1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,760 Last week we celebrated a huge milestone, the launch of the 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:06,600 Centennial World Podcast Network, and we couldn't have 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,040 done it without Tempest One, our exclusive drinks partner for 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:13,400 this new era of the brand. Tempest One's Prosecco Spritzers 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,840 are the perfect ready to drink pick, whether you're celebrating 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,040 going out on a night with friends or even catching up at 7 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,240 some chilled after work drinks. With a lineup of flavors that 8 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:26,280 look just as good as they taste, they're not just fruity and 9 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,760 refreshing, they are the best aesthetic addition to any event. 10 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,880 A massive thank you to Tempest One for keeping the support 11 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,040 going and sponsoring this week's episode of Infinite Scroll. 12 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,240 If you haven't tried Tempest 1 yet, consider this your sign. 13 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,640 And as always, drink responsibly. 14 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,720 Whether social media is your job, you post casually or simply 15 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:49,280 lurk on various platforms, we all interact with quote UN quote 16 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,160 viral content. For those of us who work in the 17 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:55,880 industry, we chase virality. And for those of us who consume 18 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,760 content online, we often stumble across content that we deem as 19 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,080 viral. But in 2025, is virality even 20 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,880 real anymore? What one of us deems as viral, 21 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,400 another person may have never seen online. 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,400 It's safe to say that over the past decade, the digital 23 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,240 landscape has experienced a seismic shift. 24 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,560 It's no longer good enough for creators and other social media 25 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,600 professionals to have steady audience and social growth. 26 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,320 Brands, creators and publishers, for instance, are now expected 27 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:27,160 to manufacture viral moments consistently. 28 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,840 And that's because virality is largely seen as the path to 29 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,320 success for brand accounts online, it's often considered 30 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:38,000 the answer to brand awareness, the answer to social growth, the 31 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,200 answer to all PR and marketing, the answer to generating sales. 32 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,320 And for creators, it's similar. Virality kicks off a career, but 33 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:50,120 can also sustain it. Going viral introduces creators 34 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,360 to new audiences, allowing them to grow their following 35 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,120 consistently. In an era where growth and 36 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,920 engagement are paramount for sustainability, it's no surprise 37 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,640 virality has become the pursuit. We have seen how much success 38 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,880 can come off the back of a truly viral piece of content. 39 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:09,960 Take Brittany Broski, for example. 40 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:13,680 She managed to parlay her viral kombucha taste test moment into 41 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:15,840 a fully fledged influencer career. 42 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,560 Over the past five years or so, she has launched a podcast, an 43 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,200 interview show, appeared on red carpets, and even dipped her toe 44 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,040 into music. That said, Brittany Broski, 45 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,240 along with many others, have managed to use virality as a 46 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,160 stepping stone to influence certain. 47 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:35,000 But while virality may have been one of the answers to our 48 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,240 problems at some point, times have changed, and they've 49 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,400 changed fast. This is an exploration into the 50 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,800 myth of virality, how and why online culture has evolved so 51 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,640 much over the past decade, bringing us to a place in 2025 52 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:55,560 where quote UN quote virality is a pursuit not worth the chase 53 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,080 from Centennial World. I'm Lauren Meisner and this is 54 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,560 Infinite Scroll, a podcast about Internet culture, the creator 55 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,240 economy and how social media is shaping Gen. 56 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,400 Z. Welcome back to Infinite Scroll, 57 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,080 everyone. OK, so I have been doing these 58 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,360 keynote speeches on like the quote UN quote myth of virality 59 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,640 across Sydney and Melbourne and we decided to build this out 60 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:18,720 into a full-fledged episode for you guys. 61 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,480 So that is where this is pulled from. 62 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,360 Obviously, we've built it out into a more like consumer 63 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,280 focused episode or like content as opposed to like industry 64 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,080 focused. But yes, this is like a little 65 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,720 taste of what you get from me when we do consulting, 66 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,080 presentations, public speaking. So before I get into it, as 67 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,720 always, Please remember to rate, review and subscribe. 68 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,440 Please sign up to our newsletter, also called Infinite 69 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:41,560 scroll. On Fridays. 