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Viral Content

Every single time you create a new lens you have the opportunity for that content to go viral and I’d like to share a really interesting article about what makes content go viral.

So do take a look at: Why Content Goes Viral: the Theory and Proof.

Creating awe-inspiring content that shows you care about your topic works!

Bonnie Diczhazy (bdkz) is Editor of the SquidooHQ Blog and Head of Community here at Squidoo.com.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/RenaissanceWoman2010 RenaissanceWoman2010

    I look forward to reading this timely article. Going viral would be awesome!

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/lillybeth lillybeth

      Going viral would be awesome… I can already see my interview on how i became famous… “Squidoo.” :-)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/ESLinsider ESLinsider

    Ha, funny I was looking for the article… Is this some sort of joke? Haha, so simple.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/BarbaraCasey BarbaraCasey

    Interesting about the length… and I was somewhat inspired that “awe” was only a little behind “anger” in the “most emailed by emotion” graph.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/lillybeth lillybeth

    Coolio.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Kate_H Kate_H

    Very interesting Bonnie, although a lot of it should be common sense and standard for people who write.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/ukprowriter ukprowriter

    Interesting post Bonnie

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/greenspirit greenspirit

    Going viral is the Holy Grail of online writers! Maybe there’s a little bit of luck involved as well? Something to do with the snowball effect, although maybe there’s a science behind that also?

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Wednesday_Elf Wednesday_Elf

    Interesting article. I like the fact that ‘longer, more detailed’ posts are better. I sometimes think I’m TOO wordy, but looks like that’s better than ‘not enough words’. :)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/campingman campingman

    Great article. I look forward to more.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/scraps2treasures scraps2treasures

    Thanks for sharing that article. I too feel like I am wordy. It’s nice to know I have a better chance of my writing going viral when I do write longer pieces.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Irenemaria Irenemaria

    Such useful info!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Floman Floman

    Good Information. Searching for a combination of volume, passion, awe and humor should be a worthwhile challenge.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/dustytoes dustytoes

    Write what you are interested in and know something about, and write it well. Also keep fingers crossed – not while typing.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/SereneSea SereneSea

    Very impressive finding, I would have to come back to read the article again – Why Content Goes Viral: the Theory and Proof.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/missamyliz missamyliz

    Awesome post – I had to share it on a forum that I’m a member of. One of the companies I work for has a 300-word minimum for articles that we often greatly exceed, and many workers were concerned that longer articles might be a problem. Looks like we’ve been doing the client a huge favor. Thanks for posting!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Susan52 Susan52

    This + today’s Lens of the Day = great reading for writers!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/EGranfors EGranfors

    Interesting. I just edited a few lenses to keep the copy shorter! Hmmm, contradictory messages?

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/katiecolette katiecolette

    Great information, thank you for sharing.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/mdarwin mdarwin

    Thanks for the recommendation!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Jillynn Jillynn

    I read the article and found it helpful with the exception of the graph. I still am not sure what it means. Can anyone enlighten me? Does a 35,000 word post have a better change of going viral than a 450 word post? That does not make sense to me in today’s busy world. Please feel free to answer me on my profile page. Thanks!

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/flycatcher flycatcher

      I think the paragraphs that immediately follow the graph in the article give you the answer – or as much of an answer as is possible, given the variables. “Correlation is not causation,” for example. Note also the author’s rhetorical question of whether journalists may tend to write longer articles about hot topics. That said, he also addresses the value of long articles in covering a topic more fully – think, “resource” in those terms. Resources, if truly useful and comprehensive, have always tended to be more actively shared – online and off – than a shallow piece which more or less replicates what can be found in many other places online.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/d-artist d-artist

    Interesting!

  • http://www.sharisphotos.webs.com/ Shari

    Very interesting article. I liked it a lot, and found it helpful.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/VictoriaKelley VictoriaKelley

    The link provided is Very True. Write from the heart with interesting twists, makes people more receptive to your articles.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/davespeed davespeed

    What a fascinating article! It gave me several ideas for updating my lenses. Thanks for sharing it with us.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/miller83 miller83

    Thank you for sharing the information. Very interesting.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/VickiSims VickiSims

    Interesting topic and article.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/flycatcher flycatcher

    The comments thread on that article is absolutely fascinating, too – loads of information from many different perspectives. Thanks for sharing this, Bonnie!

