18 human traits that explain why readers can't get enough of BuzzFeed

Business psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic reveals the reasons why the online publisher is so successfulWhen it comes to online content and storytelling, there are few sites as savvy as BuzzFeed, a platform that combines artificial and human intelligence to detect, produce and increase viral content. It has taken social networks by storm, accounting for a disproportionate number of posts shared, liked and discussed online and offline, attracting 10 million UK users in November.Its quirky lists (eg, "63 reasons why Bradley Cooper definitely isn't the sexiest man alive" – which simply features 63 pictures of Ryan Gosling) and interactive quizzes including "What city should you actually live in?", have caught consumer attention worldwide and are the envy and nightmare of marketers, publishers and anyone obsessed with traffic and the battle of feeds. At this year's annual Online Publishers Association meeting, every other keynote on content made reference to the BuzzFeed phenomenon, mostly to express jealousy or concern about its success.So what explains the astronomic rise of BuzzFeed? In an attempt to emulate the site's snappy and catchy lists here are 18 reasons why we love BuzzFeed:1) We are all quite average: although we hate to admit it, most people are just like most people, which is why we tend to like most of the things everybody else likes. BuzzFeed's success is largely based on sharing popular content, rather than making content popular. It's as if a publisher... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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