Plot Summary
In today’s world, where things seem to rapidly go viral, given the presence of social media, Contagious: Why Things Catch On is a study of the various factors that result in this kind of popularity. Similar to Malcolm Gladwell’s, The Tipping Point, which was published in 2000, Contagious differs from it in certain basic ways. Whereas Gladwell argued that things usually become popular because they are adopted by people who are themselves at the center of things, Contagious argues that it is something about the idea itself that makes it go viral.
Author Jonah Berger claims that there are several factors that result in popularity; he sums them up in the acronym STEPPS—Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value and Stories. By making use of these factors, it’s possible to take any idea and present it in a form that will eventually lead to its popularity. However, some of the things that Berger tells us are astonishing because they go against conventional wisdom. For example, he quotes a study in which people were asked if they would rather get paid $50,000 or $100,000. It seems like a simple question but the people who were getting paid $50,000 were told that everyone else around them would get paid $25,000 whereas the people who were getting $100,000 were surrounded by people who were getting $200,000. In comparison to those around them, the first group was doing better and the second group was doing worse. It turned out that the majority of people chose group A even though, rationally speaking, group B was better. This is an example of what Berger refers to as social currency.
Berger gives many other examples and studies of advertising campaigns which make for fascinating reading. Another interesting point he makes is that we may think that word spreads faster through social media but, in fact, it is person-to-person conversations that really lead to popularity. So the best way to get something to go viral is to make it the kind of thing people will want to talk about.
Jonah Berger is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has published a number of articles in journals and accounts of his work have been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Harvard Business Review. He teaches a course called Contagious: How Products, Behaviors and Ideas Catch On at Wharton and has been nicknamed the “Iron Prof.” He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Jonah Berger is as creative and thoughtful as he is spunky and
playful. Looking at his research, much like studying a masterpiece in a museum,
provides the observer with new insights about life and also makes one aware of
the creator’s ingenuity and creativity. It is hard to come up with a better
example of using social science to illuminate the ordinary and extraordinary in
our daily lives.”—
Dan Ariely, James B. Duke professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and bestselling author of Predictably Irrational
Publisher Summary
Why do certain products and ideas go viral? Dynamic young Wharton professor Jonah Berger draws on his research to explain the six steps that make products or ideas contagious.
Why do some products get more word of mouth than others? Why does some online content go viral? Word of mouth makes products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. It’s more influential than advertising and far more effective.
Can you create word of mouth for your product or idea? According to Berger, you can. Whether you operate a neighborhood restaurant, a corporation with hundreds of employees, or are running for a local office for the first time, the steps that can help your product or idea become viral are the same.
Contagious is filled with fascinating information drawn from Berger’s research. You will be surprised to learn, for example, just how little word of mouth is generated online versus elsewhere. Already praised by Dan Ariely and Dan Gilbert, and sold in nine countries, this book is a must-read for people who want their projects and ideas to succeed.
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