Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation Export

@article{citeulike:4285946, abstract = {doi: 10.1086/518527 A central idea in marketing and diffusion research is that influentials—a minority of individuals who influence an exceptional number of their peers—are important to the formation of public opinion. Here we examine this idea, which we call the ” influentials hypothesis,” using a series of computer simulations of interpersonal influence processes. Under most conditions that we consider, we find that large cascades of influence are driven not by influentials but by a critical mass of easily influenced individuals. Although our results do not exclude the possibility that influentials can be important, they suggest that the influentials hypothesis requires more careful specification and testing than it has received.}, author = {Watts, Duncan j and Dodds, Peter sheridan}, citeulike-article-id = {4285946}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/518527}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/518527}, day = {1}, doi = {10.1086/518527}, journal = {Journal of Consumer Research}, keywords = {influential, information-propagation, innovation-diffusion, leader}, month = {December}, number = {4}, pages = {441--458}, posted-at = {2009-04-08 09:47:50}, priority = {0}, title = {Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/518527}, volume = {34}, year = {2007} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:4285946 L3 - citeulike-article-id:4285946 N2 - doi: 10.1086/518527 A central idea in marketing and diffusion research is that influentials—a minority of individuals who influence an exceptional number of their peers—are important to the formation of public opinion. Here we examine this idea, which we call the “influentials hypothesis,” using a series of computer simulations of interpersonal influence processes. Under most conditions that we consider, we find that large cascades of influence are driven not by influentials but by a critical mass of easily influenced individuals. Although our results do not exclude the possibility that influentials can be important, they suggest that the influentials hypothesis requires more careful specification and testing than it has received. IS - 4 JF - Journal of Consumer Research EP - 458 TI - Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation VL - 34 SP - 441 KW - influential KW - information-propagation KW - innovation-diffusion KW - leader AU - Watts, Duncan j AU - Dodds, Peter sheridan PY - 2007/12/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/518527 ER -