This is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual Kane County Connects article, you might not have clicked on it — and that just cooks my asparagus. (I have no idea what that means, but I’m hoping you get the drift.) The truth of the matter is, I really want to find content that you find valuable / compelling / delightful / entertaining. And so I’m conducting this little experiment.

What I’m trying to do with this odd little article is accomplish two things:

(1) Learn from the big kids on the block.

Embedded here is a wacky video of what might be, arguably, one of the better mom-and-son wedding dances of all time. This particular “epic” video, caught on YouTube, was seen by 7,465,484 people up to this point (9:30 a.m. Thursday, June 12, 2014).

We know that (a) it isn’t local, and (b) it isn’t earth-shattering news. But we also know that a lot of people were interested enough to watch it and share it, because it has a little “wow” factor, and it’s just plain fun. The questions I’m asking myself are “How can we duplicate that success at Kane County Connects?” and “Where can we find that ‘wow’ here at home?”

Which leads to goal No. 2:

(2) Encourage you all to send us funny / amazing / fascinating / compelling (and clean) stuff that IS local (i.e. anywhere in Kane County or anywhere in the world if it involves Kane County folks.)

A link will do. If you see a local YouTube video, if you’ve spotted a website or big-news event. If you know, for example, a photography website that’s loaded with beautiful images of Kane County that the photographers might be willing to share, send a link and a note to ricknagel23@gmail.com, or text me at 630-915-3747.

See, we’re in the midst of building a content strategy for Kane County Connects, and in a search a few days ago, I found this advice on “How to Delight Your Readers With Great Content:”

“At best, your writing is inspired. This means that, at the very least, it’s original and written in your own voice. If you enjoyed writing it, your audience will likely enjoy reading it. But if you find it’s lacking in the ‘wow’ factor, try adding one or more of these excitement generators:”

• Unique perspective
• Strong opinions and/or emotions
• Humor/kittens
• Storytelling
• Compelling visuals/video
• Unexpected connections

KCC is all about connections. And it probably won’t hurt if we can add a few that are, like this video, in the category of “unexpected.”