DISQUS

Paula · 1 year ago

Although I only play with social networking and such for my own amusements, it's very interesting to see the social science behind how we do the things we do. Thanx for writing such an interesting piece.

Oh yes, and on the 23% of respondents taking the advice of well known bloggers, I'm guessing they didn't ask too many tech savvy people! :)

laurent · 1 year ago

Dan,
Thanks for your analysis and all those great reference. Oh and the beautiful waterfall pictures! You're probably onto something. How many times have I see friends choosing a restaurant vs another because one was almost full but the other was empty. For most people, the risk of trying something new is always a big consideration in making choices. To fight such a risk, there's trust. In the restaurant case, as you said, we instinctively trust the others just by the fact that they made a choice before us one way vs the other. Your clarification helps a lot to sort out what's being said lately about the tipping points, the influencers and so on. I read another posts that said something similar to you and ended up concluding that, when it comes to choosing who to engage with, marketers need to find 'THEIR' A-list vs THE A-list. It could be a bunch of people that aren't part of the cream because they're passionate about something that doesn't make everyday's headlines.

Mark Dykeman · 1 year ago

Dan, I'm glad to see that the "influencer" conversation continues forward - it's been one of my favorite topics in 2008.

Marshall's article, and the Pollara study, does bring up the interesting point about the influence of bloggers, though, doesn't it?

lisa C · 1 year ago

This so explains the actions I see on a daily basis, thank you for a well written and easy to understand explanation. I will be doing more reading on this topic for sure.

Ron K Jeffries · 1 year ago

Thought provoking article. Thanks for providing references.

Mark Lancaster · 1 year ago

Great article.

I absolutely agree that tipping points exist - it's how many popular nightclubs become popular, and how those same nightclubs can become unpopular too.

Marketing does play a major role in how people consume the things they do. I mean, look at the idea of "pet rocks" - clearly stupid, yet it was a fad.

Thanks for the article though. Enjoyed it :)

Joan Vinall-Cox · 1 year ago

Fascinating! I wonder if it would have been 23% if they'd interviewed Tweeters. I know that the recommendations and links I choose to follow on Twitter are those I see as having "high precision" knowledge, (which is why I'm 'here'.)

I deliberately set out to change a small detail of behavior of others at my exercise club and it took me, acting twice a week, about a month to effect the change

Rob O. · 1 year ago

Truly thought-provoking stuff. I'll bet you already have, but you definitely need to read Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" if not. It's fuel for all sorts of deep thinking and coffeehouse arguments.

Steve Coombes · 1 year ago

Just ran across this post (following in from your Twitter poll). I heard an interview on WBZ newsradio with Boston Market founder George Nadaff. He was discussing how he was impressed by a line of people outside a UFood restaurant (not sure that was name at the time). Long story short, he's now involved in opening close to 40 of the restaurants out west. Courtesy of the 'tipping point' catalyst of a line of people standing outside the restaurant he was driving by.

Bill Canaday · 1 year ago

I usually choose the restaurant that is less crowded. I figure that the place that doesn't have a table for me almost immediately doesn't want my business bad enough while the other place is eager to get it and will make certain that I am well cared-for. It's not bullet-proof logic, but it means that I don't spend my dinner time standing in line waiting to be given the sardine treatment.

Maybe that's why nobody likes me.

edward04 · 4 months ago

Great post, tad academic.

Question - are there tools out there to identify "influencers" on the web?

Cheers

Edward Appleton