Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction
by Derek Thompson. Derek is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Hit Makers is the winner of the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Book Award for 2018. Derek launched the Plain English podcast and is now producing the Crazy/Genius podcast.
So, why do specific songs, movies, books, and even mobile apps became popular? Hit Makers is addressing how popularity increases sales or cultural status.
However, for a technology-driven focus, including a book cover with Facebook icons, Derek’s initial story about the most famous song in history is very ancient.
Brahms’s lullaby “Guten Abend, gute Nacht” known to Americans as “Lullaby and good night” is indeed a historical interesting story. However, it would be better to address Hit Makers in the post-iPhone era alone.
It am not convinced however that Generation Alpha will understand these ancient ‘hits’ regardless of how they were developed.
However, these hits will resonate with Gen X and Millennials. Then, Derek quickly jumps into the 1950s addressing the introduction and impact of television. This provides a certainly compelling story of ESPN and the market popularity this creates for Disney.
Yet, even his story about European painters with a famous collection is again from an era so long ago. This also lacks widespread availability at the time (beyond early museums) so the impact is not really addressed from a colonial era of pop culture, as it was fixed within specific circles and classes.
The MAYA Rule
The story of Raymond Loewy, as a respected industrial designer is well written. In fact, Loewy developed the Most Advanced Yet Acceptable (MAYA) concept. This reveals how building the future based upon the past truly resonates across society.
Derek certainly applies this well in Chapter 3, The Music of Sound: The Power of Repetition—in Song and Speech is all about the power of Swedish music, even for Americans. In addition, this is a interesting look at popular music. My interest was also peaked seeing the Atwater School in Shorewood, Wisconsin (just outside Milwaukee) addressing how music repetition is taught to students. In addition, it would be very interesting to understand how AI-generated music impacts hits.
Filmmaker George Lucas is a focus in Chapter 4: The myth-making mind, and is definitely interesting. Derek introduces how Lucas used other films to devise Star Wars. Without a doubt Derek hits a home run in Chapter 7: Rock and Roll and Randomness. At the same time, while I can appreciate this story, it will not resonate with Gen Alpha.
Distraction
Comparatively, Derek does confirm Facebook has irreversibly changed news delivery on a global scale and not for the better. Revealing how Facebook manipulated their news feeds and the impact upon users is well known. I also believe Derek’s research on Clickbait can surprise many readers. Couple this with Facebook’s tracking via An Ugly Truth reveals how we truly are confronted with privacy in the age of distraction.
In conclusion, Derek is certainly a talented writer and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Certainly a few misses from my perspective tying the 1800s to current social media is a big leap for me.