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/BramdeHaas BramdeHaas

      The article and the comment thread is very interesting.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/CountrySunshine CountrySunshine

    Interesting, although I’m not certain I totally agree. If the article is long, I tend to leave. If it can’t be said in 3-4 paragraphs, I don’t have the time. I do agree with the emotion and humor, however!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Val_Bonney Val_Bonney

    That was good to read, especially as I sometimes wonder if I write *too much* on my lenses! Thanks, Bonnie.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/soaringsis soaringsis

    This is very helpful information. I find that if a lens is too long and rambling, I lose interest. The content seems to be the most important factor of any lens or blog.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Tipi Tipi

    Thank you for the share, Bonnie. Very interesting read. :)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/webmavern webmavern

    Interesting and helpful article, thanks!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/GiftIdeas4Guys GiftIdeas4Guys

    Great read, SEOMoz rarely disappoints!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/CosmeticMom CosmeticMom

    I found it interesting that female authors tend to have a better chance at going viral.

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/adobson7002 adobson7002

      I found that interesting also

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/adobson7002 adobson7002

    This is a great resource! Thank you for sharing!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/favored1 favored1

    Appreciate all the help and info Bonnie. Thanks.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/sandyswriter-review sandyswriter-review

    Interesting to know.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/BrianS BrianS

    Now that really was interesting, I wonder if longer articles go viral because they were returned in search engines sufficiently in the first place. They do like longer articles.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/crstnblue crstnblue

    Excellent idea to make this info viral to all of us, here, on Squidoo! : )
    And I found very helpful the “viral checklist”!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/artbyrodriguez artbyrodriguez

    Very interesting. I find I can’t write a lens unless I really care about the subject…so at least I’m on the right track.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/TheLittleCardShop TheLittleCardShop

    Thank you for making this info available to us it is very helpful :)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/survivoryea survivoryea

    Very interesting – thanks Bonnie :>)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/KitandCaboodle KitandCaboodle

    Great article with a thought-provoking check list I will sure check before I create a new lens!

  • TomMaybrier

    This is a great article! Virality is a very interesting force online and it’s always interesting to see good, critical analysis of something so nebulous.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/ChroniclesofaWanderingMind ChroniclesofaWanderingMind

    Thanks for sharing this. :)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/ohcaroline ohcaroline

    Removing the guesswork is wonderful.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/theholidayplace theholidayplace

    Very helpful will try to follow these guidelines

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/flinnie flinnie

    Hi Bonnie thanks for sharing this.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/patgoltz patgoltz

    I’d add a thought to the article. Put yourself into your [lenses]. Add personal experiences or anecdotes. This was a good article. Thank you.

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/healinghands123 healinghands123

      So totally agree Pat!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/ted-batchelor ted-batchelor

    Thank you for highlighting this article, though the fame over content line can be mildly depressing! Guess I better get famous ;-) Quick lock me in a house with 9 strangers, lots of cameras and torment me.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/samorerotica samorerotica

    Good advice. Much appreciated!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Squidoolinepro Squidoolinepro

    Pretty cool tips!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/MSchindel MSchindel

    What a fabulous post! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ve bookmarked it for future reference.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/blackspanielgallery blackspanielgallery

    I have some work to do.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Ultra-LightFlying Ultra-LightFlying

    Back in the dark ages (before the internet), my high school history teach was asked ,”How long should our term papers be?” He replied, “They should be like a woman’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting.” I was reminded of that when I read the article Thanks for the link to the information.

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/healinghands123 healinghands123

      LOL…love the analogy!

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/virtualgeek virtualgeek

      LOL splendid metaphore! i will remember that!

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/happynutritionist happynutritionist

      Love that…haha!

