• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 15, 2011

An Australian scientist claims to have cracked the code of viral video success, and he attributes his breakthrough to the science of biological evolution. The scientist, Dr. Brent Coker, a professor at the University of Melbourne, who calls himself an “Internet psychologist,” says the new method was inspired by the theories of Charles Darwin, which he uses to explain, “how communities pass information through generations.”

“What we've done is similar, but we fine-tuned it for the Internet,” he says, adding that he developed an algorithm that is “designed specifically for commercially produced viral movies that are linked to a brand. He calls the algorithm the “branded viral movie predictor,” or BVMP for short.

"Basically the BVMP algorithm includes four elements that are needed at the same time to ensure success,” he says, adding, “But the core meme theme element is key to making it work. We noticed several patterns in successful BVMPs that weren't present in less successful movies. We developed a formula that identifies what those criteria are, and how to pair them up to predict viral spread success."

Dr. Coker's list of 14 meme theme elements sounds like the playlist of a Rock CD, including names like "Cutsie Wootsie," " Baby Love " and "Skill Bill."

"There are subtle nuances to each element that are difficult to describe using everyday language,” Dr. Coker says. “It took us a while to distil the concepts down to 14, and when we applied regular adjectives it just didn't seem to fit. We did have a bit of fun naming them, but in reality we believe the names are fairly accurate in application."