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.