When my wife and I took our first trip to California before moving here, we saw a large Asian American population in San Francisco. We had come west from Massachusetts, partly because the state we lived in felt like it was still attached to a round world, and we were looking for the new flat world.
California fits that more modern heterogeneous model of a flat world state.
As we drove toward Big Sur, we passed several schools where the crosswalk had “XING” etched into the road in large white letters.
After seeing them several times, I turned to my wife and said, “Do you see all those words “XING” on the crosswalks?”
“Yes, I have,” she replied, “and I’ve been wondering what they mean.”
Now, by nature, and I hope also by upbringing, I am not a nasty person prone to teasing or teasing, put-downs, or practical jokes. But for some reason I couldn’t resist. Maybe the devil made me do it…
“Well, ‘XING’ in Chinese means ‘Be careful.’ It tells all the Asian-American kids who can’t speak English well enough yet to be careful when they cross the street.”
“That’s great. I knew I liked California, they would never do something like that at home.”
“That’s right,” I told him. “Only in California.”
For the rest of the trip, every time we passed a school and crossed a crosswalk, we sang “XING” in unison (sounds like Shing, just hold the ending for a few seconds).
Until he finally found out. “XING” was just a shortened version of “CROSSING”, as Xmas is a shortened version of Christmas.
After that trip, whenever one of us fooled the other, the Faker had the right to say “XING”, as in “Gotcha”, to the Fakee.
Now what the hell, flat or round, does this have to do with internet copywriting?
Easy…
If you’ve read this far, you’re hooked on the story. And if you were selling “XING” soap or, more likely, a “XING” web marketing scam, you might be on your way to becoming one of The Converted.
So here is the lesson and the true meaning of “XING”.
A great or even good storytelling is one of the most powerful and seductive ways a Copywriter can take control of your mind. So be careful where you put your brain.
If you let a great Writer guide you down the garden path, if you indulge in someone’s compelling story, before you know it you’ll be hitting the “Buy Now” button.
On the other hand, it might be worth paying for the entertainment.
PS: I also bet you won’t forget the new meaning of “XING” for a long time.
PPS, I also know that if you tried to sing it like I told you, you’ll probably hear it inside your head the next time you cross a crosswalk marked “XING”.
