Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point, says that social power often trumps political power and economic power. Speaking at the Webmasterworld Conference (aka Pubcon) in Boston, Gladwell focused on anecdotes from this bestselling Tipping Point to illustrate how well networked individuals have been able to disseminate new ideas more effectively than costly advertising. Individiduals identified as “connectors” tend to have far larger circles of friends, often from disparate geography and fields of endeavor. “Mavens” are a different category, comprising individuals who are respected for their knowledge of a particular topic. (For example, if you were about to invest in a new home theater, there is probably someone among your friends and acquaintances that you would call to get advice.)
Gladwell cited the example of David Sarnoff, who, by engineering the first live sports broadcast, triggered a paradigm shift in the way people thought about radio. With today’s Internet, the social landscape is shifting dramatically, with new connectors and mavens (think bloggers, for example) emerging and entirely new networks (e.g., MySpace) becoming prominent.
For those unwilling to accept social power as important currency, confirmation seems to come daily. Yesterday, social networking site Facebook.com, having declined a $750 million buyout offer to hold out for $2 billion, accepted $25 million in second round financing to help them reach their stratospheric valuation goal. MySpace, a teen-oriented social networking site, was purchased a few months ago for over $500 million, a price which seemed absurd to some but is now starting to look like a bargain.
The buzz for social networking continues, with startups like Visible Path getting hefty funding.
Key takeaway point: messages are most effective when carried by the social networks in which we all participate, and that the emerging social networks which use the Web and other interactive electronic media are more pervasive, rapid, and powerful than those of past generations.
