The challenge now isn’t to raise a whole bunch of money. The challenge is to invent a product or service or idea or meme that’s so compelling that the tiny green portion of the curve, the geeks in whatever market you live in, can’t ignore what you have to offer. That, and once they adopt what you’ve got, they can’t help but spread it.

That’s not easy. No one ever said it was. But that’s the challenge anyone with a business to grow or an idea to spread has to overcome.

Idea diffusion

How successful marketers are putting idea diffusion to work:

The idea is pretty simple--find a small group that cares, give them something remarkable and make it easy to tell their friends (the folks who don't care as much).

\"Unleashing the Idea Virus\" is a e-book, which is 1) free, 2) good and 3) to the point. We should use parts of it in developing our promotion strategies.

Another book about memes (idea viruses)

To get a solid background in the theory of "idea viruses" or memes, read the (not free) book "The Meme Machine" by Susan Blackmore. Richard Dawkins, the creator of the meme meme (the idea of idea viruses), praised Blackmore's book. You should also read the (free) \"Susan Blackmore web site.\"

Routes of spreading

See Routes of spreading

What ideas spread better?

For an idea to spread, it needs to be sent and received.No one "sends" an idea unless:

• they understand it
• they want it to spread
• they believe that spreading it will enhance their power (reputation, income, friendships) or their peace of mind
• the effort necessary to send the idea is less than the benefits

No one "gets" an idea unless:

• the first impression demands further investigation
• they already understand the foundation ideas necessary to get the new idea
• they trust or respect the sender enough to invest the time

This explains why online ideas spread so fast but why they're often shallow. Nietzsche is hard to understand and risky to spread, so it moves slowly among people willing to invest the time. Numa Numa, on the other hand, spread like a toxic waste spill because it was so transparent, reasonably funny and easy to share.

Notice that ideas never spread because they are important to the originator.

Notice too that a key dynamic in the spread of the idea is the capsule that contains it. If it's easy to swallow, tempting and complete, it's a lot more likely to get a good start.But that doesn't mean that there's no role for mystery or ideas that unfold over time. In fact, the unmeasurable variable here is style. Howard Dean's ideas spread at the beginning--not because of the economic ramifications of his immigration policy, but because of the factors above. The way they were presented fit into the worldview of those that spread them.

A key element in the spread of ideas is their visual element. iPods and visual styles spread faster in the real world than ephemeral concepts. Pictures and short jokes spread faster online because the investment necessary to figure out if they're worth spreading is so tiny.

And of course, plenty of bad ideas spread. Panic, for instance, is a superbad idea at all times, but it spreads faster than most. That's because spreading an idea is rarely a thoughtful, voluntary act. Instead, it is near the core of who we are, and we often do it without thinking much about the implications.

Step By Step Ideavirus Tactics:

Make it virusworthy.

If it's not worth talking about, it won't get talked about.

Identify the hive.

You won't get the full benefit of the ideavirus until you dominate your hive.

Expose the idea.

Expose it to the right people, and do whatever you need to do to get those people deep into the experience of the idea as quickly as possible. Pay them if necessary, especially at the beginning. NEVER charge for exposure if you can help it.

Figure out what you want the sneezers to say.

You've got to decide what you want the sneezers to say to the population. If you don't decide, either they'll decide for you and say something less than optimal, or they won't even bother to spend the time.

Give the sneezers the tools they need to spread the virus.

After you've got a potential sneezer, make it easy for him to spread the idea. Give him a way to send your idea to someone else with one click. Let me join your affiliate program in sixty seconds or less. Reward the people I spread the virus to, so I don't feel guilty for spreading it.

Once the consumer has volunteered his attention, get permission.

The goal of the ideavirus marketer is to use the virus to get attention, then to build a more reliable, permanent chain of communication so that further enhancements and new viruses can be launched faster and more effectively, under your control this time.

Amaze your audience so that they will reinforce the virus and keep it growing.

Why do some viruses burn out more quickly than others? The simplest reason is that marketers get greedy and forget that a short-term virus is not the endofthe process, it's the beginning. By nurturing the attention you receive, you can build a self reinforcing virus that lasts and lasts and benefits all involved.

Think about idea hosts

Chris Meyer, co-author of Blur, had this to say: "=The one thing that distinguishes effective sneezing campaigns from ineffective ones is RESPECT for the time, attention, and reputation of the next guy to catch the virus.="

We can work effectively

"While It May Appear Accidental, It's Possible To Dramatically Increase The Chances Your Ideavirus Will Catch On And Spread."

Continuous Process is the key

"It's foolish to expect that one exposure to your message will instantly convert someone from stranger to raving ideavirus-spreading fan. So plan on a process. Plan on a method that takes people from where they are to where you want them to go."

Message must be attractive

"And while you're at it, work on the product. Because a catchier, more compelling, more viral product makes your job 100 times easier."

Evaluate & Refine

Q: Have we built in multiple feedback loops so we can alter the virus as it moves and grows?

