Viral email
This article is missing information about the history of email forwards.(May 2016) |
A viral email (also known as a "pass-along email") is an
Overview
A viral emails spreads when a person receives an email, often of a political or humorous nature, and
Behavior
A 2004 study into viral email behaviors identified a number of reasons as to why people may pass along emails. Most of the emails that were passed along involved humor, although other factors - such as the presence of naked pictures and warnings about crime - were identified as being significant.[3] This tends to be replicated in commercial viral emails, where humor is a common theme,[4] and where more risque content is often employed.[5] The same study also examined reasons for not passing along emails, and noted that the most common reason was "the sense that the content was old."[3]
Commercial implications
In
As an example of viral marketing in practice, vouchers may be provided via email to customers, who are then encouraged to forward those emails on to friends and family.
Many viral emails that may appear to be advertisements are, in fact, fake, and run the risk of significantly damaging the brand.[5]
Collections
A number of websites are dedicated to collecting viral emails, often with a particular focus on humorous emails.[4] These include Viralbank, which collects both commercial and non-commercial emails,[10] Bore Me, which features a section devoted to adult viral emails, and ViralEmails, a forum based website allowing its users to share viral emails as well as a daily viral email sent via a newsletter.[1]
References
- ^ a b Smith, David (December 12, 2004). "Viral email rocks the world". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Petal, Marla, Douglas Copp - Worse Than Urban Legend: Dangerous Advice! And Now For Some Good Advice For Earthquake Safety, September, 2004, accessed 3 January 2013.
- ^ a b Phelps, Joseph; Lewis , Regina; Mobilio, Lynne; Perry, David; Raman, Niranjan (2004). "Viral Marketing or Electronic Word-of-Mouth Advertising: Examining Consumer Responses and Motivations to Pass Along Email". Journal of Advertising Research. 44 (4).
- ^ a b Shifman, Limor (2007). "Humor in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Continuity and Change in Internet-Based Comic Texts". International Journal of Communication. 1: 187–209.
- ^ a b Gotting, Peter (April 3, 2003). "It's filthy, funny . . .and not fair dinkum". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ISBN 0-8058-5155-0.
- ^ Cleland, Gary; Wallop, Harry (December 3, 2007). "Christmas email vouchers fill nation's inboxes". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Dransfield, Louise (November 30, 2007). "Threshers repeats the online discount offer it claimed was a mistake last year". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Rettie, Ruth (2002). "Net Generation Culture" (PDF). Journal of Electronic Commerce Research. 3 (4): 261.
- ^ Schofield, Jack (March 7, 2002). "Web Watch". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-05-14.