Influence or Not?

Contemplating Influence this afternoon. Really fascinated with Fast Company's Influence Project . Here's the official statement about what they are trying to accomplish:

"We started with a simple question: Who are the most influential people online right now?

That's what The Influence Project is designed to answer. By participating, you will have your picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company magazine as part of an amazing photo spread. The more influence you demonstrate, the bigger your picture will be.

You may discover that you're more influential than you think..."

Thinking about influence within this context brings up some additional terms for me like:

• Reach
• Time
• Competition
• Curiosity
• Guilt

I think influence in this project speaks more to the amount of reach an individual has, the amount of time to connect within that reach and the curiosity of the people on the receiving end. There is also that competitive gaming aspect and the ability to have your name in lights. Well, ok, your picture in the Fast Company magazine spread. That should appeal to the narcissist in every social media aficionado out there, present company included. Guilt also may play a factor in the decision of the invitee to take action or not. Will my friend know that I ignored her request to click???

In the end, it doesn't matter how many people you know or can effectively reach, if they won't take the time to click the link, then your "marketing efforts" are for naught. We Facebook junkies have been conditioned into clicking links for a long time (how many Pages have you Liked??), and it only takes a second.

I measure true influence within this project based on those individuals that can "influence" others to create their own profile on the wall. In this case people are actually motivated to use a commodity: time. Takes some effort to write a bio, grab a picture and put it all together.

What's your time worth?

I plan on writing several posts that will capture my observations of this project, but in the meantime, I plan on staying in the game. Click my link and jump into the fray if you dare. I'll know if you did.......


Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010