With the recent surge in numbers of viral sensations one might not stop wondering how to become the next one. Just take a look at some of these accidental celebrities and see how their lives got turned upside down.
First up, we've got Haliey Welch, better known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl." This 21-year-old from Belfast, Tennessee, was just minding her own business, working at a spring factory, when one random street interview changed everything. When asked what drives men crazy in bed, Haliey decided to get creative. She mimicked a spitting sound and said, "You gotta give him a 'Hawk Tuah,' spit on his thing!"
Her Instagram following since then exploded to 2.3 million. And PornHub reported millions in searches for "hawk tuah." (Probably, from zero).
Haliey didn't just sit back and enjoy her 15 minutes of fame. She grabbed that bull by the horns and rode it straight to the bank. She launched quite a successful line of "Hawk Tuah '24" merchandise because who doesn't want to wear a hat referencing oral sex techniques? She even got to perform on stage with country star Zach Bryan and received life advice from Shaquille O'Neal. She also signed with The Penthouse agency for representation. So she has some big plans for the future.
And let’s talk about "Man in Finance" sensation, Megan Boni. This 26-year-old New Yorker went from working in sales to becoming a TikTok superstar overnight by singing an off-key song about wanting a "man in finance, trust fund, 6 '5", blue eyes." By the time of writing this article her video racked up 59 million views.
In her following media appearances (including the one in Bloomberg), Boni claims it was all a parody, poking fun at unrealistic dating expectations. But sifting through her older TikToks, it seems like it was more of her Tinder bio gone wrong. Nevertheless, Capitol Records saw dollar signs and signed her to a one-off deal. According to her TikTok bio, she also got representation from United Talent Agency, rubbing virtual elbows with the likes of Bjork and Kylie Minogue.
The official release of an actual song spawned from that TikTok "Man in Finance (G6 Trust Fund)" hit streaming platforms on May 17, 2024, and as of now racked up about 18 million Spotify streams. David Guetta jumped on the bandwagon with a remix that's sitting pretty at 26 million listens. Boni even performed with Guetta on stage live.
And let's not forget the OG of viral fame turned legitimate celebrity, Danielle Peskowitz Bregoli aka Bhad Bhabie. She went from threatening to fight Dr. Phil's audience with her iconic "Catch me outside, how 'bout dat?" to become the youngest female rapper to debut on the Billboard Hot 100. Now she's got 7.5 million YouTube subscribers and allegedly a net worth of $25 million. And if you're wondering where all that cash is coming from, look no further than OnlyFans. She's raked in a cool $57 million from subscribers on the platform in just three years.
Read also: TikTokification of Music Industry: Is It a Real Thing?
So, what happens when regular people suddenly become internet famous? According to Valerie Zucker, CEO of Zucker Media Group, a content creator who worked with Jay Leno and Grant Cardone, they become "the conversation piece amid outdoor gatherings and all of a sudden, they become a selfie everywhere." It's like being a walking, talking meme.
But the smart ones, Zucker says, don't just bask in the glow of their newfound fame. They "quickly use this to create a 'next video' because immediately they have traction on their followers."
In the end, going viral is like winning the internet lottery. You might end up with a record deal, a comedy career, or just a really embarrassing video that your grandkids will find someday.
Psychology of sharing: why do we make things go viral?
Our desire to share things online is what ultimately fuels anyone’s Internet fame. But why do we do it? It's not just because we're bored or desperately seeking validation (although, let's be real, that's part of it). There's some actual science behind this.
Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman decided to get all academic about it and analyzed nearly 7,000 articles from The New York Times to get to the bottom of what and why it goes viral. Turns out, we're not all doom-scrolling cynics after all. Positive content is more likely to go viral than negative. Content that gets our blood pumping - that makes us feel awe or anger - that's the real viral goldmine. Sadness? Not so much. And content that's actually useful or interesting tends to spread better too. At least according to that one research.
