Organic vs. Amplified Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Viral marketing describes any marketing strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message from person to person. It is a form of amplified word-of-mouth, often facilitated by the internet.

A Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor (CNTFET) utilizes a single carbon nanotube (CNT) or an array of CNTs as the channel material instead of bulk silicon. Depending on its chirality (the arrangement of its graphene lattice), a CNT can be either metallic or semiconducting, making it a versatile building block for nanoelectronic devices with superior performance potential.

The Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platform model is a technological and business framework that directly connects individuals to transact with each other, bypassing traditional intermediaries. In the sharing economy, these platforms facilitate the exchange of goods, services, or capital. They typically provide the underlying infrastructure, including search functionalities, payment processing systems, and crucial reputation and trust-building mechanisms.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a widely used market research metric that measures customer loyalty and their willingness to engage in word-of-mouth marketing. It is based on a single survey question: "How likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?" The score is calculated as the percentage of "Promoters" minus the percentage of "Detractors."

The three pillars of sustainability, also known as the triple bottom line, is a framework that posits true sustainability requires balancing three main dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Environmental sustainability focuses on preserving natural resources and ecosystems. Social sustainability addresses equity, community well-being, and human rights. Economic sustainability ensures long-term financial viability without compromising the other two pillars.

The functional unit is a critical concept in LCA that defines the quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit. It ensures that comparisons between different systems are made on a fair and equivalent basis. For example, when comparing paint, the functional unit might be 'to protect 1 square meter of wall for 10 years'.

ISO 14644-1 classifies cleanroom air cleanliness by the maximum allowable concentration of airborne particles. The classification, from ISO 1 to ISO 9, is determined by the formula \(C_N = 10^N \times (\frac{0.1}{D})^{2.08}\), where \(C_N\) is the max concentration of particles/m³, N is the ISO class number, and D is the particle size in µm.

Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" theory posits that social epidemics are driven by three key types of people: Mavens, who are information specialists; Connectors, who have vast social networks; and Salesmen, who are persuasive communicators. The spread of an idea, product, or message reaches a critical mass or "tipping point" when these three archetypes are effectively engaged.

Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) is a design philosophy that models human industry on nature's processes. It views materials as "nutrients" circulating in closed-loop systems. The framework distinguishes between two cycles: the biological cycle, for biodegradable materials that can safely return to the soil, and the technical cycle, for materials that are continuously reused or upcycled in industrial processes without losing quality.