It doesn't matter whether the ideas themselves are good or bad, just that they "stick."

The stickiest ideas, regardless of intrinsic merit, have a lot in common. Or, more accurately, the ways they are presented have a lot in common.

The magic recipe is:

simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story-containing

Of course, all of that is old hat at the General Memetics Corporation.

This article is essentially a book review ... of a book that I've already passed over several times at the store. The reviewer here says it's more useful than Gladwell's books, although it probably won't sell as well. Publishers Weekly agreed regarding the book's practical utility, giving it a starred review.

When it comes to writing a MemeStreams description that will attract clickthroughs, here's your help:

... they call [it] "the gap theory" of curiosity. This is the notion that a gap in knowledge is painful – it's like having an itch that needs to be scratched. ... But to capitalize on this kind of natural situational interest, ... "we need to first open gaps before we close them. And yet, too often, the communicator's tendency is "to tell people the facts. First, though, they must realize that they need these facts."

Test your description with the Stickiness Aptitude Test.

Here are a few follow-up links:

Early coverage by TIME, from October 2006
Interview with the authors
Coverage in Inc. magazine
Short preview [IE Only] of a Stanford breakfast seminar by Heath.

Coming up later in February, there's going to be a "Made to Stick" presentation in the Boston area:

For the last eight years [Chip Heath] has been studying why ideas survive in the social marketplace of ideas.

(He'll be in New York the day before, giving the same talk.) Here is an endorsement of Heath's GSB course on the subject; also, check out this short video in which Heath himself describes that course. GSB also has an older story about Heath's research, from early 2002.

If you can't take the Stanford course, and you don't live in New York or Boston, check out his recent talk on IT Conversations:

Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Stanford Business professor Chip Heath, who explains why urban legends grab our attention, why some ideas inspire us while others don’t, and how to craft your message so it sticks with people.

Try to squeeze it in between your Hilary Duff tracks.

Why some ideas stick and others don't