The concept of digital social proof is not a new one. It’s been around since the 90’s as a quantitative data point such as number counts for posters on forums and boards (users used to have the “number of posts” they had under their name on a forum or board).
Post count would help act as a proof point for long-time community members and show their dedication to the forum. It wouldn’t necessarily indicate that person is trustworthy, just more active in that community (trust can’t yet be put into a neat number in an automated fashion). And of course, qualitative proof points have been around forever, think: “as seen on TV” or “as seen in the New York Times.”
I’ve written a previous post sharing different types of social proof. Those types haven’t changed. But what has happened is the number of people that are attempting to game social proof such as snake oil agencies, consultants and even some brands.
The thing about social proof is it has to be legitimate for smart people to take it seriously. And I think the web as a whole has gotten a lot smarter. But that hasn’t stopped many from building entire businesses around Potemkin numbers and exploiting those still easily manipulated.
I think the Potemkin number concept as described in Charles Seife’s book Proofiness is the perfect descriptor of false social proof.
What exactly are Potemkin numbers? The name is from a legend about Russian Prince Potemkin. The prince wanted to convince the empress that the Crimea was a vital, thriving area. So he built Potemkin villages, elaborate facades in the shape of villages and towns that appeared real from a distance. But they were fake and insubstantial. Potemkin numbers are the same thing—meaningless numbers designed to look real or authoritative.
As far as false social proof goes, I thought I’d list some of the items I’m inherently skeptical about. Please note, not all of these may be Potemkin numbers on their own, but read through the descriptions on how each could be gamed and think critically if a person or brand is legitimately deserving of social proof or not. It’s pretty easy to pull back the curtain with some digging.
Easily gamed (be skeptical until proven otherwise)
Number of followers in any single platform
You can automate the growth of these with tools or via outsourcing. Platform specific followings (probably the most classic of which are Twitter followers) used to be extremely game-able and so many have. Some sites have made it more difficult but I seriously question anyone who used automation to build a low quality following in the first place. That act itself signals you’re trying to hide something and actually hurts your reputation.
“As seen in” citing known media brands
This one used to be more difficult, but with a sprawling tail of media brands and blogs, even popular sites like Forbes are allowing guest content. It wouldn’t be terribly difficult to fake this and in fact many do. If a person or brand is using this, look for legitimate editorial endorsements from trusted writers. This should be obvious, but you’d be surprised.
Influencer scores
Oh wait, we’ve already written about this one so it has a whole post dedicated to it. Be skeptical. My friend Alex has the math, but I don’t even think you need it as I outlined in my post.
“Social media certified”
Another we’ve also already outlined. Social media certification is absurd: do you think much has changed since I drafted that post 2 years ago?
Tougher to game (but still certainly possible)
Email / RSS subscribers
To fake a large numbers via the chicklet counters like those in Aweber or Feedburner which shows off subscriber count is likely possible but it would be more difficult. Besides, if you’re going to game this why even bother with the widget when you can make up a number of subscribers and show it as text.
Legitimate comments
Real comments from a community like the kind we do in our wrap ups — the kind that are well thought out by intelligent readers — would be difficult to game. Comments can be used as part of a brand’s social proof about a product or even on an employee’s resume. Check links and make sure comments are not just smart, but left by real people.
Alexa Rank, Compete.com / Quantcast traffic
OK, so these aren’t the most reliable metrics in the first place, but certainly you can use them as indicators to gauge if a company is successful. Note it’s possible to inflate these with social traffic (i.e., a brand that makes Reddit bait purely for traffic is not necessary trustworthy) or spammy ad buys so look for longer-term trends rather than spikes.
Really difficult to game (probably legit)
Speaking at multiple, credible industry events
It would be pretty difficult for a single individual or brand to gain consistent speaking slots across major industry events in any category. Too many chances to be called out by attendees or organizers interested in keeping a high quality event. Now – that doesn’t necessarily mean a talking head is qualified to, say, provide consulting for you. But it does show they have put forth the effort to be credible at the industry level. Still vet these people’s actual talent and case studies as you should anyone if you intend to hire them.
Multiple cititions by media (not just guest content)
Through serendipity of social or the power of search, one or two citions as a trusted source by media are certainly possible for anyone. But an ongoing, consistent list of quotes in a variety of publications (national / across verticals beyond their own) would be quite the feat to achieve without being a legitimately qualified individual behind a subject. Also goes for brands too. It’s unlikely even a high quality PR firm could fake such relationships long term: it would get noticed / called out.
Contribution to research from major analyst firms (like Altimeter, Forrester, Gartner)
Having facilitated many briefings with top analysts over the years for brands / employers and personally contributed to several research reports, I’ll say the best ones always do their homework. They’re in the business of having a high quality reputation so they’re unlikely to risk quoting charlatans as this is potentially a reputation management problem that could cost them significant revenue.
Well-read blog
I still think you should have a blog, especially those in marketing and PR. Yes, be on other platforms too (we don’t live in a 1-thing world) but a blog is platform agnostic, plugs into the rest of the web (social, mobile and email too) and demonstrates a high degree of dedication.
Putting aside the mechanisms of why a blog is still a great platform for a second, the story my friend Eric Friedman shared prior to being hired by Union Square Ventures in NY illustrates why in a simple example:
One of the things that stands out to me the most during a pivotal second round interview I had at Union Square Ventures. I sat down with one of the partners Brad Burnham, and presented my resume. He told me to hang on to it and he just wanted to chat.
When I pressed him as to why, he responded with something I will never forget which went something like this; “You can work really hard on crafting a well written, organized, resume with bullet points of accomplishments – but you can’t fake 500 blog posts.”
I was struck by this because I had never thought of things this way before. He was more interested in how I viewed the world (and subsequently the companies in it) rather than my list of things I think went well. Furthermore, he had already done his own homework seeing my previous employment history on the web (on LinkedIn)
Of course, in many cases the numbers above can be true indicators of success. But everyone should be adept at seeing through obvious Potemkin numbers. It’s not that difficult and if you don’t have this ability chances are you’re going to be manipulated.