The effect that we have on each of our social media connections is called, “influence,” and both social scientists and marketers are racing to further understand and quantify it.  In perhaps stark (but true) language, now that we’re all connected via social media, the next question becomes, how do we use (or exploit) those connections? 

The latest experiment in measuring influence comes from Fast Company through a site called, “The Influence Project.”  The Influence Project is a website that displays a wall of photos.  Each photo has a link, and the owner of a photo can distribute that link to various social media outlets.  When people click on the distributed link, influence points are awarded back to the owner.  The person who clicked on the link then has the opportunity to add his or her own picture to the Influence Project wall and distribute a link as well.  According to the site, the more clicks you receive, the more influence you have.

Does The Influence Project really measure influence?  It seemed fairly obvious to me this morning that it could not.  Indeed, I thought it was a joke or just a new traffic-driving gimmick.  As for my own experience, since so many of my Twitter friends are on the East Coast, the link to the Influence Project had been shared multiple times.  I saw it pop up again and again in my timeline.  I decided to check it out and I clicked at random on one of the links in TweetDeck.  The Influence Project opened up and informed me that I had been influenced by Danny Brown.  Well, he is one of my friends and I do read a lot of his content, but was he responsible for me clicking on the link?  Sorry, Danny, not this time.

The site interests me because I recognize so many of the faces.  They’re all my PR and Marketing buddies, and they’re all influencing each other!

Amber Naslund (aka @ambercadabra) has a nice rant on the topic and there are some great comments about the futility of the project and the lack of savvy exhibited by the folks at Fast Company.  I’m not so sure.

If this project is solely about watching which people share a link to a site, then I agree this is a waste of time.  The concept strikes me as odd and slightly amusing.  I laughed to myself as a I shared my own links on Twitter and Facebook.  Why did I do it?  Out of curiosity of course, and I think that’s what we’re seeing much more than influence. 

What interests me most about these types of campaigns is how people react: who takes the bait and really gets into the game, who calls foul on the players and sits out, and who ultimately wins.  If Fast Company is simply looking at the number of people who share links, they’re seriously missing the bigger picture and the real influencers.  Watch the reactions and monitor that movement.  The next wave, of course, will include the backlash to the Influence Project.  If Fast Company is keeping an eye on that movement (and subsequent waves), then this could be a success after all.

Oh, and I almost forgot.  Here’s my link:  http://fcinf.com/v/aslc