In 2016, going viral meant reaching more people . Today, going viral means reaching the right subcultures first, then cascading outward.
(July)
However, the fragmentation of culture meant that "viral" no longer meant everyone saw the same thing. Instead, 2016 introduced us to effect (which technically happened late 2015 but set the stage for 2016’s debates). By 2016, viral content traveled in echo chambers. You had the "Damn Daniel" kids (Daniel Lara and Josh Holz) reaching millions of teens on Snapchat and Vine, while simultaneously, political scandals were going viral on LinkedIn and Twitter. The audiences rarely overlapped, yet both were massive viral events. viral -2016-
In 2016, the primary driver of a share was . "Look how funny/weird this is!" In 2016, going viral meant reaching more people
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and X (formerly Twitter) no longer ask, "Is this new?" They ask, "Does this hold attention for 3 seconds? Does it create a loop? Does it provoke a save or a share ?" Instead, 2016 introduced us to effect (which technically
(April)