A recent WSJ article highlighted the power of content and sensationalism. Neetzan Zimmerman is an editor for Gawker.com and has several posts that have gone viral due to the topic that he writes and how he uses certain eye-grabbing attention (i.e. "Mom Fined $140 Every Day Until She Circumcises Her Child" or Black Man Arrested Dozens of Times for 'Trespassing' While At Work"). However Mr. Zimmerman says it's his ability to understand human's "irreducibly human, primal sensibilities" and his intuition which draws millions to his articles. He's done it well so far as he has completely subsidized Gawker just by his traffice and ad revenue alone.
What's interesting about this whole process is that he does it manually. He rarely uses charts or algorithms to see what will blow up online. Rather, he does a quick scan and conjures up content and a title that can generate over several million views.
However, what scares him isn't that some computer will catch on to his pattern and be able to generate the same type of virality that he's enjoyed. Instead, he's worried about marketers and businesses using the power of virality to create fake content just to generate hits. If that's the case, Zimmerman will be out of a job, not because he's not good--but because he's still telling the truth.
What's interesting about this whole process is that he does it manually. He rarely uses charts or algorithms to see what will blow up online. Rather, he does a quick scan and conjures up content and a title that can generate over several million views.
However, what scares him isn't that some computer will catch on to his pattern and be able to generate the same type of virality that he's enjoyed. Instead, he's worried about marketers and businesses using the power of virality to create fake content just to generate hits. If that's the case, Zimmerman will be out of a job, not because he's not good--but because he's still telling the truth.
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