Anyone who had turned on a TV this month has probably seen one of the seemingly endless versions of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” There is everything from “A Diva’s Christmas Carol” to “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.” I for one don’t really care for novelty interpretations of Dickens’ work, I prefer the classics, original and Muppet.

The story was written and originally published for the Christmas of 1843. That means that the story was not originally a “period piece” as it is today, but actually set in the modern day at the time. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but the world looks a bit different than it did in 1843, and those differences can change the message that “A Christmas Carol” delivers.

The most misunderstood word in the story is “humbug.” When Scrooge exclaims, “Bah! Humbug!” he is not just making an exasperated exclamation, he is commenting on what he perceives as the motivation behind others’ Christmas spirit.

“Humbug” describes a person who is incenser, deceiving or otherwise dishonest in their outward appearance or actions. Scrooge isn’t just an old miser who hates happiness and everything that brings it, he thinks that others are only putting up a face of generosity. He knows that he is stingy, but feels at least he is honest about it.

The real change that Scrooge goes through is that he goes from being cynical about Christmas (and everything for that matter) to realizing that there are those who have want, yet still keep the spirit of Christmas (Bob Cratchet), and those who have no good reason to be kind and giving to someone, yet still are because that is the kind of person they are (Fred, his nephew).

So, this Christmas take a look and see if you really keep Christmas in your heart, or are you just going through the motions. Don’t be a humbug.

Lately there seems to be a rash of articles online talking about Millennials, or those born between about 1982 and 1996. I have read article after article that outlines how Millennials lack work ethic, need petty praise and feel entitled. These articles seems to portray Millennials as a very homogeneous group that feel like everything is owed to them. I think that it is bad practice to paint an entire generation based on a few individuals and some assumptions that have not been shown to be true. This isn’t really a new way of thinking, every generation has assumptions about them, which are almost always proven wrong in the end.

Millennials Aren’t Than Different From Previous Generations

Take Generation X, my parent’s generation. A recent article on CNN.com showed that researchers found that the myths about GenX were actually dead wrong. It was characterized as a generation of slackers who were disengaged and isolationist, depressed and neglectful parents. These myths were based on what made them different from previous generations and how that might negatively influence them. Why is it that no one ever seems to look at the positive ways that new experiences might impact a generation.

The same way that popular ideas about Generation X proved to be wrong, I would put money on Millennials turning out to be a positive influence on society. Look at the good things that Millennials have going for them. We are the first truly digitally fluent generation. We grew up as the Internet got huge and have been using computers from a young age. This generation has already given the world things like Facebook, YouTube, Runescape, Mozilla, WordPress, Threadless Tees, and Digg. What do all these have in common? They are all based online. Businesses that want to be on the cutting end of online communication, technology and innovation could learn a lot from hiring Millennials.

Mmm... Breakfast makes me hungry for adventure.

Most marketers have at least some smaller clients that don’t have a multi-million dollar budget to blow on stuff their agency ‘thinks’ will work. Even my large clients don’t want to waste money. They need results, and they can’t afford to throw their money away. So, anything out of the ordinary media mix is discounted as ‘new media’ and thrown away. Leave the innovating to the big boys. That kind of thinking is total, ‘Grade-A’ crap.

If anything, smaller companies have more reason to use involvement marketing, digital media and other new ideas because it turns every customer in to your own private pitch man. Think of a campaign for say, a small restaurant chain.

First, you use some traditional media to advertise an event, a web promotion, and the great food this place has given the local area for the past 20 years. This local advertising is backed up by a website for the restaurant that includes a menu, and the ability to comment on each thing on the menu like a blog posting. You encourage people to review everything on the menu and let others know what is good about it. You promote it to everyone that comes in the restaurant and even make a mobile version so people can review stuff on their smart phones while they eat.

Next, we get people excited about the event coming up by announcing that it’s a cook off. You can enter for free and bring something that you think should be added to the menu. There will be local celebrities as judges, along with the restaurant owner and the winning dish will be added to the menu. You promote this event with folksy flyer’s around the area the restaurant is in, as well as at other local businesses, Facebook users in the area and Youtube videos. Make a big day of it, hold it in the parking lot (during a warmer month than February I hope) and you will end up getting local media coverage, a ton of free publicity, a now stable web presence, and a devoted following for something that has connected on a local level. This could even be a big national chain, but taking an approach that individualizes a market and involves individuals in a discussion makes sense. Everyone that participated in the event will tell their friends, and hundreds or even thousands could show up for a cook-off.

This is not traditional advertising. Sure, it included some traditional media, because let’s face it, there is a long history of that kind of media working. This is not the only way to use different kinds of marketing, but this is one example of how even a small business can benefit by looking to get people involved with their brand and participate in the process in multiple ways.

This post originally appeared on the now defunct blog FryThoseEggs.com. It can also be found on the Star Moose Blog.