Volunteer for a Social Experiment

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Ben Parr| 1 Comment

Why do people decide to share what they share? What makes something go viral? What kind of things can companies do to encourage more sharing from their users?

These are the types of questions that my friend Matt Schlicht and I ask ourselves pretty much every day. Studying why people share helps us understand human nature.

Matt, the co-founder of Tracks.by (a company I advise), has come up with a few theories about social, but he needs to test them. That’s why he’s decided to start a Social Experimenter’s Newsletter to try and test out his theories.

I encourage you to sign up for Matt’s Social Experimenter’s Newsletter. It will be a fascinating look into why we share and how we can encourage more of it.

Enter your email address:

A TinyLetter Email Newsletter


Click Here to Sign Up for the Social Experimenter’s Newsletter!

Related posts:

  1. The Facebook Reconnection Experiment: Can Social Media Really Reconnect You With Old Friends?
  2. Social Poster – Send a page to 80 social media sites, but is it actually effective?
  3. The next generation of social networks, Part 2: The components of social networks and the potential of all that information
  4. NEW: Ben Parr's Posterous Experiment
  5. The next generation of Social Networks within "Web 3.0", Part 1
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  • http://www.facebook.com/mscrosse Mscrosse

    What’s in it for me? That’s the question that can be addressed to every time a person share’s something. Every time they share something, the reason is situational to that person. I believe people mainly share information if there’s something in it for them and they get something out of it. Showing off knowledge, gaining attention or popularity, proving or displaying their successes and achievements. People are generally selfish, even if it appears they’re sharing for someone else I would bet that by sharing for that someone else it some how benefits them in return. Breakdown the markets by what is important or what a person values specifically and there lies the motivation that can be used to leverage them to share.

    Im signed up and happy to be part of this experiment, surely it will somehow benefit me as a person as well as contribute to the success of my start up!