"What makes something viral," Cathy Taylor posed to her OMMA Social panel, in an attempt to once and for all wrestle a definition down for this seemingly elusive piece of industry jargon.

Midway through the "Catching On: What Makes Something Viral?" panel discussion, a circuit popped at the Yale Club and the microphones went silent, forcing the panelists to speak up to be heard.

An earlier OMMA Social panel may have been nauseated by the word "viral," but another panel struggled to define it.

Of all the metaphors used to describe online advertising widgets, Social Vibe's Joe Marchese chose to use one invoking a 1960s futuristic cartoon show. "I still don't know what [widgets] are, but I know that Spacely Sprokets made those," Marchese said, alluding to George Jetson's employer.

In an effort to illustrate the long-term brand-building value of relationship media like social networks, Social Vibe's Joe Marchese tapped a somewhat personal anecdote.

Social Vibe's Joe Marchese got his panel on social media off on a psychological note, asking his panelists to say what comes to their mind when they hear the word "viral."

Seems he's already got the next big social media advertising format up his sleeve. He calls them "social banners" and promises they will get the "tone" of the conversation between advertisers and social media users “down in an authentic way.

At least that's what Magna's Wieser seemed to suggest.

Some social fireworks ignited between Magna Global director of industry analysis Brian Wiese and, SocialMedia Networks co-founder and CEO Seth Goldstein about the value and role of social media in the advertising mix.

A debate is presently taking place on the viability of monetizing social media, and just how many media dollars its set to consume.