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Jonah Berger (@j1berger), Wharton professor and author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On, says, “Virality isn't luck. It's not magic. And it's not random. There's a science behind why people talk and share. A recipe. A formula, even.”

Six key drivers shape what people talk about and share. And the first principle is Social Currency....

People talk about things that make them look good. Sharp and in-the-know. Smart and funny rather than behind the times....

Social Currency...is why people brag about their thousands of Twitter followers or their kids' SAT scores. Why golfers boast about their handicaps and frequent fliers tell others when they get upgraded....

Want to generate word of mouth? Get people talking about you? One way is to give them a way to look good. Make people feel special, or like insiders, and they'll tell others – and spread word of mouth about you along the way.

Read this in full.

See our other blogposts tagged Viral.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Both marketing and publishing seek to reach consumers’ emotions. So we found the following research to be interesting.

NPR reporter on psychology, emotion, and the business of emotion, Alix Spiegel (@aspiegelnpr), investigated how British anthropologists used a computer program to analyze the emotional content of books from every year of the 20th century — close to a billion words in millions of books. And not just novels or current event books. Many were books without clear emotional content — technical manuals about plants and animals, for example, or automotive repair guides.

This effort began simply with lists of "emotion" words: 146 different words that connote anger; 92 words for fear; 224 for joy; 115 for sadness; 30 for disgust; and 41 words for surprise. All were from standardized word lists used in linguistic research.

The original idea was to have the computer program track the use of these words over time. The researchers wanted to see if certain words, at certain moments, became more popular.

With the graphs spread out in front of him, Bentley says the patterns are easy to see. "The twenties were the highest peak of joy-related words that we see," he says. "They really were roaring."

But then there came 1941, which, of course, marked the beginning of America's entry into World War II. It doesn't take a historian to see that peaks and valleys like these roughly mirror the major economic and social events of the century.

"In 1941, sadness is at its peak," Bently says.

But words that express emotion are being used less today (except fear-related words).

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

The above chart is by Business Insider (@businessinsider) SAI (@SAI) Chart of the Day (@chartoftheday).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Data is increasingly defining us - from the information we share on the Web, to that collected by the numerous companies with whom we interact. Intrigued by the sheer scales involved, photojournalist Rick Smolan wanted to see how data was transforming the world.

Here, as part of the BBC News - What If? series about the future, take a look at his global snapshots - compiled in his book The Human Face of Big Data (@FaceOfBigData).

See this slideshow in full.

Consider how publishing fits in to the Big Data picture.

Also see our previous blogposts “Learning in the Digital Age” and “Digital Nation,” and all our posts tagged “Youth” and “Future.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

The above presentation was presented by Goodreads (@goodreads) CEO Otis Chandler (@otown) at the 2013 Tools of Change (@toc) conference in New York. It details how readers discovered, acquired, and read two specific titles – Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, a hardcover book, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which is available in paperback.

Also see our previous blogpost, “All About Goodreads.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Anti-business sentiment, the evolving path to purchase, and broadening definitions of social media are among the main issues now facing marketers, according to the Toolkit 2013 trend report released by Warc (@WarcEditors) and Deloitte (@Deloitte).

The Toolkit 2013 report highlights 4 key priorities for brands:

1. Gain an increasingly in-depth understanding of changing consumer expectations, as hard-pressed shoppers take their anger out on major corporations in difficult times.

Companies must show they are making a positive difference by focusing on areas like values, ethics and authenticity, contributing to an easier life, or solving everyday problems.

2. Understand the impact of technology on the path to purchase, in particular the rise of "showrooming" (comparing products and prices while in stores on a mobile phone) and "multi-screening" (using digital devices while watching TV).

These trends suggest marketers should look at more closely aligning in-store messages with mobile, and by ensuring TV activity is joined up with social media, search, and e-commerce.

3. Be aware of new thinking on social media and social influence. The "social" channel is much wider than "social media" alone, particularly when it comes to the potential benefits of looking for influential advocates offline as well as online.

4. Marketers should carefully consider their options regarding "big data" to avoid running the risk of alienating consumers through poorly executed attempts at personalization.

Read this in full.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Over 3/5 of Generation Z say that when they find a brand they like they stick with it, according to a recent survey. Forrester Research polled more than 3,000 online Gen Z members, aged 18 to 23, for its report How To Build Your Brand With Generation Z and found 62% are prepared to show loyalty to those brands they enjoy.

