What makes something go viral?

What do these three things have in common: a grumpy baby, Harry Potter puppets singing, and a challenge where you pour a bucket of icy water over your head? The answer – they have all 'gone viral'. The world is becoming more and more digital, and we can't stop it.
这三样事有什么共同点：脾气暴躁的婴儿、会唱歌的哈利波特木偶，以及往你头上浇一桶冰水的挑战？答案是——它们都“走红”了。世界变得越来越数字化，我们无法阻止这一趋势。

While growing up, instead of wanting to be a doctor or a teacher, some now aspire to be an influencer or content creator, maybe in the hope of suddenly capturing widespread attention. It's generally agreed that if your content reaches over 1 million views in a week or less, you have 'gone viral'.
长大后，有些人不再想当医生或教师，而是渴望成为有影响力的人或内容创作者，也许是希望突然引起广泛的关注。人们普遍认为，如果你的内容在一周或更短时间内达到100万次以上的浏览量，你就“走红”了。

So, how does virality happen? The marketing tech company Unruly analysed over 400 billion videos and found that emotional connections, like humour and shock value, resonate the most strongly. These emotional elements drive us to share that content with others, and the more shares we have, the more seen that content will be.
那么，走红是如何产生的呢？营销技术公司Unruly分析 4000多亿个视频，发现幽默和震撼性等情感联系最能产生强烈的共鸣。这些情感元素促使我们与他人分享这些内容，分享得越多，这些内容就会被更多人看到。

We should also think about why people want to share content in the first place. Dr Jonah Berger, a Marketing Professor at the Wharton School, says "Sharing allows us to feel connected to others. We share emotions, which allow us to deepen the bonds we have with our peers and with our friends". So, while we may be behind a screen, we're still online because we want to connect and communicate with others, and going viral is driven by organic sharing, just like word of mouth but in a digital sense.
首先，我们还应该思考人们为什么要分享内容。沃顿商学院营销学教授乔纳·伯杰博士说：“分享让我们感受到与他人的联系。我们分享情感，从而加深我们与同龄人和朋友之间的联系。”因此，虽然我们可能在屏幕后面，但我们仍然在线，因为我们希望与他人联系和交流，并且走红是由自发的共享驱动的，就像口碑一样，但是在数字意义上。

Though there are other things to consider. Datadab, a marketing agency, says that our brains are wired to enjoy and recognise patterns, which they say is why internet memes often go viral. If we are already familiar with a theme, like a recognisable image on a meme, then it doesn't take long for us to understand the context of a new caption, which our brain enjoys and makes us more likely to share it.
尽管还有其他事情要考虑。营销机构Datadab表示，我们的大脑天生喜欢并识别图案，这就是为什么互联网梗图常常走红。如果我们已经熟悉一个主题，比如一个容易认出的梗图图像，那么我们很快就能理解一个新的说明文字的语境，我们的大脑喜欢这样，这让我们更有可能分享它。

Timeliness and relevance are also crucial. Content that is relatable, or that aligns with current trends, captures more interest and encourages more sharing. So, combine all of these factors and you could have content that goes viral.
时效性和相关性也至关重要。能够引起共鸣，或者符合流行趋势的内容，更能吸引兴趣，鼓励更多分享。所以，将所有这些因素结合起来，你就可能创造出走红的内容。

词汇表
grumpy ['ɡrʌmpi] 脾气坏的，脾气暴躁的
puppet ['pʌpɪt] 木偶，傀儡
bucket [ˈbʌkɪt] 水桶，吊桶
go viral ['vaɪrəl]（在社交媒体上）迅速走红，迅速传播
digital ['dɪdʒɪt(ə)l] 数字化的，数字的，数码的
aspire to be [əˈspaɪə(r)] 渴望成为，立志成为
influencer [ˈɪnfluənsər] 有影响力的人，网红
content creator 内容创作者
capture widespread attention [ˈkæptʃə(r)] 引起广泛关注
virality [vaɪˈrælɪti] 走红，病毒式传播
shock value 冲击性，震撼性
resonate [ˈrezəneɪt] 产生共鸣，发出回响
deepen the bonds 加深联系
organic sharing  [ɔː(r)ˈɡænɪk] 自发的分享
word of mouth 口碑（通过口头传播的信息或评价）
marketing agency 营销机构
be wired to [ˈwaɪə(r)d] 天生就，生来
meme [miːm] 梗图，模因（在网络上不断传播的图片等）
recognisable ['rekəgnaɪzəbl] 容易认出的，易于识别的
caption ['kæpʃ(ə)n]（图片、漫画的）说明文字；字幕
timeliness [ˈtaɪmlinəs] 时效性，及时
relevance  [ˈreləv(ə)ns] 相关性；实用性；意义
relatable [rɪˈleɪtəbəl] 能与之关联的，能引起共鸣的
align with [ə'laɪn] 符合，与…一致
current trend 流行趋势，目前趋势

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