2. finn
GOING #VIRAL
WHY THIS TOPIC?
• IT’S POORLY UNDERSTOOD
• REVEALS A CENTRAL TRUTH OF HUMAN
NETWORKS
• EXPLAINS HOW INFORMATION SPREADS, BUT
MORE IMPORTANTLY: ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR,
MONEY & POWER
• OUTSIZED IMPACT ON MEDIA AND OUR DIGITAL
INTERACTIONS IN THE LAST DECADE
• COMMUNICATION & PR HAS NOT YET FULLY
ADAPTED TO THESE CHANGES
4. finn
GOING #VIRAL
ON FEBRUARY 25TH, USER “SWIKED” POSTED THIS
MESSAGE ON TUMBLR:
“GUYS PLEASE HELP ME - IS THIS DRESS WHITE
AND GOLD, OR BLUE AND BLACK? ME AND MY
FRIENDS CAN’T AGREE AND WE ARE FREAKING
THE FUCK OUT”
11. finn
GOING #VIRAL
“BETWEEN JUNE 1 – SEPTEMBER 1, MORE THAN 17
MILLION VIDEOS RELATED TO THE ICE BUCKET
CHALLENGE WERE SHARED TO FACEBOOK.
THESE VIDEOS WERE VIEWED MORE THAN 10
BILLION TIMES BY MORE THAN 440 MILLION
PEOPLE.”
21. finn
GOING #VIRAL
IN 1989 IN LEIPZIG (DDR) A SMALL GROUP OF
PROTESTERS STARTED TO MARCH
ON MONDAY NIGHTS
22. finn
GOING #VIRAL
IN 1989 IN LEIPZIG (DDR) 1200
PROTESTERS STARTED TO MARCH
ON MONDAY NIGHTS
8 WEEKS LATER,
THEY NUMBERED
500 000
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA/HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT
27. finn
GOING #VIRAL
IT DOES NOT EXPLAIN WHY THE DRESS AND THE
ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE SUCCEEDED WHERE
ALL THE OTHERS FAILED.
28. WHAT IF THE ANSWER IS
NOT IN CREATIVITY, BUT IN
MATHEMATICS?
finn
29. finn
GOING #VIRAL
IN 2003, DUNCAN WATTS WROTE
“SIX DEGREES. THE SCIENCE OF
A CONNECTED AGE”, WHICH
EXPLAINS VIRAL PHENOMENA
THROUGH
NETWORK THEORY OR “GRAPH”
THEORY.
30. finn
GOING #VIRAL
YOU KNOW THAT MOMENT WHEN AN
ENTIRE CONCERT HALL STARTS TO CLAP IN
SYNCHRONICITY?
THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS ONLINE. IT IS
CALLED AN “INFORMATION CASCADE”.
31. finn
GOING #VIRAL
“DURING SUCH AN EVENT, INDIVIDUALS IN A
POPULATION ESSENTIALLY STOP BEHAVING
LIKE INDIVIDUALS AND START TO ACT MORE
LIKE A COHERENT MASS.”
32. finn
GOING #VIRAL
“WHAT ALL INFORMATION CASCADES HAVE
IN COMMON, HOWEVER, IS THAT ONCE
ONE COMMENCES, IT BECOMES SELF-
PERPETUATING; THAT IS, IT PICKS UP NEW
ADHERENTS LARGELY ON THE STRENGTH OF
HAVING ATTRACTED PREVIOUS ONES.”
37. finn
GOING #VIRAL
“THE PROBABILITY OF
CHOOSING OUTCOME A
INCREASES SLOWLY
WITH THE FRACTION OF
NEIGHBORS CHOOSING A,
BEFORE JUMPING RAPIDLY
ONCE A
CRITICAL TRESHOLD
HAS BEEN EXCEEDED”
38. finn
GOING #VIRAL
THE TRESHOLD DEPENDS ON:
1. THE “VIRALITY” OF THE MESSAGE OR
BEHAVIOR
2. THE # OF NEIGHBORS “INFECTED”
41. finn
GOING #VIRAL
THIS EXPLAINS WHY TRUE VIRALITY IS SO RARE:
“(...) ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING FEATURES
OF THE CASCADE PROBLEM WAS HOW MOST OF
THE TIME THE SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY STABLE,
EVEN IN THE FACE OF FREQUENT EXTERNAL
SHOCKS.”
