There have been some interesting articles recently about the influence or lack of influence of so-called influencers. Some are claiming that it doesn’t matter who spreads the message, the well-connected or ordinary joe’s, the message will eventually reach the same number of people.
I was at LINC, the Lithium users conference last month, and while Dr. Michael Wu, Principal Scientist of Analytics at Lithium, conceded that this might be true, the major factor being ignored (apart from common sense!), is the speed or velocity with which the message is spread. Using the analogy of the tortoise and the hare, although both might cover 100 miles eventually, do you really want to wait for 2 months for the tortoise to get there? Similarly, in a social network, do you really want to wait 12 months for your messages to reach all 10,000 of your constituents, or do you want them to receive your messages in 12 days? This is the key value of influencers: the rapidity or velocity with which they can connect with your target constituents and beyond.
To read more see, Is the Tipping Point Really Toast? Do Influencers Really Matter? on the Lithosphere.
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