Viral Elements on Social Networking Sites

Many of the new web 2.0 sites contain a viral element to help them attract new users and generate new content. Some sites are better at this then others ning.com or facebook.com or youtube.com for example. Let’s look at how these sites differ in their techniques of using viral elements.

YouTube - Post a video, now put it on your own web site while promoting the YouTube brand.

Facebook - Goes after existing communities of people (schools and work places). Get everyone to drive their friends to Facebook so that they can keep track of each other.

Ning - Who needs Facebook, why not create your own network and invite your friends?

I suppose I am comparing apples and oranges here since these sites are all different in how they obtain new users, but in the end it comes down to one concept: Tell your friends to sign up for our service!!!

Popularity: 12% [?]

Leave a Comment