Comments on: 8 Traits of Highly Effective Influencers

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:38:35 +0000

Well done! I have been writing “traditionally” for some time and just recently joined the social media world. It can get a bit disheartening for those new to the scene to feel that they are competing with someone with 3,000 followers. Thank you for helping put all of this into perspective in a sound, academic article. I will certainly be sharing this with others.

By: FutureTechie

FutureTechie — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:43:30 +0000

This phenomenon is due to human biology and social habits, every day our actions and thoughts are derived from others around and before us. Intellectuals are followers of previous intellectuals and commoners are followers of popular figures. However, one cannot say that we are brainless, but rather we belong to a massive network making up an overall societal “mind”. We never truly die, we each have significant effects on society that ripple and cascade endlessly.

By: Mark Drapeau

Mark Drapeau — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:20:37 +0000

This is a very insightful paragraph:

“To be an influencer, youâ€™re going to have to balance that self brand, personal marketing for the sake of being known with providing absolute, unquestioned value to the greater community. Carrying the mantle of an influencer means being a celebrity for the community. It means always giving of yourself so that the rest of the crowd benefits. Itâ€™s almost self-sacrificial, flying in the face of personal brand or celebrity.”

By: BenSpark

BenSpark — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:04:14 +0000

I made it through the whole article and it was very informative. I am pretty energized by it and look forward to your keynote at IZEAFest. You really took your time and crafted a well thought out article with some great points. I have yet to read Dale Carnegie’s book, I started once but didn’t get too far, I think it is time to try again.

By: Joel MCLaughlin

Joel MCLaughlin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:44:26 +0000

Great points, I agree completely.

By: Robin

Robin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:30:43 +0000

Great observation! Good stuff, Aaron.

By: Aaron Brazell

Aaron Brazell — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:36:15 +0000

Mark: Thank you, sir.

Andrew: That is why I love Bono.

By: Andrew Feinberg

Andrew Feinberg — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:46:38 +0000

To quote the great philosopher Bono: “This is just f*cking brilliant.”

By: Mark Joyella

Mark Joyella — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:53:29 +0000

Aaron,

Fantastic stuff. Timeless and timely. I’ll add a link on my blog, because I think folks in my biz, local television news, could use a refresher on engaging people. We’ve been taught for so long (entire careers for some) that we do our thing, and the audience will always be there. It’s not anymore. You need, as you suggest, to offer something to people.

Thanks again for sharing your insight.

Mark

By: Liora

Liora — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:20:41 +0000

Cool. Thanks for the insight. “Itâ€™s been said, even, that character is what we are when no one is looking.” – outrageous but true.

By: geoff Wasserman

geoff Wasserman — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:56:35 +0000

Great observations, I enjoyed the blog.

By: Allison Worthington

Allison Worthington — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:45:28 +0000

Excellent. Off to go link it on WW.

By: David Nick

David Nick — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:11:44 +0000

Aaron,

I have to agree with what Ed said. It’s truly a great article, and I am spreading it out to everyone I know. Good job!

By: Ed Bosson

Ed Bosson — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:55:44 +0000

Arron,

It is a rare where I find a philosophy that closely mirrors mine. I see that some of traits mentioned are natural for me and a few I have to work on.

I congratulate you on a very well written blog (article); one that I’ll be proud to refer to my kindred friends.

By: John Tindale

John Tindale — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:37:20 +0000

I doesn’t take much skill/ talent/ ability to be a celebrity any more- but to be an influencer, or to actually make an impact on the people around you takes much more skill and finesse.
I do a few things to try to keep my own little brand identity- I use the same “handle” or screen name on every site i use, and I try to use the same profile picture, and recently I was recognised at a local blog meetup- and I feel that there is value in doing all these things- but I am working on becoming more of an influencer moving forward.
At some point I decided I’d rather be the guy with something valuable to add to the community, than the guy with 3 million hits on a youtube video where I wreck a 4-wheeler.