Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

The early adopters go first; they buy things because they’re new, interesting, and a little bit risky. They do that because they like things that are new, interesting, and little bit risky. But there’s a problem. There aren’t enough of these neophiliacs to go around. Big organizations, mass movements, and substantial profits often depend on the mas

Hits serve a useful purpose to our culture, but the essential lesson is this: someone is going to make hits, and it’s probably not going to be you. If you can find a playbook on how to become a hit machine, to become the one who regularly creates the mass movement that changes the middle of the market, go for it! For the rest of us, there’s the oth

“Making things more observable makes them easier to imitate, which makes them more likely to become popular. . . . We need to design products and initiatives that advertise themselves and create behavioral residue that sticks around even after people have bought the product or espoused the idea.”