What makes something go viral? | Dao Nguyen

譯者: Vanessa Leung 審譯者: 小隻 羊

Last year, some BuzzFeed employees were scheming

去年

網路新聞 BuzzFeed 的一些員工

計劃著要

to prank their boss, Ze Frank,

在他們老闆傑·法蘭克生日的那天

on his birthday.

捉弄他

They decided to put a family of baby goats in his office.

他們決定將幾隻小山羊

藏在他的辦公室

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, BuzzFeed had recently signed on to the Facebook Live experiment,

最近 BuzzFeed 開始使用

臉書的直播功能

and so naturally,

所以很自然地

we decided to livestream the whole event on the internet

我們決定要在網路上

直播整個過程

to capture the moment when Ze would walk in

從傑走進辦公室

直到他發現辦公室裡的

and discover livestock in his office.

小山羊們

We thought the whole thing would last maybe 10 minutes,

我們以為這個過程

只會持續 10 分鐘

and a few hundred company employees would log in for the inside joke.

一些公司的員工們

會登入來觀看這個惡作劇

But what happened?

但結果呢

Ze kept on getting delayed:

這個惡作劇一直被各種事情拖延：

he went to get a drink,

傑跑去買東西喝

he was called to a meeting,

傑突然被叫去開會

the meeting ran long,

這個會還開了很久

he went to the bathroom.

後來他還跑去洗手間

More and more people started logging in to watch the goats.

越來越多的人開始

點進來看這場惡作劇

By the time Ze walked in more than 30 minutes later,

直到 30 分鐘後

傑再次走進辦公室

90,000 viewers were watching the livestream.

已經有 90,000 人

正在看這個直播了

Now, our team had a lot of discussion about this video

在那之後

我們的團隊對這隻影片

為什麼會這麼成功

and why it was so successful.

展開了討論

It wasn't the biggest live video that we had done to date.

這其實不是我們做過的

最大的直播影片

The biggest one that we had done involved a fountain of cheese.

我們做過最大的是一個

關於乳酪噴泉的影片

But it performed so much better than we had expected.

但是這次的效果

卻出乎我們的意料

What was it about the goats in the office that we didn't anticipate?

這其中有什麼因素

是我們沒有想到的呢？

Now, a reasonable person could have any number of hypotheses.

大家都可以提出各種合理猜測

Maybe people love baby animals.

可能是因為觀眾喜歡看小動物

Maybe people love office pranks.

可能是因為觀眾喜歡辦公室惡作劇

Maybe people love stories about their bosses

可能是因為大家想看老闆在幹嘛

or birthday surprises.

或者只是因為想看生日驚喜

But our team wasn't really thinking about what the video was about.

但比起關注這隻影片內容是什麼

We were thinking about

我們的團隊更想要知道的是

what the people watching the video were thinking and feeling.

當大家在看直播的時候

他們在想什麼 以及感受到了什麼

We read some of the 82,000 comments that were made during the video,

我們看了一些大家在直播中

留下的 82,000 條評論

and we hypothesized that they were excited

我們推測

大家之所以如此感興趣

because they were participating in the shared anticipation

是因為他們共同參與到了

of something that was about to happen.

這個即將發生惡作劇的期待當中

They were part of a community, just for an instant,

他們在短暫的時間裡

成為了這個期待團體的一部分

and it made them happy.

這使他們感到快樂

So we decided that we needed to test this hypothesis.

所以

我們決定要測試一下這個推論

What could we do to test this very same thing?

我們要怎麼做

才能測試到一樣的效果呢？

The following week,

在接下來的一個禮拜

armed with the additional knowledge that food videos are very popular,

因為我們知道食物的影片都會很熱門

we dressed two people in hazmat suits

我們讓兩個人穿上了防護服

and wrapped rubber bands around a watermelon until it exploded.

