Purchasing Fame&

The Cost of Virality

By: Rachel GuergisImage: MadEmoiselle Sugar

Popular culture has altered so much,

and yet remains the same. Image: Luciano Joaquim

Image: wintersweet

The technology may have changed, but the money

still flows the same way… Source: You didn’t make the

Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

… to creators of contracts not

creators of content. Image: Diego Cambiaso

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

It has nothing to do with community and everything to do with commerce.

Image: Parker Knight

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

YouTube rewards this kind of behavior.

Image: TommyClicks

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

People who post videos make up

to $6 per thousand views for letting

YouTube show ads on their videos.

Image: epSos.de

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

Google’s YouTube is now the dominant force in music.

Image: @Doug88888

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

Musical imitations are part of this culture.

Image: RussBowling

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

Nearly 2 billion music videos are viewed on YouTube everyday.

Image: Stephen Downes

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

Google regards clicks and views as a “currency” and take pains to get

the numbers right.

Image: newfilm.dk

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

On social media, it is easy to mistake popularity for credibility…

Image: Jason A. Howie

Source: How to become Internet famous for $68 - Kevin Ashton

… and that is exactly what the

fakers are hoping for.

Image: ~dgies

Source: How to become Internet famous for $68 - Kevin Ashton

The people in the middle—the rest of us

—

get duped into thinking someone is more

popular than they are. Image: theilr

Source: How to become Internet famous for $68 - Kevin Ashton

Image: Han Shot First

Viral has been seen as marketing's Holy

Grail. 

Source: Viral’s Secret Formula Part 1 - Jonah Berger

Memes propagate

from brain to brain

through imitation.

Image: "lapolab"

Source: You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral -corporations did - Kevin Ashton

As fast-growing and eminently shareable sources of entertainment…

Image: Coleen Danger

Source: Gangnam Style Marketing - Lucy Tesseras

… brands have seen the

advantage of capitalizing on

these ready-made cultural

phenomena. Image: Ahmad Nawawi

Source: Gangnam Style Marketing - Lucy Tesseras

Virality isn't luck. It's not magic. And it's not random.

Image: *therovingsheep

Source: Viral’s Secret Formula Part 1 - Jonah Berger

Understanding the science behind social influences can make products and ideas contagious.

Image: Alvin K

Source: Viral’s Secret Formula Part 2 - Jonah Berger

Individuals do not make videos go viral – corporations do.

Image: postbear

CREDITS

All images are licensed under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike 3.0

agreement and are sourced from Flickr.

SOURCES• http://qz.com/67991/you-didnt-make-the-harlem-shake-go-viral-corporati

ons-did/• http://qz.com/74937/how-to-become-internet-famous-without-ever-existi

ng/• http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/trends/gangnam-style-marketing/4006

173.article• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonah-berger/virals-secret-formula_b_30

52685.html• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonah-berger/virals-secret-formula-part-2

_b_3100340.html