"The leading edge of Gen Z is at a pivotal point in their product and brand choices, as they finance their own purchase decisions," Tracy Stokes, report lead and principal analyst at Forrester Research, told Luxury Daily.

Gen Z is the first generation born into a digital world. They are true digital natives who have grown up in the age of technology. The only world they know is a digital one — where they can connect anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. As a result, they are highly promiscuous when it comes to media consumption; they will be the first generation to consume more media online than offline.

Gen Z is more likely than other generations to trust messages from brands and marketing communications via digital channels, according to the report.

And the brands they prefer will inspire their confidence and demonstrate honesty in business practice.

Other findings in the report include the increased willingness of Gen Z, compared to other generations, to pay more for products with an image they like and to own the best brand.

"Marketers need to create a brand experience that is relevant to their customers' lives but also authentic to the brand," said Stokes.

Read this in full.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

USA TODAY’s Bob Minzesheimer (@bookbobminz) reports that, for the 3rd year in a row, Washington, DC, is "America's most literate city," according to an annual statistical study ranking 75 cities with populations of 250,000 and above.

The research, conducted by Central Connecticut State University (@CCSUToday) president John Miller, is based on 6 key indicators: number of bookstores, educational attainment, Internet resources, library resources, periodical publishing resources, and newspaper circulation.

Miller says the study is aimed at shifting attention from school test scores on reading "to how much people are reading, and where are they reading the most." He notes a “troubling trend”: Spending on reading materials, both digital and print, has declined 22% since 2000. In the same period, federal statistics show spending on other forms of entertainment is up 25%.

In a digital age, the survey expands the definition of reading by counting online book orders, ebook readers, and page views on local newspaper websites.

The top 10 cities in 2012:

1. Washington, DC (same as in 2011)

2. Seattle, WA (same as in 2011)

3. Minneapolis, MN (same as in 2011)

4. Pittsburgh, PA (up from No. 6)

5. Denver, CO (up from No. 10)

6. St. Paul, MN (up from No. 12)

7. Boston, MA (down from No. 5)

8. Atlanta, GA (down from No. 4)

9. St. Louis, MO (down from No. 8)

10. Portland, OR (down from No. 11)

Read this in full.

See the study website.

See our previous blogpost, “America’s Most Literate Big Cities.”

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

The above chart is from the Barna (@barnagroup) article, “Most Americans are Concerned About Restrictions in Religious Freedom.”

Also see the Baptist Press (@baptistpress) article, “Stanford opens ‘religious liberty clinic.’”

And see our previous blogpost, "Study: Religiously Active People More Likely to Engage in Civic Life."

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

In a new survey of Americans’ attitudes and expectations for public libraries, the Pew Research Center’s (@pewresearch) Internet & American Life Project (@pewinternet) finds that many library patrons are eager to see libraries’ digital services expand, yet also feel that print books remain important in the digital age.

The following statistics pertain to Americans aged 16 and older:

·         80% say borrowing books is a “very important” service libraries provide.

·         80% say reference librarians are a “very important” service of libraries.

·         77% say free access to computers and the internet is a “very important” service of libraries.

·         Online research services allowing patrons to pose questions and get answers from librarians: 37% would “very likely” use an “ask a librarian” type of service, and another 36% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

·         Apps-based access to library materials and programs: 35% of Americans ages 16 and older would “very likely” use that service and another 28% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

·         Access to technology “petting zoos” to try out new devices: 35% would “very likely” use that service and another 34% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

·         GPS-navigation apps to help patrons locate material inside library buildings: 34% would “very likely” use that service and another 28% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

·         “Redbox”-style lending machines or kiosks located throughout the community where people can check out books, movies or music without having to go to the library itself: 33% would “very likely” use that service and another 30% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

·         “Amazon”-style customized book/audio/video recommendation schemes that are based on patrons’ prior library behavior: 29% would “very likely” use that service and another 35% say they would be “somewhat likely” to do so.

·         Offering a broader selection of ebooks: 53% say libraries should “definitely do” this.

·         73% of library patrons in the past 12 months say they visit to browse the shelves for books or media.

Read this in full.

Read the full report (pdf).

See Publishers Weekly’s (@PublishersWkly) article, “Libraries: Good Value, Lousy Marketing.” And Salon’s (@Salon) “Bring back shushing librarians” by Laura Miller (@magiciansbook).

Also see our blogposts, “Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close” and “The Digital Bookmobile,” and others tagged “Library.”

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.