? I guess I must have given the wrong impression in my post somehow; I'm not frantic or worried or anything, just discussing some ideas about precisely why some things catch on (viral videos, etc.) and others don't. I disagree, though, that such things are dumb luck or simply chance. There are things you can do to better position yourself for, if not an "epidemic," at least much better popularity.
The theory is that what causes a viral video are three factors--what the author calls "The Law of the Few," "The Stickiness Factor," and "The Power of Context." It makes a lot of sense to me. For instance, let's take a sleeper hit like The Blair Witch Project. At first glance, it would seem to have no chance of becoming big. It was shot on a shoestring budget and had little support. Yet what seems to have happened is that the right people saw it and started recommending it, and at least some of those people (or a combination of them) had (a) lots and lots of acquaintances or friends to tell, (b) very persuasive personalities, and (c) a reputation for good judgment (i.e., you'd trust their opinion). Of course, none of this could have taken place if the movie had sucked or hadn't been memorable or unusual in some way, which TBWP certainly was. Furthermore, the context had to be right--would it still be a hit if it had been released yesterday or in Brazil instead of the U.S.? Maybe, maybe not.
I don't think any of my videos would ever have the chance to "go viral" simply because of the content--it's not "sticky" for most people. The only people who would care are folks much like ourselves, and for some reason they haven't felt motivated to tell anyone about my videos. They *do* talk about the AVGN and a few others, but not mine. I could pretend that such a fact is due to luck or chance, but frankly I think that would be delusional. What it means is that if I desire to reach a broader audience, I need to think of ways to keep tweaking the show to make it more sticky while doing everything in my power to sweeten the odds--talking about as much as possible, encouraging others to do so, etc. Of course that kind of thing can easily backfire as well, and it's also possible that the changes I would need to make would simply be unacceptable to me (i.e., adding lots of obscenities, getting a "babe" to host the show instead of me, etc.).
? I guess I must have given the wrong impression in my post somehow; I'm not frantic or worried or anything, just discussing some ideas about precisely why some things catch on (viral videos, etc.) and others don't. I disagree, though, that such things are dumb luck or simply chance. There are things you can do to better position yourself for, if not an "epidemic," at least much better popularity.
The theory is that what causes a viral video are three factors--what the author calls "The Law of the Few," "The Stickiness Factor," and "The Power of Context." It makes a lot of sense to me. For instance, let's take a sleeper hit like The Blair Witch Project. At first glance, it would seem to have no chance of becoming big. It was shot on a shoestring budget and had little support. Yet what seems to have happened is that the right people saw it and started recommending it, and at least some of those people (or a combination of them) had (a) lots and lots of acquaintances or friends to tell, (b) very persuasive personalities, and (c) a reputation for good judgment (i.e., you'd trust their opinion). Of course, none of this could have taken place if the movie had sucked or hadn't been memorable or unusual in some way, which TBWP certainly was. Furthermore, the context had to be right--would it still be a hit if it had been released yesterday or in Brazil instead of the U.S.? Maybe, maybe not.
I don't think any of my videos would ever have the chance to "go viral" simply because of the content--it's not "sticky" for most people. The only people who would care are folks much like ourselves, and for some reason they haven't felt motivated to tell anyone about my videos. They *do* talk about the AVGN and a few others, but not mine. I could pretend that such a fact is due to luck or chance, but frankly I think that would be delusional. What it means is that if I desire to reach a broader audience, I need to think of ways to keep tweaking the show to make it more sticky while doing everything in my power to sweeten the odds--talking about as much as possible, encouraging others to do so, etc. Of course that kind of thing can easily backfire as well, and it's also possible that the changes I would need to make would simply be unacceptable to me (i.e., adding lots of obscenities, getting a "babe" to host the show instead of me, etc.).
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com