Spreading Smiles Virally through Group Texting

How to Spread Smiles!
Trigger: Get a goofy picture & caption . Conversation : Send a similarly goofy smile later

Get 8:06 AM
Send goofy
smiles through
this group. :)
I’m smiling as I
make some chili!
Then….

@frankc. Chen Viral Method: Intimate and Fun Conversations

How to Spread Smiles!
Trigger: Get a goofy picture & caption . Conversation : Send a similarly goofy smile later
Get 8:06 AM
Send goofy
smiles through Get 8:47 AM Send 11:47 AM
this group. :) Just drank a I'm about to
Smiling as I make lot of coffee. eat a smile for
some chili! :-) lunch!

Send 8:45 AM
Smiling while working? Get 8:55 AM
It's kind of like smiling I need
with food, just without breakfast
the food! smiling

@frankc. Chen Viral Method: Intimate and Fun Conversations

We created an intimate, fun
conversation through smiling
in a group SMS

SocialCalm: Spread
Smiles, Look Good,
Feel Good
Frank Chen & Sean Rose
Stanford University

4

Social Calm
Purpose: We want to help people to feel better through smiling
together. Emotions like smiling are socially contagious!1 Mobile is
insanely personal and texting images is simple!
Spreading smiles in social circles

+
@frankc. Spreading Smiles through Group Texting

5

Resulting Smiles!
Gross Smiling Product *
205 smiles created!
+4 smiles per day
~ 5 day prototype trial.
Used 4 small-study groups for calculation.
For a large group, this intervention did not
take!

* Approximate!


6

Study goals: Smile more!
 Most participants were students. Young, Smart phone users. Techies.

 SMILING effects…
• In yearbooks were happier & more successful 30 years later! 2
• In baseball cards were found to live longer! 3
• Decreases frowns! You can’t frown at
someone smiling!4

 Adults: 30% smile more than 20 times a day.
Adults: 14 % less than 5 times a day.
Children: ~ 400 smiles per day


7

Surprises

• Conversational and FUN to send silly photos.

• Created smiles & intimacy in small groups of
friends.

• Conversations started and transformed
organically to fit personalities of those involved!


9

Iterations for SocialCalm
 Iteration 1: Beluga. Technical difficulties
prevented some groups from receiving updates.

Iteration 2: Remixed groups & sent to Group.me.
Went to all goofy smiles, created conversations
based upon smiling.

 Changed dialogue in small groups of friends who
participated from triggering to conversational
smiling.

 Saw evolution of smiles being returned to more
goofy and risque.


10

Takeaway: Intimate
Finally out of the
"On my way to play office after 10 hours.
music in Monterey" TGIF and great
smiling weekend!

Smile!
Then… Drinking beer in denver
Btw, that
counts as
my pic too


11

Takeaway: Fun

Why is smiling Look at that,
and sneezing son!
at the same
time so darn
hard???

Driving to Smiling first thing in
work! the morning,
which is really
sleep smiling.:-)


12

Takeaway: Conversational
Touche. Terrier
Smiling at my last dachshund mix.
class of the
quarter!

About to go camping,
smile. :-)

When I send a
smile, send one
back!


13

Find out more?

 Twitter : @frankc / @sean_a_rose / #CalmingTech


14

References
1. Carey, Benedict. NY Times. Feb 2008.

2. Keltner et al. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 2001

3. Keltner et al. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology April 2010.

4. Dimberg et al. Cognition and Emotion 2002. Dimberg
et al. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 2011.

5. Ron Gutman. Power of smiling. TED 2011.

6. Sean Rose. http://slidesha.re/jWnWU1


Spreading Smiles Virally through Group Texting

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