In another study, The New York Times Customer Insight Group decided to get in on the action and surveyed a bunch of online users on the same subject. 94% of respondents said they share content that they find useful or entertaining. 84% are sharing to support causes they care about. 68% are using shared content to define themselves to others. 78% are sharing to stay connected (something that I see a lot in my personal life - for many, it is so much easier to share a cat picture than have an actual conversation).
With that being said, can we actually know for sure when something can go viral?
Tom Jauncey, CEO of Nautilus Marketing, has some ideas: "Certain content goes viral because sometimes it reaches out to the core of the heart as it taps into basic human psychology. The three most powerful motivators that you can put into your content are - Fear Of Missing Out, emotional resonance, and social validation. Remember, people are more likely to share content that makes them feel any emotion- joy, fear, anger, or even nostalgia."
The anatomy of a viral moment
But it's not just about feelings. Tom Jauncey puts it this way: "Successful viral moments have one thing in common and that is strong emotional appeal. If your content is easily relatable and has perfect timing, people will definitely give their input in the form of likes, shares, and follows."
Some nerds analyzed tons of image memes from 4chan and found out that close-ups, characters, and strong emotions are the secret sauce of viral images. Long text? That's a viral killer according to that study as well.
There's also some serious Darwinian stuff going on with memes’ virality too. Noubar Ounjian breaks it down like this: memes that can adapt and self-replicate are the ones that survive. Memes that can mutate and blend with other memes or cultural elements tend to have higher survival rates. Memes that tap into current events or cultural phenomena can quickly gain traction due to their relevance. It's like cultural evolution, but instead of opposable thumbs, we get Grumpy Cat.
And there’s even a mathematical formula for virality. It's called the K-factor, and it's basically a way to measure how infectious your content is. Here's how it works: K = i × c, where "i" is the average number of invites or referrals each user sends out. Think of it as how many friends will receive from you that video of a cat playing piano. And "c" is the conversion rate. It's how many of those friends actually fall for it and watch the video.Let's say you send that cat video to 4 friends (i = 4), and 30% of them actually watch it (c = 0.3). Plug that into our formula, and you get: K = 4 × 0.3 = 1.2
If your K-factor is greater than 1, congratulations! Your content is officially viral. Each user is bringing in more than one new user, which means exponential growth. If it's less than 1, well... Time to go back to the drawing board.
Given all that we know by now, is there a magic formula for going viral? Jauncey says:
"There is no fixed rule about getting viral. However, certain factors increase the chances of getting a video viral like emotional engagement, quality of content, and timing. Working on these factors is crucial, however, still, the major role is played by luck and algorithmic boosts. Sometimes, even a well-crafted video can fail, if these factors are not aligned with each other."
Memedom and shaping of culture
Viral memes these days feel like a never-ending parade of increasingly degrading nonsense. We've gone from the Ice Bucket Challenge raising millions for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) research to people becoming famous for increasing search terms on PornHub. It's like we're in a race to the bottom of the cultural barrel, and we're all losing.
Sure, sometimes eventually something good goes viral, like the 2015 song "Makeba" by French artist Jain that is still making the rounds on TikTok and Instagram.
The song was originally about Miriam Makeba, a South African singer who fought apartheid. But is it popular because of its powerful message or how cool the music is? Of course not. It's a backing track to some mindless dance trend featuring Bill Hader. We've managed to take a song about fighting racial oppression (for real) and turned it into... a terrible dance challenge.
The modern social media platforms themselves are a big part of the problem. TikTok and Instagram are designed to keep us scrolling, liking, and sharing, quality be damned. Their algorithms don't care if content is good, just if it's engaging. And apparently, nothing engages quite like watching someone lip-sync about financial stability through OnlyFans.
This shift in content isn't just annoying - it's changing how we communicate and what we value as a society. We're moving away from nuanced discussions and towards oversimplified, often misleading soundbites.
Psychologists say we share content to spread joy and positive emotions. But scrolling through TikTok these days, it feels more like we're collectively dumbing ourselves down, one viral video at a time. We can do better than this. We have to do better than this.
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