American

Pop Culture
What makes things pop? #2

Warm-up

What were the two possibilities of how things get popular that we discussed
last week?
Which one do you agree with more?

Diffusion of Innovations

Diffusion of innovations (DOI) is another explanation for the popularity of things
(for our class well include shows, ideas, trends, fashions, etc). In 1997, Malcom
Gladwell wrote the The Coolhunt in the The New Yorker. In it, he suggests that
understanding DOI can explain how trends work.

In the language of diffusion research, the handful of farmers who started trying
hybrid seed corn at the very beginning of the thirties were the innovators, the
adventurous ones. The slightly larger group that followed them was the early
adopters. They were the opinion leaders in the community, the respected,
thoughtful people who watched and analyzed what those wild innovators were
doing and then did it themselves. Then came the big bulge of farmers in 1936, 1937,
and 1938 the early majority and the late majority, which is to say the
deliberate and the skeptical masses, who would never try anything until the most
respected farmers had tried it. Only after they had been converted did the
laggards, the most traditional of all, follow suit.

In other words, a most people will start using a new idea/new thing, based on
examples and opinions of those who use it first. Then comes the experts, (like
trusted critics) who try it and like it/dont like it. Then came the hip, cool people
(think college students and using new apps on smart phones), and finally, your
grandparents.

Discussion
1.) Can you think of any examples of DOI in your life? (Consider things you
have bought, listened to, read, watched, etc.)
2.) How is DOI different from what we have studied before?
3.) Do you think DOI is a better reason for why things are popular, rather
than the Origin myth or Political Economy?
a. Do you think DOI is good explanation for certain types of
popularity? (scientific things rather than music, or cultural
things?)

But theres more

When we think of the things we buy, art, beer, etc the ideas of Political Economy
and DOI makes sense. With Political Economy, the value of something (and how
well it is advertised) makes it popular. With DOI, an innovation is made, and if it
works really, really well, and experts say its really good, it becomes popular. But
theres a problem

American Pop Culture

What makes things pop? #2

How do these ideas explain Gangnam Style?
Or a dancing baby?
Or a dramatic Chipmunk?

In comes the Meme

Memes: ideas that replicate themselves from brain to brain like a virus.

Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catchphrases, clothes, fashions, ways of
making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene
pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate
themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in
the broad sense, can be called imitation. If a scientist hears, or reads about, a good
idea, he passes it on to his colleagues and students. He mentions it in his articles
and his lectures. If the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading
from brain to brain [...]. When you plant a fertile meme in my mind you literally
parasitize my brain, turning it into a vehicle for the memes propagation

(Richard Dawkins (1989). The Selfish Gene.)

Memes are a great explanation for viral videos. It captures our attention for a
short while and then, like a cold, goes away. (Usually replaced by something
else.)

Discussion 2:

4.) What examples of memes can you think of?
5.) Think back to 2008, what were some popular things to
a. Say
b. Listen to
c. Do
d. Wear (or how to wear)
e. Watch
f. Eat

6.) Which of the theories that we studied applies to what you talk about in
#5?
a. Can one theory explain all of them? If so, which one?

A conclusion?

So is it the Origin story? Is it Political Economy? Or is it DOI and Memes? Well,
kids, I think they all play different parts in what makes something popular. They
can start as advertisements, or as cool new innovation like an Ipod. It can start as
a silly video, from your friends, or from a really cool, young, handsome,
professor.

I know its not an easy answer, but at the moment Its the best one I have.