My friend Stilgherrian did (yet another) fun experiment with social media recently. He made "fisting" a trending topic. (Yes, "fisting" is a naughty word. No, I won't draw you a picture.)
Read the full account here.
But seriously, this has interesting implications across many aspects of life and business - the ability to influence, to inspire group (mob?) action, the willingness to participate, the naughty streak, simple actions leading to noticeable change, how we measure popularity and trendiness, etc. Don't forget, this is action on a global scale and within a very short time span. Never before in the history of the human race...