[HN Gopher] To launch something new, you need "social dandelions"
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       To launch something new, you need "social dandelions"
        
       Author : curiouska
       Score  : 61 points
       Date   : 2025-11-19 18:13 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.actiondigest.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.actiondigest.com)
        
       | hydeout wrote:
       | This is similar to what Malcolm Gladwell mentioned in Outliers (I
       | think). He identified a certain group of people as connectors,
       | people that if you don't know directly then you will know someone
       | who does. And reaching these connectors are often vital for
       | certain trends to take off
        
       | MrAlex94 wrote:
       | I can attest to that! While I never reached the upper echelons of
       | virality that other browsers in recent memory have, I had much
       | the same experience with Waterfox. Right place, right time gave
       | it its initial user base: posting about a 64-bit build of Firefox
       | on the Overclock.net forums. It hit the right time as people were
       | starting to switch to 64-bit Windows and upgrading their hardware
       | to match
       | 
       | I think that first week the project got 50k downloads! I was of
       | course only 16 so had no concept of what to do but just keep
       | getting new builds out - after all I made the builds because I
       | couldn't find anyone who would consistently and regularly do so.
        
       | David-Henrry wrote:
       | Using "social dandelions" to spread ideas highlights the power of
       | leveraging networks and communities to gain traction for new
       | launches.
        
         | tartoran wrote:
         | Until it doesn't...
        
       | gwbas1c wrote:
       | > 1/4 What type of community is best for launching a new idea?
       | 
       | Is Hacker News this kind of community?
       | 
       | (Still working my way through the article, so apologies if this
       | is mentioned later in the article.)
        
         | CuriouslyC wrote:
         | No. You won't get front page traction here without either
         | shill/stan readers, or pre-existing social proof from another
         | social network around the same time.
        
       | CGMthrowaway wrote:
       | Related concepts: "run it up the flagpole and see if anyone
       | salutes it," "Will it play in Peoria?", trial balloon, stalking
       | horse, exploratory committees (comprising polling, travel and
       | phone calls), Overton window
        
       | Dilettante_ wrote:
       | I only skimmed around the definition of 'social dandelions'. Is
       | the thesis here "having _people who have a lot of influence_
       | (social dandelions) as your ambassadors is good for driving
       | adoption"?
        
       | cyode wrote:
       | The dandelion metaphor is also employed as cover art on a book I
       | like called "Contagious: Why Things Catch On." by Jonah Berger.
       | 
       | I find it interesting that this article focuses on what
       | communities will help an idea germinate and eventually go viral,
       | vs. Contagious which focuses on qualities of the information
       | itself that make it spreadable. The former is probably more
       | impactful, but both play a role.
       | 
       | The book ends with a mnemonic summarizing what "steps" an idea
       | should follow to be considered contagious:
       | 
       | [S] - Social currency (does sharing the idea make the "spreader"
       | look good/smart/impressive)
       | 
       | [T] - Triggers (topics that come to mind frequently due to an
       | environmental trigger. Case in point: the song Friday by Rebecca
       | Black gets most of its streams on Fridays)
       | 
       | [E] - Emotion (obviously ideas that evoke an emotional response
       | get more attention)
       | 
       | [P] - Public (whether or not info reaches others depends how
       | public-facing the distribution channel is)
       | 
       | [P] - Practical Value (is the idea useful?)
       | 
       | [S] - Stories (if the format of the information follows a
       | narrative, it sticks more with people and is also easier to
       | retell)
        
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       (page generated 2025-11-19 23:01 UTC)