將橡皮筋綁在西瓜上

直到西瓜爆炸

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Eight hundred thousand people watched

八十萬人觀看了這場直播

the 690th rubber band explode the watermelon,

直到第 690 條橡皮筋

終於令西瓜爆炸

marking it as the biggest Facebook Live event to date.

使這個直播變成臉書上

觀看人數最多的影片

The question I get most frequently is:

我經常會被問到

How do you make something go viral?

你是怎麼讓一樣東西爆紅的

The question itself is misplaced;

其實這個問題本身就是錯的

it's not about the something.

因為關鍵不應該是事物本身

It's about what the people doing the something,

而是觀眾是怎麼去接觸這件事的

reading or watching --

不管是通過文章還是影片

what are they thinking?

他們在想什麼

Now, most media companies, when they think about metadata,

現在很多媒體公司

當他們在分析元數據的時候

they think about subjects or formats.

他們只關注事件本體

或者是進行的形式

It's about goats,

這是一隻關於小山羊的影片

it's about office pranks,

這是一隻辦公室惡作劇的影片

it's about food,

這是一隻關於食物的影片

it's a list or a video or a quiz,

這是一篇清單文章 一隻影片或是一個測試

it's 2,000 words long,

它有 2,000 字那麼長

it's 15 minutes long,

它有 15 分鐘那麼長

裡面包括了 23 條推文

it has 23 embedded tweets or 15 images.

或是 15 張圖片

Now, that kind of metadata is mildly interesting,

這些元數據可能很有趣

但卻無法分析到一件事情

but it doesn't actually get at what really matters.

爆紅的真正原因

What if, instead of tagging what articles or videos are about,

比起給爆紅的文章

或影片的內容貼標籤

what if we asked:

我們或許能去探究這件事

How is it helping our users do a real job in their lives?

對觀眾的真實生活有什麼影響

這樣會不會有其他新發現呢？

Last year, we started a project

去年

我們開始了一個計畫

to formally categorize our content in this way.

將我們的內容正式用這種方法分類

We called it, "cultural cartography."

我們將這個方法叫做文化製圖

It formalized an informal practice that we've had for a really long time:

它將我們一直在做的

一件事情形式化

don't just think about the subject matter;

分析的時候不要只想到事物本身

think also about, and in fact, primarily about,

還要想到

事實上第一時間就要想到

the job that your content is doing for the reader or the viewer.

你的內容對讀者或是觀眾

會產生什麼影響

Let me show you the map that we have today.

這張是我們製作的地圖

Each bubble is a specific job,

每一個泡泡代表一個特定的功能

and each group of bubbles in a specific color are related jobs.

每一組相同顏色的泡泡

是相關聯的功能

First up: humor.

第一個：幽默

"Makes me laugh."

「讓我大笑」

There are so many ways to make somebody laugh.

有很多方法可以讓一個人笑

You can be laughing at someone,

可以是一個好笑的人

you could laugh at specific internet humor,

可以是一則網路笑話

you could be laughing at some good, clean, inoffensive dad jokes.

也可以是不傷人但老套的笑話

"This is me." Identity.

「這就是我」

個人特質

People are increasingly using media to explain, "This is who I am.

越來越多的人喜歡

用社群媒體來解釋

「這就是我」

This is my upbringing, this is my culture,

這是我的教養

這是我的文化

this is my fandom, this is my guilty pleasure,

這是我喜歡的東西 這是我拿不上檯面的愛好

and this is how I laugh about myself."

這是我怎麼嘲笑自己

"Helps me connect with another person."

「幫助我聯繫其他人」

This is one of the greatest gifts of the internet.

這是網路最大的優點之一

It's amazing when you find a piece of media

你會很興奮

當你在網路上發現

that precisely describes your bond with someone.

有東西可以精確地描述

你和另外一個人的關係

This is the group of jobs that helps me do something --

這是另外一組功能：幫我解決問題

helps me settle an argument,

教我如何排解一場紛爭

幫我從自己或別人的身上學到更多

helps me learn something about myself or another person,

or helps me explain my story.

