off to the Cambridge Film Festival tonight (and most ...   more »

Part 1 - The marketing world has widely adopted the word "viral" as some sort of magical conjuration which implies that for zero cost, in zero time, an infinite number of consumers will tell each other about, and that subsequently adopt, whatever the latest product you have delivered is. Nature provides an answer to that sort of optimism in that we are not all instantly killed by the next real virus that evolves. Therefore there is no rational reason that we should expect our product to instantly conquer the world for zero effort in zero time. Understanding the dynamics and flow of viral contagion can give us real and deep understanding of how “passion” for a product propagates in a community. That kind of insight is the difference between life or death for tech start ups, so I will try to write this in terms aimed at them. I'll try to cover what sort of people help you spread an idea (pretty well covered in books like "The Tipping Point" and "Fast Company" and "Idea Virus. I'll try to deal with how fast products can spread, and what limits that, and how you can influence it. I'll try to deal with how to maintain an idea in the market, and I'll try to explain why ideas are not entirely the same as virus particles and what practical effects that has.   more »