Bad example, here’s a better one: You know those Zicam nose swabs? I purchased that product because when I went to Walgreens late one night and looked up “what to do when getting sick” on my iPhone, I didn’t find a corporate site- I found a blog! This particular post made me laugh, but also was compelling because the author was a firm believer in the product; so much so, that she wrote the post about it. I bought the product because I felt that the author, a normal person who hates getting colds just like I do, has such conviction that she took the time to write about it. I didn’t feel like I was being “marketed” to; it was a real person who wrote that article. But the reality is, that could have been someone who worked for Zicam’s agency, who knows!

Because of the medium and the message, I think that we give this credibility to people we don’t really know, just so long as we believe them to be a “real” person, and not some employee of a corporation or their marketing department/agency.

Thank you for your slideshow here, I have been enjoying reading your blog. I think you bring up a lot of points that are very worth disseminating. I have also been giving lectures as of late on the topic of SMM for business – everyone wants to know what the “ROI” is. lol.
OK, so I just have one question for you: what do you mean “anonymity = credibility” ?
(if you could email me the response as well that would be fantastic)
Cheers!