Hashtag This!

There's a very funny TV car commercial about the guy who finds himself dreaming about all the things he missed out on in life, while the car salesman is trying to sell him a new car.  He missed out on the girl who grew up to be a model.  He missed out on investing in Twitter.  This is the one that is funny.  He's sitting at his desk, talking on the phone and says, "140 characters?  I just don't get it."  The next scene is him standing on the deck of his friend's yacht, which is named, "Hashtag This".  The first time I saw it, I laughed out loud because I too had the same reaction to Twitter when I first heard of the service.  (BTW, I wasn't pitched on the investment).  When Twitter showed up it was the time of an explosion in blogging; long-form self-expression.  What could at all makes sense in that time for saying in something when limited to 140 characters.  Well, I was wrong as was the character in the commercial.  Sometimes, things that are so far fetched come along that only a few people can see their potential.  Occasionally we might be on the side of being the predictor, but in most cases we will be the naysayer or the unbelieving. The trick is to stay open to the pitches. 

 Don't turn down the meeting with the young entrepreneur or the wet behind the ears new person in the company. Staying open to the unforeseen and the unbelievable is the only way any of us will be able to be in touch with the future.