Optimising the site

For most ideas, the web can be a powerful tool to help with this. What might a website for sneezers look like?

The first touch, the first impression and first visit, must go beautifully. It's got to be fast. It should contain exactly what you've tested and discovered that most effectively captures the attention of the first time-visitor. You're in control in this moment, and you can make it work or not.

The site should also be filled with tools that make it really easy for a visitor to become a sneezer. Get out of the way. Give the sneezer something to share. Do like Tom Peters (at www.tompeters.com) and include all jour Powerpoint slides. Don't require registration or permission at this stage. Let them in, sell them on the idea, then give them the (free) tools to share.

After a person is interested enough to visit our site, we should:

1. Get permission to follow up: make it easy for them to learn about why they should embrace this idea over time.
2. Make as many supporting manifestos available as possible, in whatever forms necessary, to turn visitors from skeptics into converts. This can include media articles, even criticisms and commonly made objections.
3. Make it easy for visitors to spread the ideavirus by providing a multitude of tell-a-friend tools, as well as overt rewards for becoming a sneezer.

Make spreading easy

"Once I want to tell someone about your idea, how do I do it? If it's got a dumb, hard-to-say name, or an embarrassing implication, I'll probably pass." What about the T-word? Can any other words be used during the introduction?

"Ideally, you'll figure out not only what a sneezer should say to someone when they talk about your idea, you'll also make it easy and automatic for them to do so."

В какой момент человек может "bring up" transhumanism? Например, во время разговора о хобби/увлечениях.

Малая известность термина вкупе с узнаваемостью составных частей - хорошая возможность начать разговор. "Чем интересуетесь?" "Я интересуюсь трансгуманизмом." "А что это такое?". Дальше следует рассказ. Если вопроса нет, можно его спровоцировать, спросив "Знаете, что это такое?"

"When a sneezer is ready to spread your ideavirus, what should he say?

It sounds like a simple, almost silly question, but it goes to the core of how smooth you can make your virus. If you give sneezers easy-to-follow, effective instructions, they're likely to follow them, because, after all, their goal is to spread the virus."

"... giving loyal (followers) a... catchphrase... create(d)... a powerful shorthand for referencing (transhumanist ideas)".

• The person who was introduced to the ideas about the future should do something as a result (otherwise we didn't contribute to the spreading of the idea virus, we just educated one person). E.g. become a member in some organisation (life extention foundation, immortalist society, world transhumanist association, etc.), they should change their life in some way and (if at all possible) start spreading the ideas in turn. Also local meetings, reading clubs, etc.

Concentrate & Focus

"Choose your market by identifying a hive that has a problem and the right concentration of sneezers, the right amplified networking, the right high velocity of communication and, most of all, an appropriate vacuum.

Success will come to marketers who attack small but intimate hives."

"The mistake that's so easy to make is to get greedy as you choose your hive, to say, "this product is for everyone" or "anyone can benefit from this idea." Well, there are seven billion people on the planet, so it's unlikely your comment is correct; even if it is, there's little chance that a virus would spread across a hive that big. Far better to pick smaller hives and conquer them a few at a time."

Packaging

But just as it's difficult to sell someone on your ideavirus with just an image, it's also nearly impossible to suck them further in if the image is offputting, inconsistent or boring.

Boring is probably the worst offense. Whether your product is a book, a trading card, a car or even the tag on a bag of tea, boring is the obvious, but wrong, solution.

You've worked very hard on the stuff "inside." You've refined, tested, edited and slaved to make sure that the idea is powerful indeed. And then it comes time to make the package—the cover. The prevailing wisdom is to create a cover that's attractive but not offensive. Something that will attract attention from everyone and offend no one.

This is nonsense, of course. It can't possibly attract everyone and offend no one. The very best cover images are like a cold glass of water thrown in your face. They break one or more rules of graphic design or industry rules of thumb. They play off existing images but change them in a vital and important way. They're loud. They attract the eye, but they also hold it. *And most of all, they intrigue us enough that we need to understand what's inside: we set ourselves up to be exposed to the virus.*

"As you think about a corporate virus or a personal one, consider: What you are the best or the most at? How can you refine and amplify those traits to create a Wow! product..., a world's record holder that is worth mentioning?" - World's Most Dangerous Idea (Being called "World's Most Dangerous Idea" means something. It's definitely important, It's got potential!). People like Fukuyama (his quote?) have big names, we should exploit that!

"Maybe it's not as easy to find or as easy to reach, but there are powerful sneezers in the audience for almost every idea. Finding these sneezers and giving them a sample of your idea for free is a no-brainer. Even better, figure out what it costs to deliver it with impact."

The challenge in launching an ideavirus is to understand who the pre-chasm sneezers are, and using them but not letting them use you. In other words, they're the ones who are most likely to embrace your new idea and talk about it, but if you don't get past them to the rest of the curve, you're doomed.