Zarrella's Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas

Evolution is how contagious ideas are created in the wild. Where there are lots of different ideas, and there is competition for mind space, only the most effective ideas will win. Social media platforms are the most powerful memetic petri dishes in history, nurturing the growth and spread of virulent ideas, because of the plethora of ideas, the si

you should not be afraid to identify yourself authoritatively. Tell people why they should listen to you. In that same study, I found that Twitter users with the confidence to use words like “official,” “founder,” “author,” and “expert” to describe themselves also had more followers than the average. Don’t feel limited to using the term “guru.”

Fill knowledge gaps with your ideas.

Because of the Web and social media, everyone now has the power to type out his ideas and spread them to millions of people. Memory isn’t a big problem anymore.

1 The kinds of information the group is eager for 5. 2 What information the group already has and what it lacks 6. 3 The fears, hopes, and hostilities the group already has 7. 4 Customary and traditional ways in which the group deals with those fears, hopes, and hostilities

The warnings are far more contagious than the actual viruses. Just like virus warnings, any information that can protect readers from harm, like a great deals website preventing people from paying too much for a product, will get shared as a form of self-defense.

If your ideas reinforce my reputation, I’ll share them.

When I asked people why they share ideas with their friends, they consistently told me that they wanted to build a reputation as a thought leader. This would ensure that people would share valuable scarce information reciprocally with them. It’s not about altruism, then; it’s about reciprocity.

The person must be exposed to your content. This means that the person has to be following you on Twitter, be a fan of your page on Facebook, subscribe to your email list, and so on. The person must become aware of your specific piece of content (the idea you want to spread). He has to read your tweet or open your email message. The person must be

You need to spread the idea and recruit others to help you take on Goliath. It’s a devilishly simple contagious idea. Apple did this brilliantly from the start. Steve Jobs warned against the abuses of IBM in the early days, and of Microsoft, more recently.