Kal Penn takes a shortcut to making #sexyface go viral

We talk a lot here about how hashtags, phrases and ideas build momentum on Twitter. But we've neglected to cover the strategy of slipping a mention of your viral campaign into an appearance before a national audience.

During his speech Tuesday night at the Democratic convention, "actorvist" Kal Penn plugged the hashtag #sexyface, which he also used in a tweet just before going on. If a viral campaign typically mimics the gradual spread of a real virus, this is the equivalent of a highly contagious person sneezing on the subway. Graph below: