Why is everyone posting that?
Trends explained, creators credited, manipulation called out. Internet culture with its homework done.
Spread simulation
Seed it. Watch it travel.
Every dot is a person and every line is someone they follow. Tap a dot to post something, then watch who passes it on. Turn the dials and run it again: small changes decide whether a post fizzles or cascades.
Tap any dot to post something, or press Seed. Then press Play or Step.
The dials
Shape beats size
Raise the connections dial and the same post goes further. Network shape often matters more than how good the post is.
Why Network Shape Decides How Far Content TravelsThe feed is a second crowd
Switch on the algorithm boost and watch jumps appear between groups that never touch. That is amplification, not word of mouth.
Algorithmic Amplification Versus Organic SpreadOne is the magic number
If each sharer passes it to more than one new person, waves grow. Below one, they shrink. Most posts sit below one.
Why Some Posts Spread and Most Never DoA toy model for building intuition. It does not describe, measure or predict any real post or platform.
Checklist
Why did this go viral?
Think of a post you keep seeing. Tick what is true of it. Each ingredient explains what it does, and the red flags mark the tactics people use to work a crowd.
Guidance only. The checklist explains common patterns; it cannot tell you why any particular post spread.
Where the library goes
Three of the eight strains, up close. Point at a frame to see it in full colour.
RV-07 TrendsWhy a format catches
Meme literacy: templates, captions, irony and the grammar that lets a joke travel.
Read the strain
Credit: the original creator
RV-01 CreatorsCredit where it started
Tracing a clip to its source, and why the person behind it matters.
Read the strain
RV-08 PlatformsInside the feed
Ranking signals, queues, cadence and what a feed is really optimising for.
Read the strainManipulation, called out
Some posts spread because they are good. Some spread because they were built to. Move the lens to bring the detail into focus.
Start with these
Every explainer carries a spread signature: a pattern drawn from its own address, so no two look alike.
Why Some Posts Spread and Most Never Do
Most posts vanish within minutes, seen by a handful of people who scroll past without pausing. The ones that spread share a quieter pattern: they give a viewer something to do with their...
How virality worksWhy Network Shape Decides How Far Content Travels
How far a post travels depends heavily on the shape of the network it lands in, not just the content itself. A post shared into a tightly connected group may stall quickly, while one that reaches...
Meme literacyThe Lasting Grammar of the Image Macro
The image macro, a picture paired with bold text along the top and bottom, was one of the earliest meme formats to develop its own consistent grammar. The placement of the text was not decorative,...
Creator creditWhy Crediting the Original Creator Matters
Behind almost every viral clip is a person who filmed it, edited it, or thought of the joke first, and that effort is easy to erase once a repost starts travelling under someone else's name....
Platform mechanicsHow a For You Feed Decides What You See
A For You style feed is built to predict, moment to moment, which piece of content is most likely to keep a particular viewer watching. It does this by comparing your past behaviour against the...
Sometimes the best share is no share
Pausing before you pass something on is the cheapest fact check there is. A calmer feed is a choice you can make one setting at a time.
Eight strains, 210 explainers
Creator credit
- Building a Habit of Checking Sources Before Sharing
- Crediting Collaborative and Duo Content
- Crediting the People Behind a Sound or Song
Glossary
- Algorithm, Explained Simply
- Defining a Burner Account
- Defining a Comment Section Pile On
Healthy habits
- Building a Calmer Relationship With Notifications
- Building a Habit of Verifying Before Resharing
- Building a Personal Media Diet That Works
How virality works
- Algorithmic Amplification Versus Organic Spread
- Controversy and the Tradeoffs of Engagement
- Format Friction and Why Some Trends Remix Faster
Internet history
- Chat Rooms and the First Drafts of Online Identity
- Early Online Gaming Communities
- Early Online Journaling Culture
Manipulation spotting
- How a Misleading Thumbnail Does Its Work
- How Cherry Picked Statistics Mislead
- How Comment Bait Works
Meme literacy
- Absurdism as a Meme Mode
- Copypasta as a Meme Genre
- Format Versus Content: What Makes a Meme Work
Platform mechanics
- Account Age and Platform Trust Signals
- Algorithmic Diversity and Filter Variety
- Cross Posting and Platform Specific Tuning