70 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,240 We round up the five biggest thing pieces on the Internet 71 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,080 from that week. And we are still trying to get 72 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,960 to 1000 Spotify reviews. So please star rate US on 73 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:54,800 Spotify. To put it frankly, the concept 74 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:59,000 of virality doesn't really exist anymore, at least not in the way 75 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,320 that it used to. Over the past several years, 76 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,160 Internet historians and tech journalists have been 77 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,640 documenting the impact of viral content and how the concept of 78 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:11,200 virality itself is changing. Many have come to the conclusion 79 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,160 that the concept of virality has been watered down significantly. 80 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,480 What we have seen is that virality now in 2025, will 81 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:22,400 rarely produce a monolithic cut through that we hope for. 82 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,600 It's difficult to measure. It's unpredictable and fleeting. 83 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,200 And it has become even more challenging to control the 84 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,120 narrative and outcomes around viral content. 85 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,280 As Taylor Lorenz writes for The Washington Post quote, the 86 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,760 volume of content being churned out every day has skyrocketed. 87 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:40,880 The life cycle of each piece of media has grown shorter, and 88 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,320 social media platforms continue to inflate public metrics, 89 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,480 devaluing previously impressive online stats. 90 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,320 All of these factors have rendered the term viral nearly 91 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,320 meaningless, say experts, and have led to a condition we call 92 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,680 viralflation. The phenomenon of viralflation 93 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,400 has made it difficult for brands, creators, and users 94 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,040 alike to tell what is actually viral. 95 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,240 Aside from the factors that Lorenz mentioned, another key 96 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,880 aspect behind viralflation is how fragmented the digital 97 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,160 landscape has become, and this is largely because of the death 98 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,600 of monoculture. Of course, we have discussed 99 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,160 monoculture and its decline before on this podcast, but as a 100 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,840 brief refresher, the term monoculture essentially refers 101 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,000 to the monolithic version of pop culture that was dictated by 102 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:29,240 charts, award shows, and publications. 103 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,640 It was how the world experienced pop culture for decades. 104 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,120 During this time, sharing of online content once there 105 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,160 eventually was online content was largely manual and there was 106 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,080 a bigger discrepancy between viral content and everything 107 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,520 else. Thinking back to the 2000s and 108 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,160 early 20 tens before algorithms really took over, there were 109 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,240 multiple viral moments that pretty much everyone one would 110 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,000 know. Think specific moments like 111 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,160 Friday by Rebecca Black, the Grumpy Cat meme, or videos like 112 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,000 David After Dentist and Charlie Bit My Finger. 113 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,200 Millennials even had phenomena like Salad Fingers, an animated 114 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,320 web series centering around a character with the same name who 115 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:12,960 was a slender green creature who frequently talked about his love 116 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,880 of rusty spoons. This series debuted on new 117 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:18,640 grounds and entertainment platform that hosted user 118 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,920 generated content spanning categories including games, 119 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,160 movies, audio, and art. Salad Fingers was released on 120 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,600 YouTube one year later in 2005. Salad Fingers was definitely 121 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,120 niche at first, originating in a specific corner of the Internet, 122 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:35,520 as Tom Waite put it for days. Quote. 123 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,240 For many, the animated series served as an introduction to the 124 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,360 weird side of the Internet, where films that wouldn't fly on 125 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,800 mainstream channels were allowed to flourish via sites such as 126 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,800 New Grounds and YouTube. But Even so, it managed to 127 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:50,640 breakthrough the mass amounts of users. 128 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,040 Alex Hearn for The Guardian in 2000 15 even described the 129 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,400 series as quote, one of the first Flash animations that went 130 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,240 fully viral, inhabiting normal pop culture as well as the weird 131 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:04,040 Internet one. This was largely unprecedented 132 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,920 for digital culture and especially for content that was 133 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,360 considered quote UN quote weird. And even though online culture 134 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,280 has become increasingly intertwined with the mainstream, 135 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,800 some of the most popular weird content today would not be 136 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,960 elevated in the same way, largely because of the sheer 137 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,680 amount of weird content that is out there. 