[cix]

You proved my point " The first serious buzz happened when blogger ad technical Robert Scoble wrote about Yo after a visit to Israel. He called it “the stupidest” but “most addicting” app." Until then no-one knew about it, what is that called marketing. Are you going to down-vote me because you're wrong? How about Flappybird? That didn't gain any traction until the #1 Youtube video maker PewDiePie made a video on how much he hated it.

[simonh]

Marketing is a deliberate attempt to promote a product with the intention of selling it. If the authors or publishers of Yo approached Scoble or the Youtuber and persuaded them to feature their product, that's marketing. If Scoble or the Youtuber came across these apps on their own and randomly decided to mention them then that's not marketing, it's just luck.

[cix]

Are we going to argue semantics on HN? If I show my app to anyone, which he did. Whether it is a news station or my mom it is marketing. He didn't just magically see it, the developer specifically showed him. You also have no idea if the Youtube video was influenced by the developer do you? I have worked with game streamers and had them promote some of our products; it's not hard. Feel free to post a dictionary definition of "marketing" if you want to continue this pointless debate on semantics.

[simonh]

Fair points.

[walterbell]

On the topic of online buzz, see Ryan Holiday's book, "Trust Me, I'm Lying", https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ryan-holiday/trus...

[cix]

Marketing and propaganda are very similar, if people believe something to be true. It is.

A lot of these famous social accounts aren't even the people in the photos. It's kinda disturbing once you get deep, everything seems so fake.

[walterbell]

Doug Rushkoff & PBS had an episode about this topic, "Generation Like"

http://www.dailydot.com/geek/inside-fandom-media-campaign/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/generation-like/