Harvard, Law, Money
The ingredients for virality are both logical and disappointing.
I’ve made a lot of tiktok videos. Over 1,000 so far, and around 700 of them in the span of 6 months when I began in late 2021. I tried a lot of different stuff to go viral on the app. Rants to camera about politics. Skits about being a law student. Mental health commentary.
It didn’t take long before I noticed a pattern in what went viral (I define viral by at least 100,000 views). If I mentioned Harvard, viral. If I mentioned money - like how much I earned in biglaw, or how much lawyers make, or how much debt I have - viral. And generally - though to a lesser extent than Harvard and money - if I talked about something in the law (especially gossip), viral.
The more I produced the more I realized the old adage was true: sex, controversy, and money sells. It’s how the Kardashians built an empire - they melded all three into an endless content universe. Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, and Cardi all verse themselves in the world of kink. And unfortunately, we only really care about Harvey Specter because he’s a highly paid bigshot lawyer.
Do we lose hope at such reductionism? Are we really this shallow?
I don’t have direct answers to such questions. Frankly, people are free to spend their time how they please, and consume the content that makes their heart sing. Who am I to judge? Plus, there’s self selection bias happening here. The folks who go on social media apps are probably more interested in these topics. People who want deep intellectualism are off the apps with their noses in books.
So I don’t know what it says about humankind, that we are so easily entranced by the riches and ratchets. What I do know is how to engineer a viral video. And it begins with something like…
“Here’s how much money I make as a Harvard Law graduate…..”
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PS I hope you someday consider producing content of your own. If there’s anything I learned since diving into the world of creators it’s that there is truly a niche for everyone, and always room for new people. You have many special things to share with the world - I’m sure of it. So go forth! The world would be a better place with your voice in it.
Honestly, most of my posts on instagram and facebook have very little likes and comments. I think it's because I mostly talk about tennis, which is a sport that most people don't play or even know how to play. I also honestly sometimes think it has to do with anti-Asian racism during the COVID pandemic.
Thanks for this post! My parents don't like it when I post on TikTok (or social media in general) but I post things sometimes anyways.