In the eight part essay, “If It Doesn’t Spread, It’s Dead-The Value of Spreadable Media” written by Henry Jenkins, he feels that the term ‘viral’, when referring to media, is not only too limiting, but also too all-encompassing. While the words ‘viral media’ are used in a variety of different practices such as social networks and various methods of marketing (online marketing, guerilla marketing), the term is somewhat unclear. I agree with Jenkins when attempting to define the term viral media. I can’t exactly put my finger on what the term refers to specifically. I don’t think it refers to one thing but rather an entire genre. Viral media, to me, is any type of content that has the ability to be spread quickly and easily. Jenkins uses the term ‘spreadable’ interchangeably with the word ‘viral’.
Jenkins references the song and YouTube video, “Crank Dat”, by Soulja Boy that allowed the young rapper to go from performing in an emptied swimming pool to stages around the country in front of thousands of people. Soulja Boy created a catchy song and dance to accompany his music. If you watch the video a couple of times, you can pretty much pick up the short and easy dance. The video explaining how to do the “Soulja Boy” is relatively short. The neat thing that Jenkins notes about Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” is that different communities performed his dance and posted their videos to YouTube. On top of the original video being popular, several of the remakes currently still enjoy a healthy number of views daily. The dance doesn’t appeal to any single type of person; therefore, it is regarded as a universal dance. His video was very ‘spreadable’.
Jenkins also delves into the main kinds of social structures that best support the spread of content. He identifies these social structures as pools, webs, and hubs. Even though each of these has different levels of association between their members, they all are formed around brands or ideas. It’s very easy to share a baseball video that I find interesting with a group that enjoys baseball versus a different group that I’d be apart of that enjoys watching Bleeckie videos. This backs up Jenkins statement in Part 6 of his essay where he states, “Content is spread based not on an individual evaluation of worth, but on a perceived social value within community or group.”
Overall, this essay was very helpful in defining viral media or as Jenkins calls it, ‘spreadable’ media. By stating facts based on research, the essay helps me fine-tune my thinking on the topic without really injecting any biased opinions.
Measuring Media 