Twerking

All this talk of Miley Cyrus this week has me feeling jittery.  So many people are so worked up about it, it's just amazing.  Every where I click, there she is in that "position."

Which I'm guessing was exactly the objective.  She's got two songs in the top ten now, her video is on fire on YouTube and elsewhere, and she's the talk of the VMAs.  And when was the last time we ALL were talking about the VMAs or even Miley Cyrus?

Sure she's yet another come of age childhood star, but she did it in a big way.  Even Papa Billy Ray is tweeting his support (not surprising given how his "dance move" propelled him into the spotlight back in the day).  So while Gaga lived for the applause, and Katy roared ... Miley twerked and made virtually every news, blog, and social media coverage ever since.

But that's all just "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH" as so many have pointed out in virtually every media avenue at our disposal this week.  BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.  It was a PR stunt, folks, and it worked.

What I find FAR more interesting is how Miley single handedly ushered in the era of twerking.  The Oxford Dictionary defines twerking as: "Dancing to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance."

Yup, that's it.  While it may have been circulating for awhile now, Miley just thrust it onto the national stage.

Should we say thanks? Well YOLO* and there's such FOMO** that we probably should at least bop along to the beat at the very least.

What's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
- President, Cohn & Wolfe NA
- Author, The Experience Effect series
- Professor, NYU
- Contributor, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post

*YOLO:  you only live once
*FOMO:  fear of missing out