The Current

The secret recipe to making online content Go Viral

From cat videos to Old Spice commercials, the contagious nature of specific, peculiar online offerings is rarely random. Today, our series "By Design" looks at what it takes to Go Viral with Jonah Berger, the author of "Contagious: Why Things Catch On".

Today in our season-long series By Design, we're looking at one of the most coveted qualities that can be attached to any creative endeavour, in the online age.

Going viral is the holy grail for any content creator today — because it doesn't just mean a moment's basking in the internet's limelight, it can mean big money too.

Jonah Berger has been looking at the science behind 'going viral.' He is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He's also the author of "Contagious: Why Things Catch On". Jonah Berger was in Durham, North Carolina.
 

"Lazy Sunday" racked up more than 5 million views in its first three months online

It was back in 2006 that one of the first truly viral videos on YouTube made its meteoric debut.... "Lazy Sunday" was a music video starring Saturday Night Live chums Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell.


Do you have a favourite viral video?

Tweet us @thecurrentcbc and use #bydesigncbc. Post on our Facebook page, or email us. 

This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins, Pacinthe Mattar, Marc Apollonio and Samira Mohyeddin.