Why do certain products, services, or stories go viral? How can we make our own work contagious?

These are questions Wharton Professor, Jonah Berger, answers in his bestselling book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On. In this fascinating interview, he explains his six-part framework and discusses the behaviors that drive us to make certain ideas, products, and services contagious.

In this episode you will learn:

* how to apply these techniques to your own work
* what made the video for a seemingly humdrum product - a blender - go viral
* which emotions drive us to share and which ones do not
* what makes us spread the word for free
* why you might suffer from the curse of knowledge and how you can avoid it
* the critical difference between social media and word of mouth

Jonah also gives us a peek into his upcoming book on all the ways social influence drives our behavior. Fascinating stuff!

Episode Links

Beta testing

Social psychology

STEPPS Framework

Hooked: How to Build Habit-forming Products

Geico ad for Hump Day

Curse of knowledge

Trojan Horse

Social influence

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CM 017: Jonah Berger on Why Things Catch On

Curious Minds at Work