Participatory Videos – Social Influences of Viral Content

## **Introduction**

What makes media viral? What makes a user want to create or share content? Henry
Jenkins poses the idea of “spreadable” vs. “sticky”[1] content to
allow readers to understand how media develops and changes. But what causes a
user to want to spread the media in the first place? This is participatory
culture at one of its most basic levels. This article will focus on
“infectious” media (Jenkins), users understanding of their online presence
(Rheingold), and media tribes (Berger).

## **Spreadable**

Viral media
initially creates a negative connotation of infectious media – media that is
contagious. But in today’s technology culture, viral refers to **transferrable media**. Nearly every
individual who has a social media platform (like Facebook) has seen a video
across his or her news feed that has a hook like “MUST SEE” or “Watch This Now”.
The media must appeal to the larger culture, whether it is a young girl dancing
to “Respect”[2] or a new dance fad[3]. Depending
on how “spreadable” the media is, it can reach a few individuals, or a few
million.

It is important to
consider what effect the sharing of a viral video will have upon a culture.
Will it create a positive view of the individual? Is the video a reflection of
their social morals? Every video an individual chooses to share is a direct
reflection of who they are and how they represent themselves online. Some may
share the videos in order to brighten the day of their friends while others may
use it as a means to spread awareness of a cause. For whatever reason media is
shared, it is essential to understand that the underlying reason for sharing
the video.

One idea that has not been addressed yet is what makes people recreate their own version of viral media versus just sharing the original video, or even creating a reaction video. There is some discussion of this phenomenon on this page.

## **Online Presence**

Rheingold
discusses in his article[4] that the infinite connections made online
allow for “every person
connected to the network to broadcast as well as receive” (Rheingold). Participating
in the spread of viral videos draws upon this underlying knowledge: when an
individual shares a video, they know that it will be see by (at least) the
people in their networks. Take for example the “[[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmtzQCSh6xk%7CNuma Numa]][5]”
video. It features a man lip-syncing and dancing to a song. By uploading this video, the man in the video relied on the infinite number of connections
between his friends and his friends’ friends and total strangers (through
YouTube) to help spread what we can only guess to be his attempt at a humorous video. Without the countless connections between individuals on media platforms, spreadable media
would never reach a larger audience. Viral media would be nonexistent.

   The ease and accessibility of sharing viral media is an important factor to consider. On YouTube for example, the "share" button is located conveniently on the screen right below the video. This serves as a gentle nudge to users who like the video to think about sharing it with another person.

## **Media Tribes**

After
discussing the various friend connections and random connections through
websites, it is important to address the topic of **media tribes[6]**. Berger argues that American culture and popular
culture portray what is important to the masses. But popular culture is a broad
topic – let’s take it down to viral video. What is it that people share? Cute[7]?
 Change[8] ? Popular Humor [9]?
As a culture, specifically one that is participating, we are dictating what
defines our society. We create media tribes on every social media-sharing platform
there is. Each platform has different communities of users that utilize it for
different reasons. For example, there are Tumblr pages dedicated completely to
sports teams while others are art and fashion based. In each group of
followers, they have created a “media tribe” that is interested in what they
share and in passing on that media. What is shared by the group influences each
individual and culture on a larger scale.

## References

1. Jenkins, Henry. "If It Doesn’t Spread, It’s Dead (Part Two): Sticky and Spreadable — Two Paradigms." *Confessions of an AcaFan*. 13 Feb. 2009. Web. 28 June 2015.
2. Colón, Elissa. "Johanna Channeling Aretha Franklin!" *YouTube*. YouTube, 8 June 2015. Web. 28 June 2015.
3. "The Harlem Shake [BEST ONES!]." *YouTube*. YouTube, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 4 July 2015.
4. Rheingold, Howard. "Participative Pedagogy for a Literacy of Literacies." *Freesouls*. Joi Ito. Web. 28 June 2015.
5. "Numa Numa." *YouTube*. YouTube, 11 Dec. 2006. Web. 4 July 2015.
6. Berger, Arthur Asa. "Media Tribes: Making Sense of Popular Culture, the Mass Media, and Everyday Life in America." *Questia*. Web. 28 June 2015.
7. "Charlie Bit My Finger - Again !" *YouTube*. YouTube, 22 Mar. 2007. Web. 28 June 2015.
8. "KONY 2012." *YouTube*. YouTube, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 4 July 2015.
9. Fallon, Jimmy. "Ew with Jimmy Fallon and Channing Tatum." *YouTube*. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 28 June 2012. Web. 26 June 2015.