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Viral phenomenon
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Viral phenomenon
Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the term viral pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. This concept has become a common way to describe how thoughts, information, and trends move into and through a human population.
The popularity of viral media has been fueled by the rapid rise of social network sites, wherein audiences—who are metaphorically described as experiencing "infection" and "contamination"—play as passive carriers rather than an active role to 'spread' content, making such content "go viral". The term viral media differs from spreadable media as the latter refers to the potential of content to become viral. Memes are one known example of informational viral patterns.
The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene as an attempt to explain memetics; or, how ideas replicate, mutate, and evolve. When asked to assess this comparison, Lauren Ancel Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Texas, stated that "memes spread through online social networks similarly to the way diseases do through offline populations." This dispersion of cultural movements is shown through the spread of memes online, especially when seemingly innocuous or trivial trends spread and die in rapid fashion.
For example, multiple viral videos featuring Vince McMahon promoted misogynistic messages and hate against Jewish people, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. The video depicted McMahon throwing money into the ring at a WWE event. This video was taken out of context to support misogynistic views for the Men Going Their Own Way Movement to gain attention according to research led by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. This example demonstrates how public figures are turned into viral phenomena. Popular audio and video content on apps like TikTok are also used as memes of public figures.
The term viral pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. If something goes viral, many people discuss it. Accordingly, Tony D. Sampson defines viral phenomena as spreadable accumulations of events, objects, and affects that are overall content built up by popular discourses surrounding network culture. There is also a relationship to the biological notion of disease spread and epidemiology. In this context, "going viral" is similar to an epidemic spread, which occurs if more than one person is infected by a pathogen for every person infected. Thus, if a piece of content is shared with more than one person every time it is seen, then this will result in viral growth.
In Understanding Media (1964), philosopher Marshall McLuhan describes photography in particular, and technology in general, as having a potentially "virulent nature." In Jean Baudrillard's 1981 treatise Simulacra and Simulation, the philosopher describes An American Family, arguably the first "reality" television series, as a marker of a new age in which the medium of television has a "viral, endemic, chronic, alarming presence."
Another formulation of the 'viral' concept includes the term media virus, or viral media, coined by Douglas Rushkoff, who defines it as a type of Trojan horse: "People are duped into passing a hidden agenda while circulating compelling content." Mosotho South-African media theorist Thomas Mofolo uses Rushkoff's idea to define viral as a type of virtual collective consciousness that primarily manifests via digital media networks and evolves into offline actions to produce a new social reality. Mofolo bases this definition on a study about how internet users involved in the Tunisian Arab Spring perceived the value of Facebook towards their revolution. Mofolo's understanding of the viral was first developed in a study on Global Citizen's #TogetherAtHome campaign and used to formulate a new theoretical framework called Hivemind Impact. Hivemind impact is a specific type of virality that is simulated via digital media networks with the goal of harnessing the virtual collective consciousness to take action on a social issue. For Mofolo, the viral eventually evolves into McLuhan's 'global village' when the virtual collective consciousness reaches a point of noogenesis that then becomes the noosphere.
Content is more likely to reach this point, however, if it embodies certain characteristics that drive consumers to share. Research conducted by Dr. Jonah Berger at The University of Pennsylvania, summarized in his book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, suggests that content’s shareability can be increased by activating six key S.T.E.P.P.S. (i.e., Social currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical value, and Stories).
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Viral phenomenon AI simulator
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Viral phenomenon
Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the term viral pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. This concept has become a common way to describe how thoughts, information, and trends move into and through a human population.
The popularity of viral media has been fueled by the rapid rise of social network sites, wherein audiences—who are metaphorically described as experiencing "infection" and "contamination"—play as passive carriers rather than an active role to 'spread' content, making such content "go viral". The term viral media differs from spreadable media as the latter refers to the potential of content to become viral. Memes are one known example of informational viral patterns.
The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene as an attempt to explain memetics; or, how ideas replicate, mutate, and evolve. When asked to assess this comparison, Lauren Ancel Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Texas, stated that "memes spread through online social networks similarly to the way diseases do through offline populations." This dispersion of cultural movements is shown through the spread of memes online, especially when seemingly innocuous or trivial trends spread and die in rapid fashion.
For example, multiple viral videos featuring Vince McMahon promoted misogynistic messages and hate against Jewish people, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. The video depicted McMahon throwing money into the ring at a WWE event. This video was taken out of context to support misogynistic views for the Men Going Their Own Way Movement to gain attention according to research led by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. This example demonstrates how public figures are turned into viral phenomena. Popular audio and video content on apps like TikTok are also used as memes of public figures.
The term viral pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. If something goes viral, many people discuss it. Accordingly, Tony D. Sampson defines viral phenomena as spreadable accumulations of events, objects, and affects that are overall content built up by popular discourses surrounding network culture. There is also a relationship to the biological notion of disease spread and epidemiology. In this context, "going viral" is similar to an epidemic spread, which occurs if more than one person is infected by a pathogen for every person infected. Thus, if a piece of content is shared with more than one person every time it is seen, then this will result in viral growth.
In Understanding Media (1964), philosopher Marshall McLuhan describes photography in particular, and technology in general, as having a potentially "virulent nature." In Jean Baudrillard's 1981 treatise Simulacra and Simulation, the philosopher describes An American Family, arguably the first "reality" television series, as a marker of a new age in which the medium of television has a "viral, endemic, chronic, alarming presence."
Another formulation of the 'viral' concept includes the term media virus, or viral media, coined by Douglas Rushkoff, who defines it as a type of Trojan horse: "People are duped into passing a hidden agenda while circulating compelling content." Mosotho South-African media theorist Thomas Mofolo uses Rushkoff's idea to define viral as a type of virtual collective consciousness that primarily manifests via digital media networks and evolves into offline actions to produce a new social reality. Mofolo bases this definition on a study about how internet users involved in the Tunisian Arab Spring perceived the value of Facebook towards their revolution. Mofolo's understanding of the viral was first developed in a study on Global Citizen's #TogetherAtHome campaign and used to formulate a new theoretical framework called Hivemind Impact. Hivemind impact is a specific type of virality that is simulated via digital media networks with the goal of harnessing the virtual collective consciousness to take action on a social issue. For Mofolo, the viral eventually evolves into McLuhan's 'global village' when the virtual collective consciousness reaches a point of noogenesis that then becomes the noosphere.
Content is more likely to reach this point, however, if it embodies certain characteristics that drive consumers to share. Research conducted by Dr. Jonah Berger at The University of Pennsylvania, summarized in his book Contagious: Why Things Catch On, suggests that content’s shareability can be increased by activating six key S.T.E.P.P.S. (i.e., Social currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical value, and Stories).