Viral Pandemic

A look at how Social Media and such places like Buzzfeed are changing the world in ways you don't think about.

thedrum.com

In the last 50 years, advancements in technology have astounded everyone and will likely continue to do so for many years. With the billions of tweets, Facebook likes and instant messages, communications will never again be the same when compared to experiences of the yesteryear generation. It is no longer weird to use social media platforms to make press announcements or break large news stories, nor is it odd to see news agencies quoting the tweets of various influential figures when discussing a story.

Via prontomarketing.com

At no other time in the history of human kind has there been such opportunities for thoughts and ideas to go viral in the way they’re now able to. The ability of a post or tweet to go viral is not an inherently bad thing, yet it raises concerns about what agencies are actually reporting on. If you put enough monkeys in a room with enough smart phones, eventually they will produce content that quickly becomes a viral pandemic throughout the connected globe.

Via i.telegraph.co.uk

Advancements in modern communications can be deeply troubling, especially the seemingly innocuous way media outlets often report these ‘viral pandemics‘. A slow news day often brings out the weirdest of stories, mainly because the reporting entity hasn’t found anything more interesting. With the juggernaut of social media, the kind of news you would expect on a slow news day is becoming increasingly common.

Via riverbank.ie

Except it’s never the story or content that news outlets/commentators are talking about, it’s often merely the fact that an event has gone viral. It may be a subtle difference, yet it’s interesting to see the shift towards reporting on the infectiousness of a story and not the foundations behind it. Thanks to social media, I believe the concept known as the ‘15 minutes of fame‘ is dead and is instead replaced with the ‘15 thousand re-tweets of shame‘. Short lived fame could very well become more common, but the half-life of artificial success has been considerably reduced.

Via buzzfeed.com

Buzzfeed makes a sizeable contribution to this whole situation but their involvement requires at least some admiration. The world of social media, news and online interaction is a dangerous place; the online world is akin to walking into the reception area of GCHQ and announcing your name to be Edward Snowden. Buzzfeed are playing a clever game, a long game, they’re an outlet which has gone and got their game theory on.

Via 51allout.co.uk

Numerous online portals are now beginning to follow a Buzzfeed style of posting news. The style of articles found on Buzzfeed (and Us Vs Th3m for that matter) don’t always need simplifying into this so-called ‘new media‘ format, but the danger for traditional outlets is when increasingly serious content is released in this way. These new media entities are hooking the unwary and not only improvising/adapting/overcoming but also making the rules of the game, not just winning at the internet.

Via wordpress.com

When websites that are responsible for fuelling viral pandemics across the internet start getting all serious, you’ll have Buzzfeed ‘long reads’ and Us Vs Th3m articles sitting cosily beside the easily digestible content. New media will then own the audience and be collecting their gold medals at the internet Olympics. Now that Buzzfeed staff have their own writing style guide, what is there to stop them?