How Ideas Spread

By: Jonah Berger, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Jonah Berger

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

What makes one novel a bestseller, while a similar work languishes unnoticed? Why are the same few baby names suddenly everywhere? Why is everyone talking about that viral video?

Welcome to the science of social epidemics: the cutting-edge study of why some ideas, products, and concepts spread wildly, while others quickly flame out.

Anyone who has something to sell, a cause to promote, or a message to spread knows that there are obstacles in creating a message that resonates, spreads, and sticks to make their product or idea the word on the street.

Enormous sums of time and money have been spent trying to answer the question of why some ideas catch on. And not only is it an ever-present challenge for businesses, governments, and organizations, but it has long been a source of inquiry for psychologists, economists, and sociologists as well.

Now, in How Ideas Spread, discover what researchers studying the science of social transmission have learned. Taught by Jonah Berger - a best-selling author, expert in social dynamics, and faculty member at the Wharton School - this enlightening course draws on lessons from business, social psychology, economics, and popular culture to give you the cross-disciplinary tools necessary to identify and promote contagious ideas that last.

Across 12 half-hour lectures filled with absorbing stories and intriguing information, you'll learn the psychological and sociological mechanisms that lead products, ideas, and behaviors to catch on, plus specific techniques that can be applied in your personal and professional life, whatever your field or interest. Listen to one powerful case study after another to find out how to leverage three main concepts—individual psychology, social influence, and social networks—to design infectious messages. Whether you're a professional seeking guidance on crafting products and messages that grab hold, or you just want insights into how viral trends work, this course will open your eyes to the power of contagious ideas.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2014 The Great Courses (P)2014 The Teaching Company, LLC

great summary notes to compliment audible

the course was quite similar to the previous book the heath Brothers put out previously but I believe this was Superior because the great notes that came with it 4 later review.

More Verbose than Tolkien

Oh my goodness... At least three times I was screaming in the car because the prof was WAY to verbose with his examples. Why does this... Why does this do that? I mean, goodness. Its like he had to find filler to make his quota of 6.5 hours.

Got a few good nuggets, but beware, if you have little patience like I do, you will scream in the car...."Alright, we get it!!"

Incredibly well presented...

This course was chalk full of great information and ideas, many of which I will recall and use in my future endeavors. However, as good as the material was, the presentation and flow that Professor Jonah Berger was able to teach with was amazing. I’ve struggled at times to listen to and capture information from other Great Courses. This course was easy to listen to and follow and therefore, I feel I took more out of it than usual.

Introductory, but still useful.

I hoping for a little something more in depth, but it's a good start. The narrator tends to spend more time than is comfortable on rhetorical questions.

It is a book about marketing.

I was expecting a more in-depth book about the creation and dissemination of big ideas, such as political views and the rise and fall of ways of thinking. Instead I got a book about marketing. that said, it is a very good book about marketing.

broad strokes

Author used very broad strokes to describe work. I was hoping for some clarity on this subject. He basically confirmed it is all a Crap shoot... all about odds. secret is too find a way to insinuate your product into everyday conversation and keep people talking about it, in a nut shell

Should be titled "Intro to Marketing"

It wasn't really about ideas spreading in general, it was all from the angle of products and selling, and very little time was spent on internet/social media aspects of the topic.

Fantastic

You know those books that change the way you think about things for the better? This is one of them. Very informative!

Good overview from a marketing perspective

This is a short 12 lecture course on how ideas spread from a marketing perspective. Jonah Berger does a nice job narrating and describing the subject. The first half dealt with the psychology of social influence and the second half got more into the social network side of things. Very little of the material was new to me since I've studied much of it in the course of working on my PhD, but it was still an enjoyable refresher. Given that I already knew most of it and can be picky about these things, I didn't have any particular quibbles with what he included or excluded (well, maybe a couple minor ones -- e.g. Google Flu worked well the first year or two, but not so much now). Remarkably, given the subject matter, he did not mention the term "meme" at all, which is not a criticism -- I'm impressed that he didn't use that otherwise easy conceptual crutch.

On the whole, I'd recommend this as an introduction to the subject, especially for anyone interested in marketing or social influence.

Narrator was soooo repetittive!

I thought I would really like this book, but the narrator was annoying and spoke in a sing-songy manner. Very elementary in concept and delivery.