The word “viral” comes from the fact that digital things spread across the internet in the same way that actual viruses spread through groups of people in real life. Therefore, by understanding how real viruses are “designed” to get the job done, you can make your designs more “viral” as well.
We have come to the end of the week, but before we finish, we have one more measurement to look at. The characteristics of a virus mean that we need to consider time and population when we define a “user”.
Epidemiologists, who study viruses, measure two key things (among many others) to give them a sense of how a virus is spreading and behaving. Today we will learn the first one:
Incidence Rate
One part of virality that I rarely see anyone discussing is how the format of the viral thing, and how that changes the way it spreads. The way something spreads also effects the number of people it can reach, so today we will learn about:
Transmission & K-Factor
If you want something to be really contagious, ideally it should jump from person to person as fast as possible. In product design, the time it takes to download something and “infect” the next person is called:
Viral Cycle
Every day this week we are going to learn something about the ingredients that make one design more viral than another. But what do we mean by “viral”? Well, that’s actually the first lesson:
The Difference Between Virality and Popularity
It is tempting to think that spreading our content to every corner of the internet is the best way to create a viral effect, but it isn’t. In fact, it’s the worst — and the most expensive.
