the social virus

I think it’s funny that Uncle Fester is the spokesman for the Church of the Holy Business Model. I found gaping void by googling “edgy blog writing.” I’m actually quite surprised that I hadn’t seen one of your cartoons before that. Now I see them everywhere. Isn’t that the way?

Well, people only copy and distribute your cartoons, but are also inspired by you, I’m an example. So besides your business ideas, you also spread inspiration, which is not bad as a byproduct 🙂 I used to make t-shirts with ideas written on them; after being infected by you I’ve started cartooning, and been able to get the message across much more powerfully. Someday I’ll make decent cartoons, thank you for that.
As far as designing social viruses for other people, I’m not sure if that would work; the outcome is not authentic and the virus would not spread for long.
Cheers from a spaniard living in Puerto Rico.

For what it’s worth – I check in on your blog at least twice weekly and I usually have NOT A CLUE! what you are talking about – I know nothing about marketing etc and don’t ever know what you mean by web 2.0. So how did I find your blog? I guess you could say – “the viral way.” I’m a reader of the Foe blog. Why do I stick around with your blog? The inspired, cynical, yet up-beat lunacy of your cartoons – first and foremost. And, in a weird viral kind of way – I learn through you about things apart from my world – very apart. So, yeah!, your cartoons definitely work.

What apt timing for this post! I happen to have circulated at least a dozen out of those millions of copies of your fantastic cartoons. And just before reading today’s post, I emailed one of your HTBC doodles to a friend.
You’re damn right about the viral infection. The HueBug’s got me coming back to this site over and over again and has inspired me to create something too.
Whether I make a fortune or not, I owe a big one to you.
Thanks Hugh!

it kind of speaks to that idea of equity, brands often talked about equity, as in the value they built over time, I wonder if gapingvoid is an example of viral equity… if you’ve got enough social objects in circulation then you are building equity. The idea that the value you derive is greater that the sum of the individual social objects. I’ve often though that blogs build equity over time, blog posts are like small deposits into a bank account and after a year or so you are earning a lot of interest on those ideas.

‘Social virus’? Is that a STD?

I am one of those people who saw one of the cartoons and now have gapingvoid bookmarked. I love the cartoons and the blog and check in every morning before I start working, to see the latest and greatest….
I think that I got here initially from an image search on Donald Trump’s hair, that led to Sean (a winner of The Apprentice) and then to Stormhoek, and then to gapingvoid. What a weird, strange trip it has been, no?
As for the social virus idea, Electronic Arts, the video game company, experimented with it, during its marketing campaign for ‘Majestic’ — a multimedia reality suspense game that never made it big. They had guerilla marketers splash cryptic stickers and flyers in bars and clubs in several markets, in hopes that people would be intrigued and tell their friends.
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, delves a little bit into the subject as well — discussing the viral way things become fads. He explains that it doesn’t just matter that people see your site, for example, they have to be the right KIND of people…..

Saw you in Seattle last week, now I check your blog every day. We loved the decommoditization/social object idea and are trying to figure out a way to implement it and get paid.
If we come up with anything good (which, honestly, we will) I’ll shoot it over to ya.
Thanks for the creativity. You are, in fact, now linked to from my blog.
-Rachel
p.s. loved the wine!

I really love your cartoon on the business card. It shows that simple ideas have always great power.
Ps. I’m becaming a virus carrier uploading your image an link on my pixelpage.

i think the key to the whole virus thing is authenticity. and you are definitely the most authentic Hugh Mcleod that i’m aware of.

This is right on.
Had this brain-flash last night, and thought I’d leave you a question: Did you ever do a cartoon for your point about “things happening from blogging INDIRECTLY”?
I don’t remember you exact words, but I see your “indirectly” point play out over and over, every day. Your point about this may be one of the ultimate zen truisms about the Web/blogging ever.
If people don’t get your point now, if they stay in blogging long enough, they will.

You’re viral because the cartoons are brilliant. I’d like to know why some ‘old school’ publisher hasn’t approached you for a book.
I have my doubts about:
a) someone being more clever than you
b) designing social/marketing viruses out of nothing
If there were no web, your cartoons would be in magazines, newspapers – xeroxed and mailed in those strange, obsolete paper-holding contraptions I think are called ‘envelopes’ – and along with your copywriting skills, you’d still be doing fine – and be well-known in the industry.

Hugh, social viruses are not your average virus. Unlike most viri, the social virus only infects like minded individuals, in other words, the social virus tends to spread along certain genus (or genius) lines.
Like your ‘sex and cash’ theory, and your ‘using business cards to weed out prospects’, not everyone self selects or opts into your particular line of thought.
As you have so brilliantly pointed out, there are really two kinds of people, those who get it, and those who don’t. Those who don’t, hire people who do to ‘get it for them’ or create the illusion that they are ‘into the scene’.
Thus, the rise of ‘hired gun bloggers’, Public Relations folks, Image consultants, and the like. All of these industries exist so square folks can appear hip too.
If you are not creative, but have resources, one can always hire someone else to be creative for you. Want to look hip, be on the cutting edge? Easy, spend a few shekels and contract it out!
Now, all the fine window dressing means crap when the curtains are pulled aside and the world sees what really is. As some major firms have found out hiring the creation of false blogs to promote a certain agenda, as have others who have tried to create a false personality, or assume one that is in now way congruent to their reality.
So many crave originality, many try to buy it, few reward it, many feel threatened by it. You just can’t fake orginiality. Either you are, or you ain’t.

talking of social viruses…have you seen new avatars taking the blog world by storm…seems like a bit of a fad, but fun to mess around with.

Merhaba!
Check this out!
*