"Why Virality is More About An Emotional Connection than Luck"
This week's article was interesting in that it attempts to generate a formula for fame. While luck does play a large role in propelling individuals to stardom, the psychological conditioning behind the building blocks of celebrities is also something that can be manipulated to increase the chances of becoming famous. More specifically, the article outlines the necessity of having viral content eliciting reactions within two dimensions: Arousal and Dominance. Arousal seems to cover emotions ranging from excitement to relaxation, while Dominance is more concerned with the level of control the viewer has over the content itself. Surprisingly, the article does not seem to delve into the research behind these two dimensions or how they came to be. I would be especially interested to see if a spectrum can be created to define these two qualities, thereby allowing 'fame' to be quantifiable. For example, if there was a way to quantify the level of arousal or dominance within an image, and plug those numbers into the formula to generate a probability of fame, it would change the online celebrity landscape.