幫我解釋我自己的故事

This is the group of jobs that makes me feel something --

這是一組功能：能挑動我的心弦

讓我覺得新奇

makes me curious or sad or restores my faith in humanity.

或者難過

或者讓我重拾對人的信任

Many media companies and creators do put themselves

很多媒體公司和業者

都有做到站在觀眾的立場思考問題

in their audiences' shoes.

But in the age of social media, we can go much farther.

但在這個社群媒體的時代

我們可以做更多

People are connected to each other on Facebook, on Twitter,

人們通過臉書及推特聯繫

and they're increasingly using media to have a conversation

越來越多的人也通過

社群媒體來和朋友聊天

and to talk to each other.

If we can be a part of establishing a deeper connection between two people,

如果我們可以在人們之間

創造更深層的聯繫

then we will have done a real job for these people.

那我們真的是在創造價值

Let me give you some examples of how this plays out.

讓我來舉個例子來解釋這個理念

This is one of my favorite lists:

這是我最喜歡的一篇文章

"32 Memes You Should Send Your Sister Immediately" --

32 個你應該要馬上告訴你姊的梗

immediately.

馬上

For example, "When you're going through your sister's stuff,

比如說「當你在翻你姊的東西的時候

and you hear her coming up the stairs."

聽到她上樓的聲音」

Absolutely, I've done that.

當然，我也做過那樣的事

"Watching your sister get in trouble for something that you did

「看著你的姊姊 因為你做的事陷入麻煩

and blamed on her."

卻責備她」

Yes, I've done that as well.

是的，我也做過那樣的事

This list got three million views.

這篇貼文獲得了三百萬的瀏覽次數

Why is that?

為什麼？

Because it did, very well, several jobs:

因為它做到了這幾點：

"This is us."

「這就是我們」

"Connect with family."

「與家庭產生連結」

"Makes me laugh."

「讓我大笑」

Here are some of the thousands and thousands of comments

這是上千條姐妹們互相傳送

that sisters sent to each other using this list.

給對方的評論中的一條

Sometimes we discover what jobs do after the fact.

有時候我們會在事情發生後

才發現它的影響

This quiz, "Pick an Outfit and We'll Guess Your Exact Age and Height,"

這個爆紅的測試：

選擇一套衣服來測試

你的真實年齡和身高

went very viral: 10 million views.

得到了一千萬次的瀏覽

Ten million views.

一千萬次

我的意思是

I mean -- did we actually determine the exact age and height

難道我們真的有測量這一千萬人的

真實年齡和身高嗎？

of 10 million people?

That's incredible. It's incredible.

這真的是太厲害了

太厲害了

In fact, we didn't.

但事實上，我們並沒有

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Turns out that this quiz went extremely viral

而且這個測試

在 55 歲以上的女性間最流行

among a group of 55-and-up women --

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

who were surprised and delighted

這是一群看到自己被定為 28 歲和 175 公分高後

that BuzzFeed determined that they were 28 and 5'9".

會很驚訝和高興的群體

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"They put me at 34 years younger and seven inches taller.

「我的測試結果年輕了 34 歲

和高了 18 公分耶

I dress for comfort and do not give a damn what anyone says.

我每天都穿得很舒服

完全不在意別人講什麼

Age is a state of mind."

因為年齡是一種心態」

This quiz was successful not because it was accurate,

這個測試很成功不是因為

它的測試結果有多準確

but because it allowed these ladies to do a very important job --

而是因為它讓這些女性們

the humblebrag.

有了機會成功的誇獎自己

Now, we can even apply this framework to recipes and food.

我們甚至可以將這個理念 用在食譜和食物上

A recipe's normal job is to tell you what to make for dinner or for lunch.

