You read a book, you recommend it to a friend. That friend tells another friend. And another... until the book becomes this year's word-of-mouth sensation.

This is the first to analyze the power of the 'pass-it-on' phenomenon, introducing us to the architects of the mightily efficient, money-spinning model known as the Viral Loop - the secret behind some of the most successful businesses in recent history.

Outfits such as Google, eBay, Flickr and Facebook all employ the model at their core; all have seen their stock valuations skyrocket within years of forming. The genius lies in the model's reliance on replication: what's the point of using Facebook if none of your friends can see your profile, or using Flickr if you can't share your photos? Where's the joy in posting a video on YouTube if no one watches it? In creating a viral product that people want, need and desire, growth can, and will, take care of itself.

Find out why the Loop will catch us all up, sooner rather than later...

A ground-breaking, agenda-setting book that reveals the business model that has propelled the likes of YouTube, Google, Facebook and MySpace to global success.

About the Author
Adam Penenberg has written for Forbes, New York Times, Fast Comapny, Slate, Wired, Economist, and Mother Jones. A former senior editor at Forbes, Penenberg garnered national attention in 1998 for unmasking serial fabricator Stephen Glass of The New Republic. Penenberg`s story was a watershed for online investigative journalism and is portrayed in the film Shattered Glass. A journalism professor at New York University, Penenberg is the assistant director of the Business & Economic Program. He lives in New York.

Reviews
One of the most astounding things about the Web age is how the best advertising is often no advertising at all. Penenberg masterfully explains how this works with case studies of products that were designed to spread. Every product can use a dose of this technique; this is the book to get to learn how. Recommended! * Chris Anderson, bestselling author of The Long Tail and Free *
In tight, engaging prose, Adam captures the essence of the ever-scaling power of the virus. It's not just for geeks any more. * Seth Godin, author of Tribes *
Penenberg has unlocked the secret to the most successful digital businesses. An indispensable read. * Robert Safian, Editor-in-Chief, Fast Company *
Adam Penenberg's lively book opens a window to all of our futures. * Ken Auletta, author of Backstory *
If you want to understand all things viral, this is the place to start. Penenberg's reporting gives us a ringside seat for some of the biggest viral success stories in history, from Tupperware to Ning. * Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die *
Penenberg discovers the perpetual motion machine for business and marketing... Buy this book. Catch a virus. Make a fortune. * Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do? *
Instead of entrusting your business to a guru with an agenda and a ghostwriter, you should be turning to a pro journalist like Adam Penenberg, who understands the way media and money interact, has the critical faculty to engage with these phenomena in an unbiased fashion, and the technical facility to explain them to you in an entirely engaging, informative, and actionable way. * Douglas Rushkoff, author of Media Virus and Life Inc. *
An intriguing expose of a simple idea worth its weight in gold and then some. * Cairns Post *
Word of mouth is nothing new in terms of marketing a product... This is "the power of pass-it-on", according to Penenberg, who looks at how an old idea has been made new again by the likes of Facebook, MySpace and Hot or Not... Penenberg writes accessibly about this "paradigm-busting phenomenon" and makes it all sound so simple. * The Sunday Mail Brisbane, and The Sunday Telegraph *
Viral Loop tidily presents a history of viral case studies from analog to digital...This history of social networking benefits from in-depth first-person research. * Courier Mail *



Book Information
ISBN 9780340918692
Author Adam Penenberg
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Sceptre
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 240g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 128mm * 20mm