“We want to make a viral video.” Those are the words videomakers most dread when working for a client — as if “going viral” were an option. It isn’t. There are countless uncontrollable factors involved with today’s rapidly changing audience. Which means that in the end, the best anyone can do for “what goes viral” is to examine things that went viral and look for patterns -- which is what veteran climate blogger Joe Romm does very well in this valuable book.
The basic dynamic of figuring out what goes viral makes me think a bit of a book that made a big impression on me when I was in college -- the 1970’s classic, “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” in which Burton Malkiel debunked most of the approaches of “experts” who claimed to be able to predict the stock market. You can’t predict the market any more than anyone can predict what will go viral on the internet.
But that said, there are some consistent patterns among the most popular memes and media. And that’s what Romm is good at — spotting the patterns using his analytical perspective. As a result, this book is filled with sections that will make you think and push you in directions that have high probabilities of producing something potentially viral with everything from the use of metaphor to repetition to irony. It’s the kind of a book that will probably be most useful if you’ve got an idea you’re wanting to propagate that is in your head as you’re reading, letting each chapter present suggestions to you.
A new update to Romm’s communication advice that gets a lot of attention here is story structure. This is very timely as throughout the business community in particular the awareness of story has exploded (Linked In recently documented that the number of people describing themselves as a “storyteller” in their profiles has gone from zero to a half million in about five years). The book covers everything from Joseph Campbell to Star Wars.
There’s lots to say but I’ll pick just three themes for both the book and Joe Romm himself. The first is courage. He’s always been a fighter and in this book he has the courage to do more than just ridicule and insult Donald Trump and the current Trump movement. He puts Trump's name in the title, though wisely qualifies it with, “Even Donald Trump.”
This is a very important fundamental divide — making clear he’s not a knee jerk Democrat with his fingers in his ears trying to discredit the Trump victory. There is a great deal to be learned and understood about why Trump won. Romm has the courage to wade into this.
Second is passion. The entire book is interlaced with the recent death of his brother Dave. Communication must always be human. His willingness to share this painful event and draw on it underscores the passion Joe feels for the need to communicate well.
And third is inspiration. He tells in places of his work with progressives, helping them improve their communication skills. He is clearly a source of inspiration to many, and this book ends up being his current manifesto. I say “current” because it’s clear he’s always continuing to listen and learn, which means that there will probably be further updates down the line. But for now, this is an invaluable resource for people seeking to communicate with the mass audience of today.
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