I’ve chosen Gene’s Cowboy Hat for the first subject of my unofficial Spotlight On… series. The Gene in question is, of course, Gene Powell at Spoke. These features can usually be found on our TOLeeps blog, but I felt that this was more personal and that it was appropriate to share this story of heartbreak and betrayal here instead. As many of you know, Gene Powell is a social media catalyst in the Toledo community. Most of Gene’s friends, colleagues, clients, and acquaintances would agree that he’s a personable, energetic, dynamic individual. He improves the lives of everyone he touches. Everyone… except one. And that’s where our story begins.

Mark Pannell: Tell me a little bit about your history with Gene.

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: Gene and I go way back. When Gene signed up for Twitter, I knew it would help catapult his career to the next level. And in some ways, it did. When Gene decided it was time for a new profile picture, I remember thinking, “God, his hair’s a wreck today. Maybe, just maybe I can get in on that action.” Sure enough, Gene chose to make me a big part of his personal brand and I became an overnight sensation.

Mark Pannell: When you say “overnight sensation,” what specifically are you referring to?

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: Well, Gene was already starting to establish himself as a thought leader in Toledo and he was very quickly branching out to the rest of the world. So once that new profile picture was posted, I was as much a part of his personal brand as his face.

Mark Pannell: But you don’t have any concrete analytics to support your claim of being an “overnight sensation,” correct?

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: Actually, Mark, I do. Well, I don’t have any statistics to support how quickly I rose to fame. But I think this completely legitimate screenshot of today’s Twitter Trending Topics is evidence enough of my global celebrity status.

Mark Pannell: Wait. What? You totally just Photoshopped a screenshot. And not even well. Maybe even Microsoft Paint. Is that Comic Sans MS?!?

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: Whatevs. Listen, the point is, everyone who recognized Gene now recognized me. I was part of his culture.

Mark Pannell: Right. So tell me about your falling out with Gene. What happened? What came between the two of you?

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: I honestly have no idea. One day, he just… stopped wearing me. I was devastated. At first, I thought maybe he just forgot me at home. He’s a busy guy, you know. Lots on his mind. But then one day turned into two. Then three. Then five…

Mark Pannell: Four. Four’s next.

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: What am I? Pythagoras? Cut me some slack. I’m an F’in cowboy hat!

Mark Pannell: Continue.

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: Right. So over time, Gene just left me behind. To a certain extent, I understood that I wasn’t always appropriate for business environments. But even when he was going to social gatherings, I was continually left behind. Finally, I accepted the fact that Gene and I were no longer on the same page. We want different things. I want to be able to get $.50 tacos on Wednesday nights without Gene being embarassed to take me to meet his friends. But the sun has already set on that time for us. I accept that. It does bother me that he still uses that profile picture. It’s a daily reminder of the pain that I endure. But with my pending legal actions, his account has been frozen to preserve evidence. I’ll come out of this one OK. But truth be told, my real hope is to reconcile with Gene. I’d happily call off the lawyers for one more shot at the ol’ duo.

Mark Pannell: Lawyers? Legal action?

Gene’s Cowboy Hat: That’s all I can say for now. But keep your eyes peeled. I’m working on something that’s about to blow up. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life moping around the hat rack. I’m about to take this thing to the next level. It’s gon’ be tight, ya’ll!