138 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,400 Having said that, there definitely are still viral 139 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:27,920 moments and universal reference points online. 140 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,320 Skippity Toilet is one such example. 141 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,560 But these moments are becoming few and far between, and happen 142 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,480 less frequently than you might think. 143 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,080 And that's because our experiences online have become 144 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,760 increasingly siloed. A fragmented intranet means that 145 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,680 everyone's essentially on their own side of the intranet, 146 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,160 whether that be book talk, water talk, food talk, or even more 147 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,720 niche communities like Dong Wan Jinlong's industrial grade 148 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,000 Glycine. IF you know, you know. 149 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,560 As academics Jessica Maddox and Fiona Gill explain Quote. 150 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,200 Sides of. TikTok is a platform vernacular 151 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,560 created and adopted by users to describe their experiences 152 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,280 engaging with algorithmically curated similar types of content 153 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,160 as well as the subsequent collectives forming around them. 154 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,920 This really took off in 2020. If you cast your mind back to 155 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,360 the early days of COVID-19, when many new users join the 156 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,440 platform, there was a significant divide between what 157 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,880 people defined as straight and Alt TikTok. 158 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,480 Straight TikTok was considered to be the home of TikTok dances 159 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,440 and arguably cringy lip syncs. For a long time, creator 160 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,200 collectives like the Hype House and the Sway House were 161 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,039 considered the faces of this side of TikTok. 162 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,720 By contrast, Alt TikTok, which was short for Alternative 163 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,920 TikTok, typically included videos referencing specific 164 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,400 memes and audios. When this divide was at its 165 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,920 peak, sound circulated that encouraged users to check which 166 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,160 side of the Internet they were on by seeing if they recognized 167 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,960 various audios. This was often about trolling 168 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,240 straight TikTok users and gatekeeping the content coming 169 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,120 out of Alt TikTok. Of course, there was and is far 170 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,920 more to straight and Alt TikTok, but what this divide shows us is 171 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,160 just how personalized and passive online content 172 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,520 consumption has become. As Crystal Andrews writes for Z 173 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,600 Feed Quote, digital platforms have made entertainment and 174 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,000 culture very personalized, driven by algorithms that know 175 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,520 you better than you know yourself. 176 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,400 Social media has become entertainment where you can 177 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,280 watch the daily insurance and outs of a girl on the other side 178 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,800 of the world, like a tiny reality TV show that only you 179 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:36,320 and 4000 others know about. With algorithm driven platforms, 180 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,360 we no longer have to open browsers and type in the names 181 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,680 of blogs, websites or publishers anymore to read their latest 182 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:45,040 content. We don't even open social media 183 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,240 and go to our following or subscription tabs. 184 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,840 Content is virtually presented to us on a silver platter. 185 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,200 It doesn't have to be viral. It doesn't even have to be 186 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,800 popular, it just has to fit our algorithmic profile. 187 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:57,960 And Gen. Z and Gen. 188 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,160 Alpha love this. Well, they may not love it, but 189 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,280 they also don't know anything different. 190 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,840 New research by Deloitte in the US found that 60% of Gen. 191 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,360 Z respondents prefer user generated content because this 192 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,080 content is served to them by recommendation pages and 193 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,160 algorithms. In other words, they don't have 194 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,080 to spend time searching for the content themselves, and they 195 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,320 clearly don't want to. Ultimately, this reliance on 196 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,680 algorithmic recommendations has resulted in a more divided 197 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:27,720 intranet with a less opportunity for content to have that 198 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,520 monolithic cut through. It has also made it extremely 199 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,720 difficult to measure virality. This I'm sure comes as no 200 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:35,880 surprise. We've all had conversations with 201 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,480 friends where we reference something quote UN quote viral 202 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,960 and they have no idea what we're talking about. 