{"id":1382,"slug":"berger-milkman-2012-practical-value-virality","title":"Berger & Milkman (2012), Journal of Marketing Research — practical usefulness independently predicts content virality even after controlling for emotion","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["behavioral-economics","linkable-assets","interactive-tool-mechanisms"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Berger & Milkman (2012), *Journal of Marketing Research*: **practical usefulness independently predicts virality / social transmission** even after controlling for emotion. People share useful information partly **for self-enhancement** (it makes them look knowledgeable).\n\n**Source:** Berger & Milkman (2012), JMR.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified (peer-reviewed).\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Independent academic anchor for the linkable-assets argument ([[moz-link-building-low-value-pages-fail]], [[ahrefs-tools-calculators-attract-lots-links]]). Practical utility is the through-line — tools earn shares + links because they are useful and the sharer looks helpful for sharing them.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"cialdini-reciprocity-foundational","title":"Cialdini reciprocity principle (Influence; 240+ peer-reviewed papers) — one of the most robust, cross-cultural principles of influence; formal articulation: Gouldner 1960","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-interactive-tool-mechanisms-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: why interactive tools deepen a business's relationship with its audience — a mechanism-level research package (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"dichter-1966-sharing-self-enhancement","title":"Dichter (1966), Harvard Business Review — ~64% of sharing is about the sharer's self-presentation; foundational framing for self-enhancement / social currency","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T18:18:57.486Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T18:18:57.486Z"}