Spreading Media

Question #1: Why does media spread?
I personally think that media spreads because it is something that touches us in a large enough way that we feel the desire to share it with others. Some of my friends share videos that draw out emotion while other videos are extremely funny. Some of the videos are extreme sports videos that draw that viewer in because they are so incredible that it is hard to imagine how someone could base jump from so high or do three flips off of a jump. Other times people share relevant content that resonates. For example all of my friends are sharing videos about the Olympic luger Kate Hansen who is from BYU. Even though she is not currently winning, she is a BYU student in the Olympics and so we want to share relevant content that we think is cool. Here is one of the pages about her:

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/2/10/5397916/kate-hansen-luge-sochi-2014-winter-olympics

Question #4: What is the most effective way to spread media?
I think that the most effective way to spread media is simply to make it something that people want to share. We are a selfish kind and only will share content when we want to. People are not getting any incentives for sharing the videos that they like, they are sharing them because they want to and in their own self interest. No matter what you try to do to get people to share something, the hard reality is that they will only do so if they want to.

Question #5: Is humor simply a matter of taste or is it a vehicle?
I think that humor is a vehicle. We purposefully choose different tones for different videos depending on the message we want to send. Some videos are emotional while others are extreme. While some people may like humor more, you can't make all videos be humorous. The tone has to match the message.

Question #6: How is “timely controversy” a factor in spreading media?
Most videos and pages that go viral have to do with something going on during that time period. When the Harlem Shake was big everyone was making their own versions. The BYU Adlab even joined in. You can see the video here: http://vimeo.com/59700792. No one would have found that video or wanted to make it unless it had a timely component. However, once the harlem shake fad was over people completely stopped watching the videos.