Keynote: Duncan Watts—Principal Research Scientist, Yahoo! Research Influential or Insignificant? Duncan rivets us with his empirical approach and application of network theory to sociology. So when he encourages brands to extend the conversation beyond the elite few and interact with networks on a vaster, exponential level, we can't help but listen.

1. DUNCAN WATTS Word of Mouth for the Real World

4. THE “INFLUENTIALS HYPOTHESIS” “ One in ten Americans tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy.” (Keller and Berry, 2003)

5. IT’S A GREAT STORY… = “ Social epidemics ... are also driven by the efforts of a handful of exceptional people” Gladwell (2000) Free!!

7. “ Influencers have become the ‘holy grail’ for today’s marketers.” —Rand (2004) But grails are hard to find…

9. ... but they operate in very different ways. Lots of kinds of people could be (and have been) called “influentials”...

10. If who is influential depends on circumstances, can anyone be an “influential”? Even ordinary people can be influentials in many different ways. Alpha Moms Connectors Brand Enthusiasts Mavens Trendsetters

16. THE MUSIC LAB SETUP

18. When people influence each other, outcomes are inherently unpredictable . What we learn from the past is of little use in predicting or planning the future. No easy solution to this one. Be sceptical of holy grails and free lunches. But can identify some principles for operating that don’t depend on locating “special” people or having brilliant instincts. The Network Challenge: Radical Uncertainty