Email forward

A viral email (also known as a "pass-along email") is a certain kind of email which rapidly propagates from person to person, generally in a word-of-mouth manner. This is an example of a viral phenomenon, which is used for profit in viral marketing, but can also contribute to the propagation of Internet memes like viral videos.

Viral emails may arise in a number of situations, but the process is relatively simple: an individual receives an email, often (but not exclusively) of a political or humorous nature, he or she forwards the email to their friends. They do the same, and thus they rapidly spread the email, in potentially worldwide proportion. In this sense, the process is similar to that of an email chain letter, but typically without the explicit requirement to pass it along that is a common part of the chain letter model. A common commercial application for viral emails is that of the viral advertising campaigns: promotional emails are specifically created so that they follow a viral propagation. Another form of viral email offers life-saving advice, such as Triangle of Life, which is passed around by well-meaning people even though agencies, governments and scientists have issued statements warning of its dangers.

A 2004 study into viral email behaviors identified a number of reasons as to why people may pass along emails. Most of the emails that were passed along involved humor, although other factors - such as the presence of naked pictures and warnings about crime - were identified as being significant. This tends to be replicated in commercial viral emails, where humor is a common theme, and where more "risque" content is often employed. The same study also examined reasons for not passing along emails, and noted that the most common reason was "the sense that the content was old."

In viral marketing, the aim is to spread awareness about a product offering, service or concept using word-of-mouth behaviors. Unlike spam, which is based on a massive distribution of unsolicited emails, viral emails use social networking aspects to ensure their goals of wide propagation. This is one of the strengths of viral email to marketers - while users are quick to delete email from marketers, they are less likely to delete the email if it comes from a person that they know.

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Wikipedia