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Jonah Peretti at contagiousmedia.org did a study. "I was wondering ... how does something get e-mailed around the world and become a mass media story?" He set up a contest to see what sites could get the most traffic to there sites in a 30 day period without spending any money on the promotion. Over 60 sites entered the site and the front runners Forget-Me-Not Panties, Crying While Eating and Blogebrity all had something in common. I am going to call it the "Huh?" factor.
When coming to these sites you click around and you don't know what is driving the content, if it is for real or what. It takes awhile to sift through it and realize what it is. It is along the lines of a joke that is being told within the body of the site and the punch line is discovered by engaging the interactive elements and reading the copy. The creators of Forget-Me-Not Panties put it well -"(we are) committed to blurring reality and fiction, challenging ideas and preconceptions, provoking emotional responses and the distortion of mass communication."
These sites all contain elements of humor, the question of "Is this real?" and a controversial element that inspires buzz and attracts media coverage.
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Jonah
Peretti's global email forward chronicling Nike's refusal to print the
word "sweatshop" on a pair of shoes reaches an estimated 10 million people
and culminates in a live debate on the Today Show about Nike's notorious
labor practices.