Spreadable media allows people to freely share and adapt content across networks. As content spreads, it is remade through sampling, remixing, and insertion into conversations which strengthens social bonds and defines communities. For content to spread, it must confer status, strengthen relationships, and define a community by highlighting what its members have in common and who is in or out. Brands cannot create communities but can inspire spreadable behavior by providing incentives, opportunities for personalization and richness, and platforms that aggregate niche communities and confer larger status on community leaders.