203 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,680 And that leads us to another reason why virality is difficult 204 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:47,840 to measure, because it's become a catch all term to mean 205 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:51,120 something that everyone's talking about, but only everyone 206 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,840 who's on my corner of the Internet. 207 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,120 Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. 208 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,360 The emergence of different corners of the Internet and the 209 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,440 democratization of virality within these spaces have 210 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,760 undoubtedly allowed for a more diverse creator landscape. 211 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:09,720 But there is a downside, as Taylor Lorenz continues for the 212 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,080 Washington Post quote, because we no longer have any shared 213 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,200 sense of virality, it makes it easier for people who don't 214 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,160 understand the mechanics of the Internet to fall for fake viral 215 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,960 trends. As a result, various brands have 216 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,960 attempted to manufacture viral buzz over products which were 217 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,600 not actually viral. The best example of this is the 218 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,560 Athenas Feta soup saga. We have discussed this before on 219 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:36,360 the podcast, but for those who don't remember, in November 220 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,920 2023, some major food influencers started posting 221 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,680 about an allegedly viral feta and butternut squash soup. 222 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,120 Emily Mariko was one such creator. 223 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,200 This caught the attention of social media consultant Rachel 224 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:50,920 Carton. When Carton looked into this 225 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,520 quote UN quote viral recipe, she found that at the time, there 226 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,560 were only 19 posts on Instagram and 14 posts on TikTok. 227 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,920 Clearly not viral, Carton ultimately came to the 228 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:06,080 conclusion that Athena Speta had commissioned influencers to make 229 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,320 the soup seem like a thing, when really it wasn't. 230 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,240 After some digging, Carton claimed that the first post 231 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,360 about the feta and butternut squash soup was a real by at 232 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,440 Grilled Cheese's Social, an influencer named Mackenzie 233 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,000 Smith. With over 700,000 Instagram 234 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,880 followers, this post was also in partnership with Athenos Feta. 235 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,120 Carton suggested that the brand chose Smith for authenticity, 236 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,520 pointing to her previous success in popularizing the tomato feta 237 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,920 pasta in 2021. So when you have creators 238 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,520 telling their millions of followers that something with 14 239 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:42,400 posts is viral, you can see how hard it's become to measure 240 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,600 quote UN quote virality. Just because people are calling 241 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,240 something viral doesn't mean it actually is. 242 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,480 It could be popular on their corner of the Internet, or it 243 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,760 could be a completely manufactured moment like the 244 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,360 Athena feta saga. In some ways, social media 245 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,800 platforms have even given these manufactured viral moments a 246 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,600 stamp of approval. In recent years, we have seen 247 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,760 the rise of vanity metrics within online content. 248 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,760 Vanity metrics are typically considered impressive data 249 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,840 points, but often don't convert into a real return on 250 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,680 investment. In this context, it may mean 251 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:19,880 that a brand has a video that goes viral but fails to convert 252 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,560 into sales, brand awareness, or loyalty. 253 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,040 Platforms feed into this by inflating views and engagement. 254 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,720 Many social media professionals believe that this is 255 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,280 particularly true of TikTok. While it's fair to assume that 256 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,520 some brands boost their content on social media platforms to 257 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,360 meet specific targets, that doesn't mean that social media 258 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,920 users don't notice and that their content is actually viral. 259 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,720 For years, there has been discussion on Reddit about 260 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,680 whether TikTok specifically inflates views. 261 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,560 For example, 1 user took to the R slash TikTok gossip subreddit 262 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:54,640 in 2022 saying quote. It seems like TikTok is 263 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:58,000 inflating its views slash likes slash follower numbers. 264 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,040 Soon Reddit users started speculating in the comments 265 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,080 about why it benefits the platform and creators and what 266 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,960 tipped them off. As one user wrote, quote comment 267 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,320 counts are inflated almost every single video. 