Thread by @JamesClear

Thoughts on "going viral".

A short thread...

Things that go viral, spread fast. And things that move fast tend to be lightweight.

In the case of information, this means virality prefers fewer bits of information to transfer from one person to another. Virality leans toward the bite-sized and immediately understandable.

Many people (and businesses) desire the reach and popularity that comes with virality, but the downside of prioritizing retweets, likes, and views is that it pushes you toward insights that can be explained in a viral-friendly size.

Many great ideas simply require more explanation to unpack. They have too many bits of information to spread like wildfire. It's like the difference between passing a ping pong ball and a bowling ball down a long line of people.

As a result, you'll often find that the people who grow the fastest online are "compressors." They compress information into lightweight, easily digestible chunks. They take bowling balls and transform then into ping pong balls.

Compression can be done well or done poorly. Unfortunately, most of the time, valuable information is lost during compression.

The holy grail is to compress an idea while retaining its full potency. All of the value in fewer bits of information.

(Hat tip: Ideas sparked by a convo with @ScottHYoung.)