Video · 17 min

How to get your ideas to spread

Seth Godin · TED (TED2003) Free Beginner

Godin's argument in this short talk is the answer to half the question: in a crowded market, the product itself has to be remarkable (literally worth remarking on) or no program will make it travel. He uses the slow, decades-late adoption of sliced bread to show that being good is not the same as being spreadable. A useful gut check before you spend energy on referral mechanics instead of the product.

  • Safe, average products get ignored; only remarkable ones earn the word of mouth that spreads them.
  • Find the small group that genuinely cares and serve them well, and they carry the idea outward for you.
  • Fix whether the product is worth talking about first, because no referral program rescues a forgettable product.
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The question it answers

  1. What actually makes a product spread by word of mouth versus needing an explicit referral program?

Read with it

  1. If you want word of mouth to be intentional, start with why people share at all. Berger's research pins it down to six... Jonah Berger (Wharton) Book · Book, about 256 pages Contagious: Why Things Catch On Jonah Berger
  2. This essay draws the exact line the question is circling: getting users to bring more users (viral, referral) is a different... nfx.com Essay Viral Effects Are Not Network Effects James Currier (NFX)
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