Mar 19, 2009
I do not want anything “going viral” anywhere in my vicinity, thank you very much.
I know it’s been around quite awhile, but I still can’t hear the metaphorical use of viral without thinking of it literally.
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© 2012 Abuyo. All rights reserved.
I feel the same way. My skin crawls a little when I hear that… and every time I read a “viral” email, I have the sudden urge to wash my hands. :)
The irony being that you posted this and your RSS feed (and Twitter) immediatlety spread it in a thousand directions… virally.
How does THAT feel?
I feel infected.
Even used in the modern euphemistic sense, I do NOT want my computer going anywhere in the vicinity of something viral. Where’s the consistency?
Good point Scott. And then there’s the reverse…I’d hate for us all to start sneezing pixels.
Sneezing pixels… how many?
That’s easy for you to say; some of us would love to have our blogs go viral, regardless of the word association.
(22)
Well my first response was already nicely stated by Michael, my second by Paul, and my third by Julia.
Here’s my fourth:
Would you prefer it to go mycobacterial?
(This would be slower and generally limited to only close contacts.)
“Going viral”. Isn’t that how most zombie movies start?
Setting aside the negative consequences of “going viral” for the moment, I have thought that it was one of those fun phrases that actually couldn’t have happened earlier in the culture. I think it’s kind of neat!
Another recent word invention that I think came from the blogosphere (partially at least) is “snarky”. That’s very descriptive, too.
Think of it as a future verbal tool with your kids, AP, “Don’t make me go viral on this, Orison!” (veiled threat to cause child embarrassment by broadcasting child’s faux pas or whatever)
me, too.
I agree. I was sooo soo anti-viral.
But, when I started hearing it more & more I realized the context & I’m actually saying it! Ugh! How things change in a few months!