268 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,400 Next time you're on TikTok and you scroll to a new video, take 269 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,880 note of the number of comments before loading them. 270 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,360 Then open the comments and the number of comments almost always 271 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,640 goes significantly down. Could be the result of comments 272 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,280 getting filtered or sent, but I don't know. 273 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,440 The user continues by pointing to bots as potentially one of 274 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,600 the reasons why these views and engagement are inflated on 275 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,520 TikTok. Of course, this topic frequently 276 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,520 comes up online with the discourse around the dead 277 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:40,800 Internet theory, a belief that most content online is generated 278 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,240 by AI bots instead of human beings. 279 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,160 The Reddit user continues. Quote. 280 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,120 I'm unsure if the problem with bots on TikTok comes from the 281 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,120 company themselves or from creators who buy view slash 282 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,200 comments. I'd have to think it's likely 283 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,600 both. TikTok is surely allowing it. 284 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,080 It's so clear that a huge amount of bots are on the app liking 285 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,520 random comments and videos to make people think their content 286 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,560 is being seen. With Tik Tok's algorithm and 287 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,200 analytics being relatively secretive and also confusing to 288 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,080 the average social media user, many people have gone on to 289 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,880 believe that various TikTok first creators virality is 290 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,440 manufactured by the app. Over the years, Bella Porch has 291 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,080 repeatedly faced such allegations. 292 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,720 For those unfamiliar with Bella Porch, she found viral fame in 293 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,400 mid 2020 for her quirky rendition of Millie BS M to the 294 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,880 B. This video became the most liked 295 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,400 video on TikTok within a matter of weeks and still holds that 296 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:36,960 title. Although the video of Leah 297 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,600 Halton lip syncing in her car is a contender to take that spot. 298 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,960 Known for her childlike facial expressions while lip syncing, 299 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,160 Bella seemingly captivated millions who just couldn't look 300 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,080 away. She has since gone on to launch 301 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:50,880 a music career. Though Bella has been 302 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,400 objectively successful, users first question the legitimacy of 303 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,600 her virality. For instance, 1 TikTok user took 304 00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,600 to the platform last year writing quote. 305 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,760 Tell me why Bella Porch gets millions of views but nobody 306 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,920 talks about her? Her comment sections are 99% 307 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,320 bots. Is she even real or is it just a 308 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,760 corporation pumping money out of her? 309 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,560 We are likely never going to know the mechanics of Bella 310 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:16,280 Porch's fame. But we do know, as I alluded to 311 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,760 earlier, that platforms inflate views. 312 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:22,240 Many experts have argued that a view barely counts as a view 313 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,120 these days, and what I mean by that is that if you may be 314 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,680 counted even if a user barely engages with the video. 315 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,640 In a recent edition of User Mag, Taylor Lorenz explains that it 316 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,520 was Facebook that lowered the threshold for what could be 317 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,280 considered a view. As she explains quote. 318 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,360 According to a lawsuit filed against Facebook in California 319 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,720 federal court in 2016, viewership metrics on some 320 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,960 videos had been artificially increased by up to 900%. 321 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:53,920 In 2019, Facebook settled the claim for 40, $1,000,000. 322 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:57,360 She continues by noting that TikTok took this to an entirely 323 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,240 new level, where quote A view on TikTok is simply an impression, 324 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,520 meaning the video was served to a user for at least a fraction 325 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,760 of a second on screen. According to the company, TikTok 326 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,640 also counts each loop of a video as a view, allowing videos to 327 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,800 rake in massive view counts. Lorenz characterizes the current 328 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,280 digital landscape as an arms race over which platform can 329 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,079 inflate views the most, and she is probably right. 330 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,359 YouTube has recently announced that it is changing how YouTube 331 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,720 Shorts views are counted. Historically, views on YouTube 332 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,440 Shorts were counted after a video was watched for a number 333 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,000 of seconds, but now Shorts views will also include the number of 334 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,280 times a video automatically plays or replays. 335 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:41,640 This, in turn, will increase the number of views dramatically. 336 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,600 Quote With this update, YouTube Shorts will now align its 337 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,000 metrics with those of TikTok and Instagram Reels, both of which 338 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,800 track the number of times your video starts or replays. 