The Ripple Effect

I've been thinking a lot lately about how even the smallest action can have far-reaching consequences and reactions. Recently I was reminded of how sometimes good things can come from something that seems inconsequential initially.

In August, I asked three women if I could interview them for my blog. Though I feature a lot of authors, this was the first time I'd interviewed anyone who was outside the publishing world. But these three had impressed me with their writing and wit on the YouTube channel they maintained, called Eskimo Kiss Project.

EKP, as they're fondly known by viewers, clip and translate certain storylines from a German soap opera called Alles Was Zaehlt. The project began because of Roman and Deniz, a gay pairing that had been featured on the soap a couple years ago. But EKP features other storylines as well, especially after DeRo broke up, bringing the great fun of AWZ to a worldwide audience.

Anyway, they were gracious enough to consent to an interview, I posted it a few days later, and that, I thought, was that. My blog stats went up for a while, I continued to watch the show via YouTube, Roman and Deniz started to get back together, and life went on.

Then came the Great Purge of 2009. :) RTL, the production company that is responsible for AWZ as well as a whole roster of other German shows, went to YouTube and invoked copyright for almost all video clips featuring their shows. Overnight, hundreds of videos disappeared.

The one channel unaffected? Eskimo Kiss Project.

A few weeks later, the three women of EKP went on a well-deserved vacation. When they got back, they shared with their viewers that they'd actually gone to Cologne, Germany, to meet with the actors, directors, and producers of AWZ. Prior to the trip (and the purge), they'd requested a meeting to ask them not to shut down EKP. In preparation, they put together a press kit to show how EKP was helping the show to gain a worldwide audience, and how it was bringing in new viewers and fans all the time.

One of their pieces of evidence? My blog interview.

So something I'd done because I was a fan, something I'd done for fun, had ended up helping spare the channel. The one location I could watch the show and actually understand what was going on. (Sadly, my German knowledge consists of several ways to apologize, "ich liebe dich", and some swear words.) I'm thrilled to have had even a tiny part in their plea to the production company, which was ultimately successful. But when I sent that e-mail asking for an interview, I had no idea it would have an impact beyond a day or two on my blog.

The ripple effect. It doesn't have to be huge or life-changing or even "important". It can just be a small moment turned into something unexpected down the road.

What's your ripple effect story?