I’ve written before about the Alpha Geeks, the folks who are creating the software that we use. There is an important level of geek just below the Alpha Geeks, the Influencers. The folks who get to the software first and evangelize it. You are probably one at some level.
Some would argue that the Influencers like Leo Laporte and Robert Scoble try everything and therefore may not be an accurate gage of who will use what. Perhaps, but Influencers can be very useful as predictors. Sure they use the newest and latest everything, but for how long? Longevity is important.
The short audio clip below is from this week’s This Week in Tech. Leo and Robert are talking about Facebook and “liking” company Pages. I’ve argued before on WeatherBrains that one of the dangers of a platform where everyone can get it in, is that everyone can get it in, and in the case of businesses looking to promote their products, they will get in. Scoble is talking about pruning his “like” list on Facebook. What the Influencer is telling you is where he finds value…and where he does not.
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