Dr. Seuss. The social media Zeus! – SCN Encourager 3/3/2014
Dr. Seuss would’ve been exactly 110 years old yesterday.
So since March is Reading Month, why not kick off today with a tribute to Dr. Seuss?
And did you know that the date of his birthday – March 2 – is recognized every year as Read Across America Day?
Besides, who else did you expect me to write about? Dostoyevsky?
Hardly.
Crime and Punishment doesn’t come close to being as “social media ready” as the “best of the rest” by Dr. Suess.
It’s unfortunate he isn’t here to demonstrate how he would’ve been a master at Twitter.
Here are two tweets that Hootsuite featured over the weekend.
Topical and fun, don’tcha think?
Or are you unable to focus without a drink?
Many school communicators need orange juice –
before they can even think about Dr. Seuss!
But my pinching grinching rhymes aside, Hootsuite is on to something.
If Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) were alive today, he’d no doubt be a social media ninja.
He was an American World War II hero, poet, and author who began the very first of his legendary children’s classics in the late 1930s.
He wrote straight to the point and agonized over every word. (I just agonize…)
His writing was remarkable and entertainingly repeatable. (Don’t say it. I know.)
Sometimes in his books he made up words and wove in societal issues like cultural differences and protecting the environment.
Maegan Anderson, a social media expert in Australia, believes Dr. Seuss would’ve extracted a popular line out of “Horton Hatches an Egg” to use as a personal social media mantra.
“I meant what I said and I said what I meant.”
It would’ve been a winner.
And this next Dr. Seuss line rings true for educators everywhere, from Oakland County, Michigan, to Whoville.
“The more you read, the more you will know.”
And this next one works swell whenever you’re feeling low enough to pout.
“Why fit in, when you were born to stand out!”
Enjoy your Read Across America Day in honor of Dr. Seuss.
Thanks for letting me encourage you with Dr. Seuss.
It seemed to me that there could be no excuse.
But now you’re finished and back on the loose –
while I chase down some chocolate mousse –
unless, of course, your name is Bruce!
Tom Page, SCN (You’re a good sport!)
Break loose on Suess like I go after chocolate mousse.
Call a truce,
Except if your name is Bruce.