From: The New York Times
Why That Video Went Viral
June 2, 2014
The New York Times:
There it was, virtual gold: a video of a firefighter resuscitating a kitten trapped in a smoky home.
Neetzan Zimmerman, then an editor at Gawker, a news and gossip site, knew it was destined for viral magic. But before he could publish a post about it, his editor made a request. Mr. Zimmerman was to include the epilogue omitted by most every other outlet: The kitten died of smoke inhalation soon after being saved.
For telling the whole story, Mr. Zimmerman paid a price.
“That video did tremendously well for practically everyone who posted it,” he recalled, “except Gawker.”
Why should one sad detail mean the difference between an online megahit and a dud? What makes content go viral?
Read the whole story: The New York Times
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