Case-study: the epidemic of the Preved virus
With this post, I take my first step in studying the principles of viral information dissemination (my hands finally reached the cheers). We are now talking a lot about the fact that viral advertising is cool, but that it is almost impossible to plan and launch a successful virus in advance. Like, it is difficult to predict whether or not the audience will perceive the information, whether users will distribute it further and bla-bla ...
It seems to me that so far no one has seriously bothered to study the principles of the spread of information viruses on the Internet. Therefore, marketers and advertisers have no idea how this is done or what results can be obtained. And those who still bother, keep knowledge in a terrible secret, trying to sell them for big money to transnational corporations.
I decided to start with something simple and at the same time strong - with linguistic viruses, and specifically with the word Preved, now known to everyone.
')
*****
For a start, it makes sense to say a few words, why “Preved”?
Well, firstly, because this word has a clear form, unlike other "afftar" expressions - "krosafcheg", for example, is often written as "krasafcheg", "krosaffcheg" or "handsome". It is clear, in general, just "preved" track easier. Secondly, the "helper" seems to me a more independent virus than the rest of the terms of Padon's slang. In short, consider the "Preved".
To be honest to the end, one must also say that the “helper” has been studied for a long time - almost from the very beginning of the epidemic. Here, for example, is a private investigation of linguist German Lukomnikov and an article in the journal I.
*****
Yandex search on blogs shows that “hello” was mentioned back in 2003 - in three posts x. All three posts were published in July 2003 in LiveJournal (for different users).
Farther. In 2004, the LSPA already found 14 references , starting in June. All posts are written by 8 users, of which:
- 3 from St. Petersburg,
- 2 from Kiev,
- 1 from Moscow,
- 2 more did not specify their location.
The year 2005 shows a significant increase in references to “prevede”. Total for 2005, Yandex found 99 posts . The distribution by months shows a constant (approximately linear) increase in the number of references to “preveda” during 2005:
The distribution of posts with reference to "hello" in 2005 (source: Yandex).
The distribution of sites where the virus was marked is as follows:
The sites where posts were published with reference to “preved” in 2005 (source: Yandex).
Apparently, in addition to LiveJournal, “preved” appears on other blog hosting sites and forums, but the main part still remains in LiveJournal. It is worth noting here that among the authors mentioning "hello" in 2005, there are also users who are "infected" earlier in 2004. Most of the posts found are a hellish mix of padonkovsky slang, mother stuff and banal lytdybra, so after studying this trash I had a headache for a long time, and for a few days I spoke in clear Russian, avoiding any slang :)
*****
2006 The fun begins. From the very beginning of the year, the number of infected posts begins to grow quite quickly - only in January there are about 50 of them (although over the entire previous year there were only twice as many). To more accurately track the beginning of the explosive spread of the virus, we distribute the distribution of infected posts by week:
The distribution of posts with reference to "hello" in January-April 2006 (source: Yandex).
The greatest interest here, above all, are the first three weeks of February, in which something happened that marked the beginning of the explosive spread of the virus. So:
February 3rd
On Dirty.ru for the first time a picture is published with a bear saying “Preved!”. On the same day, the picture appears in the LJ user amberaja (not the most popular magazine - now less than a hundred and fifty friends).
February 7
LJ-user Herman Lukomnikov ( lukomnikov_1 ) posts a picture in his LJ and begins to study the origin and distribution of the "preved" on Runet. Journal Lukomnikova now read more than a thousand people. In February 2006, of course, it was less, but his post seemed to play an important role in the explosion that followed a week later.
12th of February
Created preved magazine. The first post in it, oddly enough, "PREDED!". Since February 16, comments have poured into it.
February, 15
Created community ru_preved . The next day, more than a hundred posts with photojabs on the theme “Preveda” appeared in it.
February 17
The preved.ru domain is registered, later sold to Rykov for $ 1500.
It is clear that the main sources of the spread of the virus were e-mail and instant messengers. However, blogs and forums, as a means of collective communication with memory, have steeply contributed to the process of the birth of the epidemic.
*****
In parallel, we are building the distribution of news messages containing the word “preved” in the online media:
Distribution of news with reference to "preved" in January-April 2006 (source: Yandex).
It is noticeable that the hit “predsha” in the media comes with a delay compared to free blogs and forums. Moreover, the recognition of the "preveden" media begins after the virus goes offline.
