Re: virus: advertising

tom.holz (tom.holz@pobox.com)
Sun, 10 Aug 1997 00:07:12 -0400


>I may be somewhat responsible for this, although I said 'Advertising is
>the memetic technology of commerce' and was not refuted. No inference of
>origin though. (It is a nice catchphrase and I may have encountered it
>anywhere.)

"Hi, nice to meet you" <shakes hand>. I think I remember that sentence.

>However- how can you possibly say memes have not been transmitted when
>people actually go out and buy the product? As Stephen has noted, is that
>not an obvious clue?

I did not mean you to think they were never transmitted--I was suggesting
the most efficient thing for add memes to do was infect a viewer and then
cause behavior x. They would not need to worry about transmitting the
complex structes needed for the viewer to infect another person, since any
other person is most likely also a viewer. Sterile memes, perhaps?

<buy product X>
vs.
<buy product X><product X is cool><mock people who are not cool>
or
<buy product X><product X works><tell other people about product X>

tom.