Anthony J. Pennings, PhD

WRITINGS ON DIGITAL ECONOMICS, ENERGY STRATEGIES, AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Memes, Propaganda, and Virality

Discussion of the power of memes and their ability to be diffused virally. Memes are designed to crystallize or fix sets of meanings that Neil Postman argued causes us react quickly and emotionally. They draw on bits of culture, such as slogans, cartoon images, and brand items that are small and easily remembered. They are packaged semiotically with images and text juxtaposed in ways that invite us to construct more complex associations.

Virality and the Diffusion of Music Videos

According to Unruly Media, the top spot on the list of all-time viral shares belongs to the video by Jennifer Lopez – On The Floor featuring Hispanic-American rapper Pitbull. The disco duet leads the virality list with 37,405,834 Facebook shares and 271,177 Twitter shares since March of 2011.

Viral Marketing and Network Effects

Hotmail was one of the first companies to capitalize on network effects when founders Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith began to offer web-based free email accounts in the summer of 1996. Previously, people would access their email accounts by logging into their email accounts through a PC or mainframe terminal at a university, corporation, or […]

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  • About Me

    Professor at State University of New York (SUNY) Korea since 2016. Moved to Austin, Texas in August 2012 to join the Digital Media Management program at St. Edwards University. Spent the previous decade on the faculty at New York University teaching and researching information systems, digital economics, and strategic communications.

    You can reach me at:

    apennings70@gmail.com
    anthony.pennings@sunykorea.ac.kr

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    The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of my employers, past or present.