To quote Ross Dawson – (Trends in living networks) the social media , online and media industries are beginning to talk about 2009 as the year influence Companies worldwide are rapidly shifting their marketing resources to tap the power of influence in the burgeoning world where the consumer has taken control.
In general terms there are a number of primary reasons for the increasing importance of influence:
* The democratization of media, which gives everyone a channel to propagate theirs or others’ opinions.
* Peer trust, which places far greater faith in individuals than corporate advertising and marketing.
* The ongoing fragmentation of mass media, which takes away the power of traditional marketing channels.
* The aggregation of social media, which gives a far stronger voice to the many individual conversations.