48. finn
GOING #VIRAL
BUT VERY RARELY, A MEME HITS A POCKET OF
PEOPLE - A CLUSTER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
ABLE TO “SWITCH ON” OR “LIGHT UP” THE ENTIRE
NETWORK.
49. finn
GOING #VIRAL
THIS CLUSTER HAS TO HAVE SPECIFIC, AND
EVEN CONTRADICTORY CHARACTERISTICS. FOR
ONE THING, IT HAS TO BE BOTH CONNECTED
ENOUGH, BUT NOT TOO CONNECTED.
50. WHAT DOES THIS TELL US
ABOUT THE ICE BUCKET
CHALLENGE?
finn
52. finn
GOING #VIRAL
“IT COULD JUST BE THAT SOME INNOVATIONS—
HARRY POTTER, RAZOR SCOOTERS, BLAIR WITCH
PROJECT—HIT JUST THE RIGHT VULNERABLE
CLUSTER, WHILE MOST DO NOT. AND IN
GENERAL NO ONE WILL KNOW WHICH ONE IS
WHICH UNTIL ALL THE ACTION IS OVER.”
53. finn
GOING #VIRAL
WRITE THIS DOWN:
“AND SO IT IS APPARENTLY WITH CULTURAL
FADS, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS,
POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS, CASCADING CRISES,
STOCK MARKET CRASHES, AND OTHER MANNERS
OF COLLECTIVE MADNESS, MANIA, AND MASS
ACTION. THE TRICK IS TO FOCUS NOT ON THE
STIMULUS ITSELF BUT ON THE STRUCTURE OF
THE NETWORK THAT THE STIMULUS HITS.”
54. finn
GOING #VIRAL
BUT, WASN’T THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
SPECIAL? YES, TO SUCCEED IN BECOMING TRULY
VIRAL, IT HAD TO BE QUITE GOOD AT WHAT IT
DID. BUT IT WASN’T THAT SPECIAL. WHAT MADE IT
DIFFERENT WAS THAT IT GOD LUCKY TOO.
IT’S MURPHY’S LAW IN REVERSE.
57. finn
GOING #VIRAL
ASK YOURSELF: WHO INFLUENCES MY
INFLUENCERS. THE “DRESS” WAS GETTING SO
MUCH ATTENTION BECAUSE JOURNALISTS
SAW THEIR PERSONAL FACEBOOK PAGES AND
TWITTER FEEDS FLOODED WITH “THE DRESS”.
THIS LED THEM TO WRITE STORIES ABOUT IT,
WHICH CAUSED MORE PEOPLE TO TAKE NOTE.
AS WATTS SAYS: ONCE THE CASCADE GETS
GOING, IT JUST KEEPS GOING, AND GOING AND
GOING.
59. finn
GOING #VIRAL
RELATED: TRY TO HIT A SPECIFIC CLUSTER HARD
AND FAST. TRY TO “SWITCH ON” A CLEARLY
DEFINED SEGMENT OF INFLUENCERS AND EARLY
ADOPTERS ACROSS DIFFERENT PLATFORMS.
(NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS “SPRAYING AND
PRAYING”.)
61. finn
GOING #VIRAL
CREATE VELOCITY: MAKE SURE YOU TIME YOUR
CAMPAIGN SO THAT YOU FLOOD THE NETWORK
ALL AT ONCE. DON’T DRIP YOUR CONTENT
INTO A NETWORK, BECAUSE IT WILL NOT HAVE
IMPACT.
66. finn
GOING #VIRAL
SOCIAL NETWORKS AND NEXT GENERATION
NEWSROOMS LIKE MASHABLE, HUFFINGTON
POST, BUZZFEED, ETC. WERE BUILT BY
PEOPLE WHO READ DUNCAN WATTS’ BOOK
“RELIGIOUSLY”
69. finn
GOING #VIRAL
THIS IS THE IDEA BEHIND “THUNDERCLAP” - THE
QUESTION IS: DOES THUNDERCLAP SUCCEED
IN REACHING THOSE “INFLUENCERS OF THE
INFLUENCERS” (NOT SURE).