As I look through all the posts on Innovation Village in 2013, thinking of stories that will pick the interest of my readers, I know that this is the same thing going through the mind of many bloggers and tech reporters.
What would make our stories go viral? Innovation Village is focused on reporting innovations in Africa, whether it is an agricultural breakthrough like the growth of yam in the air using Aeroponics technology in Nigeria or the introduction of a new technological product like the launch of Tecno Phantom A has gotten a lot of views.
Now I am not referring to the content writer’s numerous ways of making his story go viral by posting on numerous social media platforms. I am referring to a blog post going viral on its own.
Annalee Newitz, editor-in-chief of io9, in a recent article – Viral Journalism and the Valley of Ambiguity – thinks that (with reference to the diagram below) there are two kinds of stories that tend to go viral:
- the most obvious genre of viral story: the meme, or the single, simple unit of information that we share because it’s funny or makes us feel good.
- Stories, like explainers, how-to guides, Mythbusters-style debunkery, and truth-telling investigative journalism. They are about truth, rather than amusement
Who wants to share a story that can be misunderstood? Nobody wants to take ownership of a political article where there is no truth – only further information, and complex developments that even experts can’t agree on.
It’s not that we don’t want to be the bearers of bad news. In fact, plenty of stories that go viral are nasty, negative and mean. We just want to share stories that make us seem like we know something.
