While working in the newsroom or browsing the internet, I often hear the word “viral.” With the way technology is, I think we all do. Whether it is a Youtube video that “went viral,” or a tweet that is blowing up your newsfeed. We can’t escape viral content. But how does it happen? It is a question I have wondered myself. Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference gives a perspective, with more literal examples, to explain how content goes worldwide.
According to Gladwell, we can compare viral content, like Rebecca Black’s “Friday” music video, to other epidemics. The measles, HIV, Hush Puppies making a comeback, or even yawning. These can all be considered “contagious” or “viruses.” Just like an actual virus, fashion trend, or yawning, internet content can be contagious. These are all “clear examples of contagious behavior” (8).
To have an epidemic impact on a community or the world, the virus/trend has to reach the tipping point. And to reach this point, there are three factors Gladwell claims must be present, called “the three rules of epidemics.” These are the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.
From the beginning, Gladwell states that little changes have big effects. One might think that a word like epidemic would entail large changes, but that is not that case. It is not the case even in rule one. The Law of the Few in Gladwell’s words is “the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts” (33). These are the people who can create a “word-of-mouth epidemic.” They are the people who can control tastes, trends, and fashion. They are maven, connectors, and salesmen. Mavens are the people we rely on for information. We all have that friend or a couple of friends who can connect us to information. Then we have connectors, the people who know large numbers of people and are happy to make introductions. Finally, there are the salesmen. The people who are good at persuading and negotiating. All of these people exist in a person’s life, whether it is face-to-face or through a screen.
The second rule is the Stickiness Factor. The content for something to go viral has to be memorable, or it will not go viral. Gladwell’s examples include Sesame Street and Blues Clues. Gladwell claims these programs led the way for “the stickiness factor.” However, this is one instance where I slightly disagree. I do not think a program could pioneer this rule, I think the message of the rule is self explanatory in itself. I do think that it does contain the properties for an educational and entertaining influencer though.
Finally, there is the Power of Context rule. For a “virus” to catch on, the environment must be right. People are sensitive to the environment, so the conditions, circumstances, times, and places all have to be appropriate at the right moment for content to go viral.
It’s a question we have all wondered. What makes some things go viral but not others? Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point offers the few reasons to answer that very question. An interesting perspective, with literal examples, this book can really help to have an understanding of viral content while working in the newsroom or scrolling through a Twitter feed.
Chef BoyarBrie 
