Contagious

WHAT MAKES THINGS POPULAR? Wharton professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering this question. He’s studied how ideas spread, what drives word of mouth, why online content goes viral, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the names we give our children. In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from products and services to policy initiatives and YouTube videos. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheese- steak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the seemingly most boring products there is: a blender. This book provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for getting things to catch on. Whether you're trying to spread an idea, get people to change their behavior, or make a product or service popular, Contagious will show you how.