What+is+MIP?

If you are developing an application that is to be deployed on the Facebook Application Platform then the following information is highly relevant. In order to reach the maximum number of users you will want to understand how Mass Interpersonal Persuasion (MIP) works.

With the explosion in popularity of Social Network Sites (SNS) over the last eight years Fogg has identified a new persuasive model - MIP. This has added a new dimension to captology. Having already shown that computer applications could change peoples attitudes and behaviours MIP takes it to a further level as Fogg tells us that "mass interpersonal persuasion matters because this new phenomenon gives ordinary individuals the ability to reach and influence millions of people”. This new phenomenon is driven by the rise in popularity of SNS, especially Facebook which was founded in 2004 and currently has over eight hundred million users.

BJ Fogg tested the feasability of MIP using the psychology of persuasion and the metrics of Facebook applications in a course taught at Stanford. Students were to develop an application for the Facebook platform and were to be graded on the number of users who had adopted it. They had incorporated the persuasive strategies of reciprocity, social proof and liking into their applications and with no application development experience they had sixteen million users by the end of the ten week course. This Stanford experience shows us how persuasive computer applications can be and how SNS facilitate persuasion on a mass scale. Next: How is Captology applied?