What is the difference between a virus and something that is viral? Dictionary.com defines a virus in terms of technology as: “ A computer program that duplicates itself in a manner that is harmful to normal computer use. Most viruses work by attaching themselves to another program. The amount of damage varies; viruses may erase all data or do nothing but reproduce themselves.”
However, in regards to the word viral their definition is just: “of, pertaining to, or caused by a virus.”
That is not a very definitive definition when it comes to technology.
Answers.com states that “viral” is: "related or caused by a virus, with regard to computers and information technology, the term refers less to a computer virus than it does to information that spreads quickly via the Internet.”
The term “viral” has a lot to do with social media. Social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter are the primary way the something becomes “viral” on the Internet.
Some examples of things that have become “viral” are the you tube video of Susan Boyle after she appeared on the television program Britain’s got talent currently at 47,895,307 views. It is amazing what makes something viral. It is certainly not always because it is particularly noteworthy. One of the newest “viral” videos is an audition for the XFactor by 2 young British girls. The only thing that appears to make this one “viral” is that one ends up slugging the other at the end of the audition. The Clash of the Titans movie has 379,504 people that like it on Facebook, the Big Brother television show has 1,060,610, and Jersey Shore reality show has 3,193,859.
So if you would like for your own social networking page, video, blog or tweet to become viral just find something that makes others want to view it and tell all their friends to view it.
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