I can attest to that! While I never reached the upper echelons of virality that other browsers in recent memory have, I had much the same experience with Waterfox. Right place, right time gave it its initial user base: posting about a 64-bit build of Firefox on the Overclock.net forums. It hit the right time as people were starting to switch to 64-bit Windows and upgrading their hardware to match

I think that first week the project got 50k downloads! I was of course only 16 so had no concept of what to do but just keep getting new builds out - after all I made the builds because I couldn’t find anyone who would consistently and regularly do so.

The dandelion metaphor is also employed as cover art on a book I like called "Contagious: Why Things Catch On." by Jonah Berger.

I find it interesting that this article focuses on what communities will help an idea germinate and eventually go viral, vs. Contagious which focuses on qualities of the information itself that make it spreadable. The former is probably more impactful, but both play a role.

The book ends with a mnemonic summarizing what "steps" an idea should follow to be considered contagious:

[S] - Social currency (does sharing the idea make the "spreader" look good/smart/impressive)

[T] - Triggers (topics that come to mind frequently due to an environmental trigger. Case in point: the song Friday by Rebecca Black gets most of its streams on Fridays)

[E] - Emotion (obviously ideas that evoke an emotional response get more attention)

[P] - Public (whether or not info reaches others depends how public-facing the distribution channel is)

[P] - Practical Value (is the idea useful?)

[S] - Stories (if the format of the information follows a narrative, it sticks more with people and is also easier to retell)

Related concepts: "run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it," "Will it play in Peoria?", trial balloon, stalking horse, exploratory committees (comprising polling, travel and phone calls), Overton window

This is similar to what Malcolm Gladwell mentioned in Outliers (I think). He identified a certain group of people as connectors, people that if you don't know directly then you will know someone who does. And reaching these connectors are often vital for certain trends to take off

You don't need social dandelions. You need an intelligent and unbiased community that is receptive to information. The dandelions will find themselves. After you post, engage with users to address their concerns and to learn from them. Don't post in a community where their paycheck depends on them not heeding your idea.

I only skimmed around the definition of 'social dandelions'. Is the thesis here "having people who have a lot of influence(social dandelions) as your ambassadors is good for driving adoption"?

> 1/4 What type of community is best for launching a new idea?

Is Hacker News this kind of community?

(Still working my way through the article, so apologies if this is mentioned later in the article.)