Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Why Did One Dog Rescue Video Go Viral?

In my latest story for NBC's Petside, I examine the fantastic case of the abandoned little blind dog who went viral. Fiona, a poodle-mix rescued by a veteran dog rescuer and his wife while living in a trash pile, has caused millions of people to cry a river while at their computers. I'd seen the video a few weeks ago but didn't want to write to same story everyone else was writing, a la "What a sad but uplifting tale."

I always try to write something unique, and sometimes that means sitting with an idea for awhile, letting it percolate until a different angle comes to me. Once the video became more and more popular, and I did a little research on the video and its maker, I decided to write about HOW the video got so much attention.

I'm always curious about what becomes successful, what goes viral, what becomes a hit, and why. Often, to be honest with you, there's no real good reason. Why is "50 Shades of Grey" selling millions while I have many friends who have been publishing erotica for years and are still poor? I don't know. Why was "Eat, Pray, Love" an enormous bestseller and so many memoirs barely sell a few thousand copies? Trust me, her memoir wasn't any better. (No sour grapes here! :))

Often, something become successful because of a combination of things happening—and a bit of pure, unadulterated luck.

In the case of Fiona's video, the film of her rescue had been kicking around the Internet for over a year. Yet, it only went viral a few weeks ago. Why?

To get the full scoop, read my piece on Fiona at Petside.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, I was just reading an article of yours on the stir and you mentioned something about how all costs associated with a birth are the responsibility of the woman until the child is born, something to that effect, can you tell me where you found this information? Thanks!

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  2. You need to go to the embedded links in the original Stir article. Thanks!

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