- [Narrator] Viral
We associate the term
with videos that are widely shared
and naturally assume it's because
the accelerated distribution of the video
is akin to the rapid spread of a virus.
Well, yeah, it's true, but
that's only part of the answer.
Allow me to get
anthropological for a moment.
In 2016, Scientific
American posed the question,
why do we share videos,
and the answer is, well, very Darwinian.
Seems we basically share videos,
and all things for that matter,
as a form of our continued survival,
kind of like distributing DNA.
I know, I know what you're thinking,
we share cat videos because we want
our genetic material to survive?
Well, yes actually.
Let me, rather let them, explain.
In 1976, biologist
Richard Dawkins proposed
that just as we ourselves are
made-up of discreet units,
genes, which seek to replicate themselves
to ensure their continued
survival, so too is our culture.
These cultural units are known as memes.
Memes are words, thoughts, beliefs,
music, theory, rituals, fashion,
and any norms that people pass on.
In the realm of digital spaces,
they're also YouTube videos,
funny pictures, sayings, or news stories.
Memes are ideas successfully
spread via imitation.
It is a process meant to be analogous
the way in which genes
and viruses are spread.
How's that for cool science?
A shared video is simply something
that appeals to you in some way,
and by passing it on you're essentially
spreading it out to populate
culture, much like a virus.
Looked at conversely,
if you didn't like it
you would do nothing with it,
and it would effectively die out.
The question now becomes about the what
since we know the why.
What makes a shareable video?
For that answer, see our
"Making a Viral Video:
"How Many Cats is Enough,"
and please share this
video while you're at it.
After all, your very
existence is at stake.
(classical piano music)