食譜一般是用來告訴你 怎麼去做午餐和晚餐的

And this is how you would normally brainstorm for a recipe:

你構思食譜的過程應該是：

you figure out what ingredients you want to use,

找出你要用的原料

what recipe that makes,

烹調的方法

and then maybe you slap a job on at the end to sell it.

可能到最後你還成功的 賣出了這份食譜

But what if we flipped it around and thought about the job first?

但如果我們反過來呢

One brainstorming session involved the job of bonding.

我們腦力激盪的主題是連結

So, could we make a recipe that brought people together?

我們可以製作一份食譜

將大家都凝聚在一起嗎？

This is not a normal brainstorming process at a food publisher.

這不是一個正常的腦力激盪過程

So we know that people like to bake together,

我們知道大家喜歡一起烘培

and we know that people like to do challenges together,

我們知道大家喜歡一起接受挑戰

so we decided to come up with a recipe that involved those two things,

所以我們覺得製作一個

包括兩樣東西的

and we challenged ourselves:

具有挑戰性的食譜

Could we get people to say,

我們想讓大家可以和自己的好朋友說

"Hey, BFF, let's see if we can do this together"?

「嘿，我們來試試做這個怎麼樣？」

The resulting video was the "Fudgiest Brownies Ever" video.

我們做了一隻影片叫做

「史上最布朗尼的布朗尼」

It was enormously successful in every metric possible --

它獲得了巨大的成功

70 million views.

總共七千萬的觀看次數

And people said the exact things that we were going after:

大家都做出了我們預期的反應：

"Hey, Colette, we need to make these, are you up for a challenge?"

「 嘿！柯萊，我們來 挑戰看看這個怎麼樣？」

"Game on."

「 沒問題！ 」

It did the job that it set out to do,

這隻影片成功達到了它的目的

which was to bring people together over baking and chocolate.

通過烘培和巧克力將大家凝聚在一起

I'm really excited about the potential for this project.

我對於這個計畫的潛力感到很興奮

When we talk about this framework with our content creators,

當我們和內容創作者 談論到這個理念的時候

they instantly get it,

他們很快就懂了

no matter what beat they cover, what country they’re in,

無論他們翻唱什麼音樂

在哪個國家

or what language they speak.

講什麼語言

So cultural cartography has helped us massively scale our workforce training.

所以文化製圖在我們的

培訓上幫助了很多

When we talk about this project and this framework

當我們和廣告業者和品牌商

with advertisers and brands,

談論到這個項目和理念的時候

they also instantly get it,

他們也很快就理解了

because advertisers, more often than media companies,

因為廣告業者

很多時候比媒體公司

understand how important it is to understand the job

更加了解他們產品

that their products are doing for customers.

對他們的顧客

有什麼幫助的重要性

But the reason I'm the most excited about this project

但讓我對這個計畫 感到最興奮的原因是

is because it changes the relationship between media and data.

它改變了媒體和數據間的關係

Most media companies think of media as "mine."

很多媒體公司將媒體當成自己的工具

How many fans do I have?

我有多少粉絲？

How many followers have I gained?

我有多少新的追蹤者？

How many views have I gotten?

我得到了多少觀看次數？

How many unique IDs do I have in my data warehouse?

我的資料倉儲裡 有多少個唯一識別碼？

But that misses the true value of data, which is that it's yours.

但卻忽略了數據的真實價值：「你」

If we can capture in data what really matters to you,

如果我們從資料裡知道

對你來說什麼是最重要的

and if we can understand more the role that our work plays

如果我們更加了解我們的工作

in your actual life,

在人們的生活中扮演著什麼角色

the better content we can create for you,

那我們就可以給大家 創造出更好的內容

and the better that we can reach you.

我們就更能和你產生連結

Who are you?

你是誰？

How did you get there?

你在哪裡？

Where are you going?

你要去哪裡？

What do you care about?

你在乎什麼？

What can you teach us?

你可以教我們什麼？

That's cultural cartography.

這就是文化製圖

Thank you.

謝謝你們

(Applause)

（掌聲）