Is Internet Viral Marketing a Fad?

According to a survey of Mediapost readers, half of the respondents think that viral is a fad.

While things tend not to be concrete in marketing, and less so when it comes to viral, one thing is for sure - half of these readers are wrong about whether online viral marketing is a fad. The question is... which half?

For hundreds, or even thousands of years, people have enjoyed each others company, sharing news, stories, jokes and other forms of personal entertainment. As the world globalizes, the Internet continues to facilitate relationships between those far apart, and the desire to communicate and entertain remains.

Viral has been a part of the Internet since the very beginning of its widespread adoption. Who doesn't remember getting scores of forwarded chain letters and jokes from anyone who had you in their address book in the 90's? Viral and word-of-mouth exists in other media as well. How do you think My Big Fat Greek Wedding got off the ground? The recent boom only reflects the fact that marketers have harnessed the viral's power and put it to use.

Are marketers going to lose their grip? Are Web surfers going to stop to pass on entertaining content? Is the Internet just a fad itself? It is unlikely that any of those scenarios will come to pass. At least there is no evidence that has come to light to support any of those notions.