Unleashing the Ideavirus

Unleashing the Ideavirus
75
 www.ideavirus.com
founder Bill Taylor has written for that magazine. They’re all there, unabridged, and you can
read them for free.
But the smooth part of this wannabe ideavirus is the little button on the bottom that says
“Click here to send this page to a friend.” All you have to do is type in their email address
and your email address and—boom—it’s done. If his articles contain ideas that are
virusworthy, the 
Fast Company
site is doing a good job in helping them go viral.
Inside.com, which sells subscriptions to its online media newsletter and website for $200, is
happy to have people send these pricey articles to non-subscribing friends. In fact, there’s a
big “send to a friend” button on the bottom of every article. The reason is obvious. Once
you’ve read one, you might be willing to pay for more. All they need is a few of the ideas
they publish to become viral and suddenly the business of selling subscriptions will get a lot
healthier.
In essence, Inside.com is hoping that its readers will market the site for them, spreading ideas
that might go viral and then bringing in new paying customers as a result.
4. Digitally augment word of mouth.
This is a really interesting way of looking at the fundamental change that’s occurring, and
understanding how word of mouth is different from an ideavirus.
If I was delighted by a movie in the old days, I’d tell a friend or two. My comments would
end up influencing three or four or six people.
There are plenty of books on this topic and marketers have always been enamored by the
potential of word of mouth. Alas, without amplification, it usually peters out.
Today, if I like a movie, I can post my comments on a variety of online movie sites. Or I can
email ten friends (who can each forward the mail to ten friends). Later, when the video
comes out, I can post my review on Amazon, where hundreds or thousands of people might
read it.

---