February 23
Activists of the Union of Right Forces held a picket near the Main Military Commissariat in Moscow with posters of “F outrave, hellish Soton!” And “Ivanov, hello!”. On the same day, news of the picket appeared on the ATP website .
28th of February
Lenta.ru publishes a note on what "Preved" is.
9th of March
A “ban” on using the word “Preved” appears on Dirty.ru. Small online media actively pick up this news.
Then “preved” is even more active in offline - large companies are beginning to use “preved” in their advertisements (noted, in particular, Sitronics and Contex), which is immediately reflected in the online press.
Thus, in the first two months after the start of the epidemic, the media basically played the role of such popularizers, increasing the reach of the audience and prolonging the effect of the virus.
*****
The peak of the “preved” epidemic came in March-April 2006 and, since May, the number of references to “preved” in blogs and forums has stopped growing. After this and to the present, the LDPP shows a stable presence of “predstav” in blogs and forums.
The distribution of posts with reference to "preved" from May 2006 to April 2007 (source: Yandex).
findings
According to the results of the first study, the following assumptions can be made about the mechanics of the spread of information viruses:
0. The history of the virus does not matter . Before the epidemic, the “hello” existed for several years and affected only a few dozen people. It is easy to infect a few dozen people in a very short period of time at very low costs.
1. To start an epidemic , the presence of a virus artifact is required (in the case of a “predestin”, this is the same picture), which:
- first, it reflects the essence of the virus and reveals its meaning,
- secondly, it is an effective carrier of the virus (the “preved” picture can be easily posted somewhere, and many people will see it).
2. The explosion itself is carried out by rapidly infecting a large number of people . Opinion makers are well suited for this — the most readable and authoritative blogs (if the popular bloggers didn’t re-publish the picture of the predel, the virus would hardly have worked so powerfully). Publications in the community for this purpose do not fit, because, although each post in the community can have a large audience, the authority of each individual post is usually low.
3. The essence of the virus should be simple enough to allow the use of the virus by others for their own purposes - both individual Internet users and organizations (including offline).
4. The essence of the virus, or the method of its distribution, or its artifact should be fairly trendy and, perhaps, even somewhat provocative, to be able to get into the media, thereby intensifying the epidemic.
Source: Oddboy
It seems to me that so far no one has seriously bothered to study the principles of the spread of information viruses on the Internet. Therefore, marketers and advertisers have no idea how this is done or what results can be obtained. And those who still bother, keep knowledge in a terrible secret, trying to sell them for big money to transnational corporations.
I decided to start with something simple and at the same time strong - with linguistic viruses, and specifically with the word Preved, now known to everyone.
')
*****
For a start, it makes sense to say a few words, why “Preved”?
Well, firstly, because this word has a clear form, unlike other "afftar" expressions - "krosafcheg", for example, is often written as "krasafcheg", "krosaffcheg" or "handsome". It is clear, in general, just "preved" track easier. Secondly, the "helper" seems to me a more independent virus than the rest of the terms of Padon's slang. In short, consider the "Preved".
To be honest to the end, one must also say that the “helper” has been studied for a long time - almost from the very beginning of the epidemic. Here, for example, is a private investigation of linguist German Lukomnikov and an article in the journal I.
*****
Yandex search on blogs shows that “hello” was mentioned back in 2003 - in three posts x. All three posts were published in July 2003 in LiveJournal (for different users).
Farther. In 2004, the LSPA already found 14 references , starting in June. All posts are written by 8 users, of which:
- 3 from St. Petersburg,
- 2 from Kiev,
- 1 from Moscow,
- 2 more did not specify their location.
The year 2005 shows a significant increase in references to “prevede”. Total for 2005, Yandex found 99 posts . The distribution by months shows a constant (approximately linear) increase in the number of references to “preveda” during 2005:
The distribution of posts with reference to "hello" in 2005 (source: Yandex).
The distribution of sites where the virus was marked is as follows:
The sites where posts were published with reference to “preved” in 2005 (source: Yandex).
