Accidental Influential

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= Network Theory concept by Duncan Watts

Description

"Watts believes ... a trend's success depends not on the person who starts it, but on how susceptible the society is overall to the trend--not how persuasive the early adopter is, but whether everyone else is easily persuaded. ...

'If society is ready to embrace a trend, almost anyone can start one--and if it isn't, then almost no one can,' Watts concludes. To succeed with a new product, it's less a matter of finding the perfect hipster to infect and more a matter of gauging the public's mood. Sure, there'll always be a first mover in a trend. But since she generally stumbles into that role by chance, she is, in Watts's terminology, an 'accidental Influential.' (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html)