Dribbble: Exploring the Concept of Viral Events on an Art World Social Network Site

Abstract

While virality is a much-studied topic on popular social media sites, it has been rarely explored on sites like Dribbble, a social networking site for artists and designers. Using a mixed-method approach, we explore virality from a user-centric perspective. Interviews with informants confirm that viral-like events do exist on Dribbble, though what spreads are stylistic choices. While what spreads is different than on other platforms, our work suggests that the mechanics that drive these events are similar, suggesting an underlying social phenomenon that is reflected in different ways on different platforms. Our results are supported by regression modeling using variables identified by our informants. Our work contributes to social media studies since smaller sites like Dribbble are rarely studied, particularly using mixed methods approaches, as well as to the body of research around information diffusion and viral events.