remarkable things provide social currency because they make the…
remarkable things provide social currency because they make the people who talk about them seem more remarkable. Some people like to be the life of the party but no one wants to be the death of it. We all want to be liked. The desire for social approval is a fundamental human motivation. If we tell someone a cool Snapple fact, it makes it seem more engaging. If we tell someone about a secret bar hidden inside a hotdog restaurant it makes it seem cool, sharing extraordinary novels, or entertaining stories or ads make people seem more extraordinary, novel and entertaining. It makes them more fun to talk to you, more likely to get ass to lunch and more likely to get invited back for a second date.
— from The Landing (Death) · Contagious - Why things catch on - Jonah Berger