UPWORTHY: ITS LIKE CHOCOLATE ON BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Upworthy, the website that attempts to turn well-presented, meaningful information into online viral hits, has struck gold with a graphic demonstrating how 90-percent ownership of the media has reportedly been grabbed by just six companies that in 1983, before the rush to consolidation, had been 50. The graphic, originally posted on the website frugaldad.com back in November of last year, has been given massive exposure by Upworthy, which develops the kind of “hook” that online marketers use to entice potential customers (“What’s the one weird, old tip to cut down on belly fat?”). In the case of the media-consolidation graphic, the hook is “What’s the Real Reason They Still Play ‘Mrs. Robinson’ on the Radio?” (Answer — according to the graph: as a result of media consolidation, 80 percent of stations’ playlists match.) Upworthy’s success in calling attention to such information was duly noted in today’s (Tuesday) New York Times by media writer David Carr, who reported that according to Google Analytics, Upworthy had 1 million unique visitors last week, and in June — only its third month of operations — it had 2.5 million visitors, making it one of the fastest Internet startups ever. Commented Carr: “By putting tasty headlines on nutritious subjects — chocolate sauce on brussels sprouts, as it were — Upworthy can make the sharing impulse work on topics beyond LOLCats and fashion disasters.”