Harry potter fake popularity verified

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aLlOwJAyj0uE&refer=home

This article talks about how the popularity of Harry Potter is in fact due to part quality and part luck. Here is an excerpt from the above article:

"Economists call such interactions ``network externalities'' and these played an enormously important role in the success of Harry Potter. When network externalities are present, the success of a product can snowball once sales have crossed a tipping point. As more individuals experience the product, the benefit to others increases, lifting the incentive to experience the product even more."

I thought this went along really well with what we studied in class. This article also talks about how the Internet age is helping to magnify the snowball effect with forums, online shopping for muggle things, video games, and chat rooms. This article also suggests that due to the economics of the Internet age we will no longer have to wait a long time for something as popular as Harry Potter to arise again.

When I was first introduced to Harry Potter, I didn't know what it was about at all. I never even heard of the wizard sensation on TV, radio, magazines, etc. It was hardly publicized, and the only reason I found out about it was my relative told me I should read it because she heard from someone else that all the kids in England were reading it. From my point of view, the popularity of Harry Potter had a very long diameter because it traveled mostly from word of mouth. J.K. Rowling was not an accomplished author by any means when she released "Sorcerer's Stone," making it difficult for her publisher to gauge the series' potential popularity.

Now with the reach of the internet infiltrating society at every turn, the diameter of new culture sensations will drop significantly, making sure that never again will kids lie in waiting for their next hero in literature.

Speaking of fake popularity, how about using information cascades to scam people through fake weight-loss programs? In a world of people looking for quick fixes and hundreds of weight-loss programs, this is easy to spread. Since we like to rely on friends and celebrities to tell us about the next big thing, if a scammer makes a few fake celebrity endorsements, posts some fake blogs, and sets up a fake "nutrition lab", something like this can take off like wild-fire whether it works or not.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/23/acai.berries.scam/index.html

"It took more than 30 years for something that rivals Beatlemania to appear. The economics of the Internet age suggest that we won't have to wait so long for something that is analogous to Potter.

The Internet magnifies the benefits of collective interaction and rewards the winners in a manner disproportionate to their relative quality. The Harry Potter series has ended, but something else will surely replace it, and soon. "
I believe that this has already happened with the Twilight franchise which has also become extremely popular due to word of mouth with the aid of things such as internet forums, facebook, and twitter.
I remember only reading the series after seeing about 100 bumper stickers on facebook about twilight (by the way, this was in Peru, adding to the whole diameter issue), I bought the books and even though I hated them I in a way also added to their popularity.