There’s an interesting read up at the Nieman Journalism Lab in which Gawker staffer Neetzan Zimmerman explains what exactly makes viral things go viral. In the article, Zimmerman describes why his posts are guaranteed to be emailed, retweeted and liked on Facebook more than most.
To wit, read his defense of a recent article about a dead cat repurposed as a remote-controlled helicopter:
“A taxidermied cat being that’s been turned into a helicopter — that’s clearly going to be successful, right? Because it’s got that element of shock, it’s got that element of a cat, you know, it’s basically just tailored to the Internet,” he said.
Perhaps someone at the White House is paying attention to Nieman, because this morning, it released the photo above featuring two of the most viral personalities on the Internet: Betty White and Barack Obama.
We’ve asked the White House what business the 90-year-old actress had with the president, and will update if we hear back. In the mean time, it’s Betty White with the president. Tweet the shit out of this!
UPDATE, 1 p.m.: A White House official writes in an email that White, who toured the National Zoo in May, was back in town for another Smithsonian event and stopped by to “[say] hello to the president.”