Apparently, in addition to LiveJournal, “preved” appears on other blog hosting sites and forums, but the main part still remains in LiveJournal. It is worth noting here that among the authors mentioning "hello" in 2005, there are also users who are "infected" earlier in 2004. Most of the posts found are a hellish mix of padonkovsky slang, mother stuff and banal lytdybra, so after studying this trash I had a headache for a long time, and for a few days I spoke in clear Russian, avoiding any slang :)
*****
2006 The fun begins. From the very beginning of the year, the number of infected posts begins to grow quite quickly - only in January there are about 50 of them (although over the entire previous year there were only twice as many). To more accurately track the beginning of the explosive spread of the virus, we distribute the distribution of infected posts by week:
The distribution of posts with reference to "hello" in January-April 2006 (source: Yandex).
The greatest interest here, above all, are the first three weeks of February, in which something happened that marked the beginning of the explosive spread of the virus. So:
February 3rd
On Dirty.ru for the first time a picture is published with a bear saying “Preved!”. On the same day, the picture appears in the LJ user amberaja (not the most popular magazine - now less than a hundred and fifty friends).
February 7
LJ-user Herman Lukomnikov ( lukomnikov_1 ) posts a picture in his LJ and begins to study the origin and distribution of the "preved" on Runet. Journal Lukomnikova now read more than a thousand people. In February 2006, of course, it was less, but his post seemed to play an important role in the explosion that followed a week later.
12th of February
Created preved magazine. The first post in it, oddly enough, "PREDED!". Since February 16, comments have poured into it.
February, 15
Created community ru_preved . The next day, more than a hundred posts with photojabs on the theme “Preveda” appeared in it.
February 17
The preved.ru domain is registered, later sold to Rykov for $ 1500.
It is clear that the main sources of the spread of the virus were e-mail and instant messengers. However, blogs and forums, as a means of collective communication with memory, have steeply contributed to the process of the birth of the epidemic.
*****
In parallel, we are building the distribution of news messages containing the word “preved” in the online media:
Distribution of news with reference to "preved" in January-April 2006 (source: Yandex).
It is noticeable that the hit “predsha” in the media comes with a delay compared to free blogs and forums. Moreover, the recognition of the "preveden" media begins after the virus goes offline.
February 23
Activists of the Union of Right Forces held a picket near the Main Military Commissariat in Moscow with posters of “F outrave, hellish Soton!” And “Ivanov, hello!”. On the same day, news of the picket appeared on the ATP website .
28th of February
Lenta.ru publishes a note on what "Preved" is.
9th of March
A “ban” on using the word “Preved” appears on Dirty.ru. Small online media actively pick up this news.
Then “preved” is even more active in offline - large companies are beginning to use “preved” in their advertisements (noted, in particular, Sitronics and Contex), which is immediately reflected in the online press.
Thus, in the first two months after the start of the epidemic, the media basically played the role of such popularizers, increasing the reach of the audience and prolonging the effect of the virus.
*****
The peak of the “preved” epidemic came in March-April 2006 and, since May, the number of references to “preved” in blogs and forums has stopped growing. After this and to the present, the LDPP shows a stable presence of “predstav” in blogs and forums.
The distribution of posts with reference to "preved" from May 2006 to April 2007 (source: Yandex).
findings
According to the results of the first study, the following assumptions can be made about the mechanics of the spread of information viruses:
0. The history of the virus does not matter . Before the epidemic, the “hello” existed for several years and affected only a few dozen people. It is easy to infect a few dozen people in a very short period of time at very low costs.
1. To start an epidemic , the presence of a virus artifact is required (in the case of a “predestin”, this is the same picture), which:
- first, it reflects the essence of the virus and reveals its meaning,
- secondly, it is an effective carrier of the virus (the “preved” picture can be easily posted somewhere, and many people will see it).
2. The explosion itself is carried out by rapidly infecting a large number of people . Opinion makers are well suited for this — the most readable and authoritative blogs (if the popular bloggers didn’t re-publish the picture of the predel, the virus would hardly have worked so powerfully). Publications in the community for this purpose do not fit, because, although each post in the community can have a large audience, the authority of each individual post is usually low.
3. The essence of the virus should be simple enough to allow the use of the virus by others for their own purposes - both individual Internet users and organizations (including offline).
4. The essence of the virus, or the method of its distribution, or its artifact should be fairly trendy and, perhaps, even somewhat provocative, to be able to get into the media, thereby intensifying the epidemic.
Source: Oddboy
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/288700/
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