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Viral Abuse

Nico Macdonald believes that 'viral marketing' is one of the most misused terms in the new media industry. Here he explains what viral marketing really is, and why it isn't just word-of-mouth...

By Nico Macdonald

Viral marketing is one of the most misused terms in the new media industry. One would think that with the hindsight of word abuses and hype for which we have been responsible - virtual, portal, push media, CRM, etc - we would have learned to be a bit sceptical about a concept that is so liberally used. 

Viral marketing is not the same as people forwarding an email to their friends and colleagues, otherwise it would be called word of mouth (or word of email).

The term viral is metaphorical. The metaphor is that viruses pass from one host to another without the transmitter being aware that they are passing it on -- or having a particular desire to do so.

The classic virally-grown service was Hotmail, which advertised itself at the end of each message sent. Users were (at least initially) unaware of this, and probably had no desire to do it. There are many other less well-known examples that Justin Kirby and Danny Meadows-Klue will be able to quote with ease at The Great Viral Marketing Debate.

Veteran IT commentator Esther Dyson nailed the term in the Guardian some years ago, and also expanded on the theme where she noted that:

"The best viral marketing is not just word-of-mouth, as some people carelessly assume... Each time the user uses the product/service, he's promoting it to others." ('Second sight' Esther Dyson, Guardian Unlimited, April 8, 1999)

It is a pity that the media and new media commentators aren't more au fait with these debates, particularly when the character of viral marketing is implied in its name. When we are more careful with our language we will be taken more seriously by both our clients and the public.

About the author:

Nico Macdonald writes on design, technology and business, and consults on publishing and collaboration strategy. [Publications he writes for include Guardian Online, The Register, BBC News Online and Silicon.com.] He is author of What is Web Design?