Hitwise post on ‘trust’ and sources of influence. What is really interesting is how we will accept input from strangers thanks to the concept of the  ‘wisdom of the crowds' as well as input from ‘people I know’.  

Is 'wisdom of the crowds' a new concept? No. I was re-reading a book recently on the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. They had all sorts of people investigating the sources and meanings of words. Professional and non-professional. Academic and non-academic. What they wanted was a number of people confirming word origins, earliest use etc. They needed multiple sources and then had to validate it. If you read the book you will find it was a labour intensive job (as to be expected in the 19th Century).

Fast forward today and you have Wikipedia. Community developed and community moderated and managed.

AdAge (thanks to WOMMA for source) has a summary of the ZenthOpimedia survey on the most effective source of information to consumers. TV has the highest recall. Friends & Family is the most influential.

The question has to be asked 'What is a friend?' Can a Social Media (cyber) friend be as influential as a 'physical' friend? We know the effect of TV stars endorsement. If Delia (Smith - the cook. See her web site) recommends a product its sales will increase. Richard and Judy had a TV Book Club (online version) and a recommendation from them can drive an author to the top of sales list. Can that be replicated in either an online community with no media stars or by the cyberspace equivalents of Delia or Richard and Judy?

There has been a lot of research into 'flocking' or crowd behaviour. The latest is from Leeds. Their research showed that a small percentage of people can influence large groups. Like a herd of sheep we will follow. Whilst the research was looking at crowd behaviour in physical situations (follow my leader) it does have application in the cyberworld.

Now how many social media friends do I have? How many do I follow? How many of those are themselves influential?

Great post by Colin Bryne, CEO of Weber Shandwick looking at news management and peer2peer influence. He refers to a survey done by them on sources of influence (link to report summary from web site home page) or advocacy as they call it.

Edelman PR have their Annual Trust report which shows essentially the same.

People are more cynical of 'fed' information and prefer 'authentic' voice. This is having a huge impact on traditional news and media sources. People (especially younger people) are watching and reading less. They are consuming more online and through SMS, texting, e-mail and now social media communication are connected to networks and super-networks and take information from these sources.

In my youth (it does take a while to look back that far) there were a few people in my circle of friends who were subject matter 'experts'. We would refer and defer to them. But their range of influence was small. Our network was groups on the school bus, the sports teams and after school mates. Some people were in all these groups but many were not. This was their physical limit of influence. Fast foward to today and the internet and mobile phones have made a massive difference to the scope, range and size of 'crowd wisdom' and influence.

Colin talks about the impact on politics and message management. I know nothing of what world. He also mentions business. That is my area.

I spent 25 years in corporates. The last 10 as Director of Marketing and then Corporate Communications.

If I was doing that job today I would be wondering just how I could engage in the peer2peer networks and be coversing with 'influencers' and 'decision makers'. My carefully crafted corporate marketing message would be increasingly ignored. People want authentic conversations - raw not necessarily rude and certainly not spun. They want to talk to real people in the organisation not some script following and outsourced contractor.

Not everyone, but a significant number (growing all the time as technology makes it easier) want to participate in the conversation. Look at Dell, Lego, GM and others. All have blogs and forums where customers are providing input to products and services. An open two-way communication circle.

For corporations and business people the world is changing. The sources of influence and channels of communication are changing. Like the dinosaurs it is time to adopt or face decline and replacement by other animals.