Borrowed from the medical world
"viral" when referring to a Web video describes a
digital product, a video which is forwarded, emailed and shared
by thousands or millions of people in a short period of time,
causing it to spread like a virus, through the Internet and
around the world. When this happens to your video (asset)
release, you get a high volume of views, publicity and if you
have a Website tied to the viral video, traffic spikes can turn
into sales. Also like a virus, once it runs it's course it
fades. If you are in business, or want to further your career,
you want your videos to go "viral".
What Makes Video
Viral?
Everyone wants to know the answer to this
question. Before the Internet, before the term "viral" was used
to describe high popularity. The closest comparison was
creating news that was published to newspapers, magazines and
television. If your story was interesting and well written, you
would get publicity that for some small businesses would
translate into the phone ringing off the hook or unusual store
traffic translating into a booming business.