The NY TIMES published an article today on the findings of a scientific study of the "viral-ness" of various content. Researchers used the paper's most-emailed article list, checking it every 15 minutes for more than six months. And the results were surprising:

But it turns out that readers have more exalted tastes, according to the Penn researchers, Jonah Berger and Katherine A. Milkman. People preferred e-mailing articles with positive rather than negative themes, and they liked to send long articles on intellectually challenging topics. Perhaps most of all, readers wanted to share articles that inspired awe, an emotion that the researchers investigated after noticing how many science articles made the list. In general, they found, 20 percent of articles that appeared on the Times home page made the list, but the rate rose to 30 percent for science articles...

In regard to the "awesomeness" of a story:

The motivation for mailing these awe-inspiring articles is not as immediately obvious as with other kinds of articles, Dr. Berger said. Sharing recipes or financial tips or medical advice makes sense according to classic economic utility theory: I give you something of practical value in the hope that you’ll someday return the favor... They used two criteria for an awe-inspiring story: Its scale is large, and it requires “mental accommodation” by forcing the reader to view the world in a different way... “Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion,” [Berger] said. “If I’ve just read this story that changes the way I understand the world and myself, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe..."

So what does that mean for the marketer? Perhaps this: make your content positive (avoid scare tactics), ensure that it provides insight that shakes a person's way of looking at the topic, and don't worry about the length needed to make your point. Then you too can be viral. And awesome.

-posted by Paul

Tags: nytimes, viral