Social Networks - Reach vs Influence

Its actually starting to occur to Social Media pundits that one has to look at quality of links as well as quantity of links....and (surprise surprise) studies are showing that the top of the tree (the A List) are not as influential as they (and marketeers looking for a simple approach) would like. From Read/Write Web, quoting MediaPost:

Of more than 1,100 adults polled in December, nearly 80% said they were very or somewhat more likely to consider buying products recommended by real-world friends and family, while only 23% reported being very or somewhat likely to consider a product pushed by "well-known bloggers."

"This shows that popularity doesn't always equate to credibility," said Robert Hutton, executive vice president and general manager at Pollara. "Marketers might have to reconsider who the real influencers are out there."

I think RWW had a fairly perceptive point when they said:

The quantity of blog posts may be a complicating factor. Who can keep up with all the recommendations? That quantity, as well as the job description of leading bloggers (to keep you excited about the new things they discover) also tend to lead to decreases in the quality of their recommendations.

I think this is the Flat Earth News issue - the only thing A Listers can really do to compete with the up and coming bloggers is increase volume, but to do that they have to drop quality, taking in more PR puff and less analysis, which by definition means less trust. Vicious circle.

I may be a poor example, but here's my story:

- Up to 3 years ago I hung on the words of my A list heroes. Now I dump them to Friendfeed and a once a day email because their volume is too high, and I scan them once or twice a day to see the gist, and comment on stories I have a view on.

- I really can't be bothered to read all the A listers anymore as they all cover the same stuff - personally I like Ars Tech (analysis) and TechCrunch (sheer attitude) the most.

- Techmeme, Twitter and my older Web 1.0 group communities keep me up to date in most areas.

- I've found a whole range of "micro-cap" blogs (as JP Rangaswami, one of my reads, puts it) to put on my RSS reader, who I do trust, because they do go into analysis and thought.

Update - Steve Rubel (someone I read occasionally, I got the link from Valleywag, one of my guilty pleasures along with El Reg) has a post on who people trust the most, and Big Blogs are matched only by estate agents and car salesmen it would seem.