Comments on: Popularity Matters – Ignore It At Your Own Peril

By: Michael Moore

Michael Moore — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:02:49 +0000

Very well post… Popularity on internet, social media etc. should matter for companies, brands… Especially socail media is rising up tremendously in terms of popularity issues. For example I saw a recent startup review on killerstartups.com, it might be very interesting for brands to compare themselves with their competitors. Here is the link:

http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/twitwinner-com-the-most-popular-words-on-twitter

The startup mentioned above gives you LIVE results of popularity of the words brands, etc on twitter.

By: NanditaKhan

NanditaKhan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:59 +0000

Very well stated… It’s very important for companies and organizations to gain their focus on their image online and gain their popularity because it definitely would work out for the benefit for the company in times of crisis…
Establishing and maintaining communication with their niche audience online is a must do for all companies and organization

By: John S

John S — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:00:22 +0000

Good point. Popularity within your relevant niche is most important. I recently saw Twitter’s most followers list and I noticed that the most popular social media experts ranked higher than some celebrities. This must be because they’ve got a niche-specific following.

By: Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:10 +0000

if we replace “authority” for “popularity, then you can subject the metric to more measurement. Authority should promulgate an action on the part of the follower — a click, a comment, a follow, a purchase, a question. Authority isn’t as sexy, but it’s probably more critical in the way that the social ecosystem develops.

MindShare released some research yesterday that scaled the average college student’s social circle at 671 contacts. If we assume that each circle has 25% overlap, then it would take 500 students to create a connected circle of 10,000 contacts.

If we wanted to influence those 10,000, would it be better to target the most popular, as defined by size of circle? Or would be we better served by targeting the most authoritative, in terms of catalyzing action?

If the answer weights more heavily to the second option, the communications model shifts significantly. Where traditional communications strategies targets key influencers with the largest reach possible, a social network-driven strategy will attempt to target as many authoritative individuals, regardless of their popularity.

The jackpot will be highly popular individuals who have authority. But there are very few of those that can actually deliver the kind of reach that will move the response needle — whether in terms of web visits, activity or conversion — in a truly meaningful way.

By: GrowMap

GrowMap — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:01:09 +0000

As in all things, our choices determine the world we live in. While some are lemmings for celebrities and fame, those who are selective about what they support and intentionally focus on uplifting only those with integrity who share valuable truths can create a different niche around them.

This is behind my recent focus on collaborations both public and private and the rapidly growing DoFollow CommentLuv KeywordLuv community.

As Eric mentions in his comment, “be popular within your network” – create your own networks, niches and collaborations. Stop being lemming and competitors and be collaborators instead.