Common Sense vs Friday

A “media mode of production” is an assemblage of media forms and communicative practices, which work to create a media ecology or media environment. As discussed in class, these media modes of production are formed through two articulations that allow for the modes of production to gain meaning and spread through cultures. The first articulation details how the media modes of production are modes of communication, modes of affect, and modes of accumulation. The second articulation is the process of how media and messages are spread through the process of relations of creativity and production, relations of distribution and circulation, and through relations of consumption and reception. It is through these two articulations that a media mode or production allows for media content to become a piece of a social information flow process known as virality.

According to Kevin Alloca, the trends manager at YouTube, going viral depends on three main factors: tastemakers, community participation, and the unexpectedness of the content. It is through these three steps that media content is shared and distributed in a fashion that it becomes a piece of viral media. Thomas Paine’s virality in the 18^th century occurred due to his ability to communicate his writing to a large audience. It was through the widespread appeal that Paine’s call for the independence of American in Common Sense became to popular that he continually increased circulation and had it published in cities all across America (Standage 143). In the case of Paine, the tastemaker would be General Charles Lee who wrote to Washington asking if they had seen the “masterly irresistible performance” that was Common Sense (Standage 143). From here, word about Paine spread even quicker than it had before, and he soon became the best selling author in the world. The community of participation acted in Paine’s favor as they read and redistributed his work, which only furthered the conversations surrounding the author. Since virality in the 18^th century relied heavily on word of mouth, the distribution of media differs greatly from how media is distributed in the 21^st century.

The virality surrounding Rebecca Black’s “Friday” can be traced almost exactly according to Alloca’s three points.  The song and video were produced for the sole purpose of reaching viewers and gaining recognition. The method of distribution was through YouTube, which acted as a platform and had the ability to reach the largest amount of people. In addition, the relations of consumption and reception were made possible because of the Internet. “Friday” gained millions of views after being featured on Tosh .0 and created a community of participation that included countless mock videos and memes. The originality (also the ridiculousness) of the video, along with the tastemakers and the community participation allowed for “Friday” to go viral in the 21^st century.

Although going viral is seen as an accomplishment, I do not believe that 21^st century virality should be considered equal with virality in the 18^th century. When comparing Rebecca Black to Thomas Paine, I realized that although “Friday” became an Internet phenomenon, its virality is not rare or unique in today’s society. Paine’s Common Sense was a huge success because he became the best selling author in the world without the use of the Internet. In my opinion, Paine’s virality was much more impressive and deserves recognition, whereas “Friday” can be seen as just another Internet video. What do you think?