For an idea to spread, it needs to be sent and received.
No one "sends" an idea unless:
a. they understand it
b. they want it to spread
c. they believe that spreading it will enhance their power (reputation, income, friendships) or their peace of mind
d. the effort necessary to send the idea is less than the benefits
No one "gets" an idea unless:
a. the first impression demands further investigation
b. they already understand the foundation ideas necessary to get the new idea
c. they trust or respect the sender enough to invest the time
This explains why online ideas spread so fast but why they’re often shallow. Nietzsche is hard to understand and risky to spread, so it moves slowly among people willing to invest the time. Numa Numa, on the other hand, spread like a toxic waste spill because it was so transparent, reasonably funny and easy to share.
Notice that ideas never spread because they are important to the originator.
Notice too that a key dynamic in the spread of the idea is the capsule that contains it. If it’s easy to swallow, tempting and complete, it’s a lot more likely to get a good start.
But that doesn’t mean that there’s no role for mystery or ideas that unfold over time. In fact, the unmeasurable variable here is style. Howard Dean’s ideas spread at the beginning–not because of the economic ramifications of his immigration policy, but because of the factors above. The way they were presented fit into the worldview of those that spread them.
A key element in the spread of ideas is their visual element. iPods and visual styles spread faster in the real world than ephemeral concepts. Pictures and short jokes spread faster online because the investment necessary to figure out if they’re worth spreading is so tiny.
And of course, plenty of bad ideas spread. Panic, for instance, is a superbad idea at all times, but it spreads faster than most. That’s because spreading an idea is rarely a thoughtful, voluntary act. Instead, it is near the core of who we are, and we often do it without thinking much about the implications.
September 27, 2005
In October, I’ll be doing a presentation for eComXpo that will include a preview of the new Squidoo project. I wanted to let you know about it, and I finagled a free pass for my readers.
Go to eComXpo October 05 Registration and sign up. Choose the cheap option ($29). On the next screen, you’ll see it goes to $0.
It’s virtual, so there’s no travel, and the show lasts for three days, so you can come when you like. My talk is the first day, the sixth, in the morning, but you can catch it on reruns any time you like.
September 26, 2005
Matt Galloway recorded KnockKnock as an audio book: Seth Godin’s Knock Knock – The Audio eBook.
Probably should avoid any sort of heavy machinery while using, but it’s there if you want it. Thanks, Matt!
Thanks to all who responded to my recent post about a bounty for a new engineer. And especially to those that bothered to post the ad.
Gil, a New Orleans native and Katrina victim, starts tomorrow. He’s incredibly talented. Just what we were looking for. We’re excited…
Thanks again.
September 25, 2005
According to the latest government data, those are the two most common names given to children of Hispanic parents in NY last year.
For Asian parents the story is different: name number one is Emily.
Names are a funny thing. Now, naming a company Google or Squidoo or BlueTurnip in the dot com world isn’t weird… it’s the equivalent of naming your kid Michael.
A recent study (sorry, I’m linkless here) by the government found that distinctly ethnic first names got fewer callbacks on otherwise identical resumes. Fair? Of course not. Not surprising, though, either.
Standing out is not the same thing as being remarkable. Standing out can just as easily get you ostracized. I don’t think Purple is the same as just being different.
If you haven’t been here in a while:
2 free ebooks can be found here: Seth’s Blog: Who’s There? the new ebook
A recent popular post (not about Akron): Desire for gain
How to sign up for RSS (what’s that?)
AND my new book (with Guy and Malcolm and Promise and April and Heath and Randall and dozens of other authors) all for charity: THE BIG MOO
September 24, 2005
We’re about four weeks away from the ship date for The Big Moo by The Group of 33.
and I was just told that they have completely sold out the first and second print runs of the book. Stuff like this happens to my co-authors all the time, but not to me, so thanks. (and don’t worry, they’re printing more as we speak, so you should have no trouble getting yours, especially if you pre-order).
100% of all author proceeds go to charity. We’ve already raised $140,000 thanks to you. If you haven’t ordered a few dozen for your organization, now is the time. I got my finished books yesterday and it came out just the way it was supposed to. Hope you like it.
September 22, 2005
Is this beauty from our hero, Tom Peters: tompeters! management consulting leadership training development project management.
The fact is, few people sit down and read non-fiction the way they used to. Tom is on the cutting edge in figuring out how to turn books into snacks.
What would happen to your organization if you had a solid ten minutes with her majesty? How much benefit would you receive if you were able to tell your story to millions of people on television? Of course, you can’t pay to be on Oprah, but if you could, no doubt you would.
This simple thought exercise exposes the paradox that we’re finding online.
Should authors get paid to put their work into Google Print, the online service that lets you search for information inside a book?
How do you measure how much to invest in a blog?
The persistent reporter who spoke to me the other day wouldn’t stop asking the same question, “What percentage of your annual sales are directly attributable to your blog?” Perhaps you’ve heard the same question from your boss. Proof is what they seek! Management doesn’t want to invest in new media without understanding what the short-term payoff is. Authors don’t want to “give away” content without proof that it’ll pay off.
But they’d all pay to be on Oprah.
That local paper, the one that struggles to make its subscription and newsstand guarantee every day, wants you to register before you can read an article online. And they want to know a lot about you (your gender, your date of birth) before they will allow you to pay attention to your site.
The same company that runs ads hoping you’ll buy a newspaper that costs more to print than it does to sell, puts up roadblocks to keep you from reading online.
Wait.
“Pay attention” are the key words. The consumer is already paying. You’re paying with a precious commodity called attention. Instead of fending you off and holding you back, perhaps the newspaper ought to be making it easier to give your precious attention to them…
A quick gut check will probably confirm what many of us truly believe: the number of channels of communication is going to continue to increase. And either you’ll have a channel or you won’t. Either you’ll have access to the attention of the people you need to talk with, (notice I didn’t say talk “at”) or you won’t.
So, the real question to ask isn’t, “how much will I get paid to talk with these people?” The real question is, “how much will I PAY to talk with these people?”
Samir points us to Presentation Zen.
This is what I was talking about in Who’s There? the new ebook. And it’s all about the kinds of presentations I was pitching you in the now missing Really Bad Powerpoint.
You really should check this out.
