Virality, Human Psychology, Gullibility, Facebook and Ethics
What I Learned Building a Horoscope That Blew Up on Facebook
And How They Hack Our Brains
“Am I going to be fired?”
“Will I get a promotion this year?”
“Will my wife forgive me?”
“Will I find love?”
“This is so accurate! It happened to me today! What should I expect tomorrow?”
Oh my god, we’re all so gullible. I should know — I created a horoscope. And not just any horoscope. One that 10 million people installed, and at least 100 million of their friends saw. Why did they choose my particular astrological take? Because it wasn’t just a horoscope. It was a horoscope app. On Facebook.
This is the story of how my team and I created that app, how we saw it blow up to tens of millions of users in a matter of months, and everything we learned along the way: how horoscopes work to hack brains, why people believe in them, and what it says about ethics.
How We Created a Viral Horoscope App
You probably saw our horoscope. Many times. Remember when Uncle Gerald would have those annoying posts about tending to his cow? That was FarmVille. That Uncle Gerald didn’t discriminate. He was very open to all types of apps. That is why you weren’t just…
