In 2001, a forwarded email chain could reach millions without centralized platforms.

Evidence

Amused, Peretti sent a copy of the email chain to twelve or so friends, including one who posted it on his personal website. Within a week, Peretti’s exchange had been shared by people far and wide; first thousands and within a few weeks, millions. Along the way, it was picked up by mainstream media outlets around the world. To use a phrase that did not exist in 2001, the email “went viral.” — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 941

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: the forgotten pre-Twitter era of viral content where word-of-mouth forwarded email was the mechanism — contrast with algorithmic distribution today.
• QUESTION: What was the actual threshold of forwarded chains that produced true mass virality in the pre-YouTube era, and how did media pickup amplify rather than originate the spread?