339 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,040 YouTube notes that creators will now be able to better understand 340 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,240 how their short form videos are performing across multiple 341 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,600 platforms. Aisha Malik writes for Fast 342 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,800 Company. While updates like this might 343 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,520 incentivize creators to post on the platform and almost provide 344 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,240 a sense of legitimacy to content, it is a move that also 345 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:12,360 completely dilutes what it means to go viral. 346 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,520 Another example of a manufactured viral moment, while 347 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,680 not as egregious as the feta soup saga, was when the term 348 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,720 chewy gained popularity online. The term entered the popular 349 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,440 vernacular in 20/21. It was allegedly coined by 23 350 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,200 year old software developer Gabby Rassen in 2013, but 351 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:34,040 started going viral in a TikTok posted by Hallie Kane on March 352 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,840 30th, 2021. In her TikTok, Hallie nominates 353 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,200 choogie as the word to describe quote the type of person who 354 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,360 gets married at 20 or has quote millennial girl boss energy. 355 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,080 Know Your Meme at the time described choogie as the quote 356 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,760 intersection of millennial, girl boss and out of style cringe. 357 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,400 The New York Times pointed out that it is different from basic, 358 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,600 which alludes to conformism or people who are generic in their 359 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:01,760 tastes. They suggested that choogie is 360 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,760 not necessarily a negative descriptor, but just refers 361 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,960 broadly to someone who tries too hard or is out of date. 362 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,480 Soon, the conversation online became about what is and what 363 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,640 isn't choogie, with the likes of Harry Potter, Live Laugh, Love 364 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,800 Signs, and Disney Adults falling into the former. 365 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,640 What was strange about this conversation was that it was 366 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,920 predominantly millennials engaging in it and using the 367 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:25,800 word. Ironically, many of them 368 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:27,800 believed that choogie was a term Gen. 369 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,680 Z was using to describe them, where they seemingly were trying 370 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:32,520 to stay up to date with the latest slang. 371 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,480 But when you ask Gen. Z what choogie was and whether 372 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,880 they used the word, most would have been unfamiliar with it. 373 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,160 Now the point here is not to hate on millennials. 374 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,760 I'm a millennial myself. Or issue an opinion on what is 375 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,200 or isn't Choogie. But instead it's just show 376 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,360 another instance of supposed virality among Gen. 377 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:52,760 Z when this actually wasn't the case at all. 378 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,440 While Chewie had a moment of popularity online and some may 379 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,640 even say virality, the context was entirely lost on many social 380 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,640 media users. In turn, no one understood who 381 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,840 was using the term, let alone why. 382 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:07,800 And that brings us to my next point. 383 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,080 The struggle to measure virality is heightened by the fact that 384 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,520 these moments have become completely unpredictable and 385 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,880 fleeting. Despite what social media gurus 386 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,760 and experts may tell us, there is no surefire way to go viral. 387 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:22,720 There are definitely things you can do that may. 388 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,640 Help your chances, but virality is so unpredictable on such a 389 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,200 big and fragmented Internet. With that, the speed at which 390 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,360 the trend cycle now moves is unlike anything we've seen 391 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:35,600 before. If you don't catch a viral trend 392 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,040 within the first 48 hours, we've moved on. 393 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,360 Because of this, there's not a lot of recognition that comes 394 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:45,120 with virality now, as we can all tell by the Athena Sveta saga. 395 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,560 This in turn, has made it difficult to trace the origins 396 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,640 of a viral piece of content. Our passive consumption habits 397 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,960 mean we scroll without a lot of thought as to the brand or 398 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,120 creator behind posting this content. 399 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,040 And even when we do obtain that recognition, it's fleeting again 400 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:02,880 because of the pace of the trend cycle. 401 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,200 By this point, I think we've established that the Internet is 402 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,280 extremely fragmented, but this is where I should make a quick 403 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,960 caveat. There can be specific viral 404 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,280 moments that cross niches online, but with the downfall of 405 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:19,920 monoculture, there will probably never be one viral moment that 406 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,040 the whole Internet will consider viral again. 