  • katlovestrouble

    I am pleasantly surprised at how much I learned from that. Thanks for the tips!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/minecraftmaximizer minecraftmaximizer

    The module system here helps with making content as long as possible, which is one of the elements identified in that post. It’s almost like having a bunch of mini-articles in each lens.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/kiwinana71 kiwinana71

    Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/juliavm juliavm

    These are things I’ve never thought of before. Thanks for the info.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/SgtCecil SgtCecil

    Good stuff! Thx again!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Titia Titia

    Yes, puting your heart in your writing shows off eventually.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Ruthi Ruthi

    Great article! Funny thing, reading through the comments on the article I found the best advice yet which was basically that your content must not just elicit a reaction but also a response.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/veryirie veryirie

    Inspiring read!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/AussieWriter AussieWriter

    Great read. There are plenty of things to keep in mind when writing.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/pallavi-sharma pallavi-sharma

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  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/sunita sunita

    thanks for sharing these amazing tips

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/KandH KandH

    Great advice there, thanks for sharing

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/capriht capriht

    Nice…SEO Moz has some great content, thanks for the share…

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Wahponywoo Wahponywoo

    Thanks … these days with all the web noise if you want to be heard your content not only has to be good .. it has to be epic and it certainly helps if it solves a problem… if problem solving was not huge there would be no service/hospitality industry which is huge. The viral checklist is problem solving. :)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Donallphin Donallphin

    I couldn’t agree more. I once wrote an article for a magazine and 10 years later was still the number one google listing on the subject. “Awe-inspiring” writing does show you care about your topic and your topic actually works. Thanks!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/---Chazz —Chazz

    Very interesting – would be great if Squidoo could add a link with the facebook, twitter and pinterest ones so readers could send a lens link via email. Would be great for Squidoo as well as for lensmasters and who knows – it may help a few more lenses actually go viral.

    • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/PurplePansy PurplePansy

      I agree; an email button would be nice. It would make it easier to share a helpful lens with a particular person.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Starzz30 Starzz30

    I found this articel to be very helpful towards my success as a novice blogger. Thanks for sharing!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/healinghands123 healinghands123

    Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing this valuable information Bonnie.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Pukeko Pukeko

    Thanks Bonnie

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/sudhoo sudhoo

    thanks…..

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/aesta1 aesta1

    Thanks for sharing this. I have to admit, I am a bit cautious about what I write that it ends up bland.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/jwncoexists jwncoexists

    This is a GREAT article!! Thanks for sharing Bonnie!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/KonaGirl KonaGirl

    Great article. Thanks for sharing. I always find the psychology behind people’s behavior online quite interesting.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/floppypoppygifts floppypoppygifts

    Thanks for this. When I waitressed there was a customer who had a degree in literature and always said he preferred women authors because they would explore their characters in depth. Maybe this has something to do with why female writers go viral slightly more often?

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Timsmansmall Timsmansmall

    Thanks for the info.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/blue22d blue22d

    Excellent read. I have several that I am going to use the “check” list on. Thanks.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/hungry-deer hungry-deer

    Thank you for sharing this article, it was interesting and big help for future writing :)

  • http://postaffiliatelinksfree.tumblr.com/ gaga89

    Great reading for this evening. Thanks.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Oosquid Oosquid

    Yes an outstanding article. Itself good enough to go viral :)

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/lshields lshields

    Great Information, Thanks for sharing

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/happynutritionist happynutritionist

    Very helpful…thank you!

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/GoogleGumshoe GoogleGumshoe

    very cute comment,

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Sugarshack Sugarshack

    Great article! I especially liked his checklist.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/gadgetbuff gadgetbuff

    great info. Love your post Ultra-LightFlying. Puts it into the right perspective.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/norbertwise norbertwise

    The simplest guide I found so far is “listening to my own rating”.
    Would I care to see it?
    Do I appreciate the content?
    Makes my life easier?
    Saves time for me?
    Inspires me to seek more of it?

    Impulse ideas and recurring thoughts that dont let you sleep are likely to have the same effect on others as well.

    Content may not go on a global tour by this guide alone, but It is likely to attract like-minded people.

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