There is a common complaint that most if not all of us have made after seeing a movie, watching a TV show, or listening to a piece of music: "How did this become popular?" I know I have that feeling every time I come across something having to do with Pokémon. Even as a kid I did not understand its appeal. Nor do I understand how its appeal can spawn one of the most recent and most hyped fads in recent memory, the Pokémon Go! mobile app that swept through the country last year. But could there be something to popularity? Is there a secret recipe for making a hit in art & media today?
Enter Derek Thompson's book, Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction published by Penguin Press in 2017. According to the biography on this book's jacket flap, Mr. Thompson "is a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine, where he writes about economics and the media." He's also been named on Inc. magazine's and Forbes's 30 under 30 lists, so clearly this author is someone to watch in the future. This book is built upon several articles Mr. Thompson wrote for The Atlantic in 2013, 2014, and 2016. Mr. Thompson's premise is what was just described above: how does a hit become a hit? What is the secret sauce?
I would recommend you read this book for yourself to find out, but here are some of the key insights I took away from reading this book this past week.