407 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,120 And while you may hope to be one of the few brands that can 408 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:29,760 cultivate one of these moments, it does come with risk. 409 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,640 Anytime we post anything online, we essentially lose control of 410 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,760 the narrative around that piece of content, especially if it 411 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:39,080 goes viral. We can't control how other 412 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,520 people will interpret it or misinterpret it, as the Internet 413 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,680 so often does. And unlike other forms of 414 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,960 publishing, when it comes to posting on social media, we 415 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,520 can't control how others will repurpose this content either. 416 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,280 Recently we've we've seen an uptick in brands sharing UGC 417 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,400 content from within the workplace. 418 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,000 This may be employees jumping on trends, pranking their boss, or 419 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,520 even time stamping their tasks to share their average day on 420 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:06,480 the job. While there's no denying that 421 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,360 this may be entertaining and useful for many social media 422 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,920 users curious about the workforce, issues arise when we 423 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:16,000 consider how much of this content can be taken out of 424 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,360 context, putting brands and their employees at risk. 425 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,600 Now we did cover this on Mini Scroll at the time, but a case 426 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,880 in point is the Aussie brand TBH Skin Care when they were 427 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:28,280 reposted by Andrew Tate on Twitter. 428 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,600 As a reminder, the TBH Skin Care employees made a video 429 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,360 recreating the boots and a slicked back bun trend. 430 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,000 In the video, they chanted phrases like Gen. 431 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,280 Z boss and a mini itty bitty titties and a Bob new Frank 432 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,240 Green and a sneaky link. While some users dismissed the 433 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,600 video as a millennial corps, others joked that quote 434 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,080 marketing degrees should be more expensive. 435 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,320 However, the criticism took a darker turn when the video 436 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,720 circulated on Twitter, where thousands of men began targeting 437 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,560 the women involved. Andrew Tate, one of the most 438 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,520 dangerous men on this side of the Internet, saw it and posted 439 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,920 it with the caption quote If you do not escape the matrix, women 440 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,360 like this will be your boss. Along with other misogynistic 441 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:11,920 claims. TBH handled this really well. 442 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,920 They're a small brand so they got in front of it immediately. 443 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,000 And I know the founder said that the brand did see an increase in 444 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,560 sales from this, but at what cost? 445 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,280 Her face and the faces of her employees are now forever on 446 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,600 Andrew Tate's Twitter, calling them names and exposing them to 447 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,760 his toxic manosphere followers. That's a dangerous place to be. 448 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,280 Now, this is an extreme case, but it's an example of how 449 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,560 little control we actually have around our content and our 450 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,760 narrative when something picks up traction, and how scary the 451 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,440 consequences of that can be. Now, all of what we just covered 452 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,960 isn't necessarily to minimize the power of going viral. 453 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,800 As anyone who listens to this podcast knows, there are 454 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,080 countless case studies of creators, brands and publishers 455 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,880 who have found immense success from virality. 456 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,720 But gone are the days when the creator of a viral piece of 457 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,680 content found themselves on Ellen. 458 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,280 Viral inflation in the emergence of an increasingly fragmented 459 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:10,100 Internet have given us a new online ecosystem where, quote UN 460 00:24:10,100 --> 00:24:13,160 quote, viral content doesn't mean what it used to mean. 461 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,000 And while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it does require a 462 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,440 more in depth level of social media literacy to sift through 463 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,280 the bullshit when attempting to create or analyze quote UN quote 464 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:28,440 viral content. So if chasing virality isn't the 465 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,680 key to success online anymore, what should you do instead? 466 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,120 We charge for that. Infinite Scroll is a podcast 467 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,320 produced, presented and Co written by me, Lauren Meisner 468 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,320 for Centennial World. This episode was researched and 469 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,080 Co written by Annabelle and David. 470 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,240 Editing is by Danny Fenick for the last time. 471 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,360 Thank you Danny for all your hard work with us this year. 472 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,600 You really came through with the deep dives. 473 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,520 I love you guys so, so much. Thank you for listening and I 474 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,480 will talk to you next week. Bye.