And just so we’re clear – Mayordom of D’Lish will be mine. And I’m claiming the dead Sad Keanu meme for myself now.
Stu
Well, now you know. I like to say that I didn’t choose bacon; bacon chose me. For now, it works as a fun brand (but it still seems weird to think of myself as branded), and if it ever dies, I’m sure I could find something else. Maybe the red zoot suit…
-Jerry