Social Media and the Wisdom of Crowds

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a really engaging Internet marketing seminar at Vanderbilt University on behalf of Journal Communications. One of my biggest takeaways from the session, by veteran online marketers Erick Goss and Corey Cleek, was to give a little more thought to the idea of "the wisdom of crowds."

The concept comes from a book of the same name by New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki. Basically stated, the theory is that "large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant." Need real-life proof? Of the three "lifelines" on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the one that's most often correct is the option that lets the contestant poll the audience for help.

But how about social media proof? Simple--it's all around us. Crowd wisdom can help you buy the right toaster on Amazon, find new movies at Netflix and pick a restaurant at Yelp. As the crowd sends out its daily headlines and news links on Facebook and Twitter, the collective wave can clue us in -- in real time -- to what's important that day.

Is it time to get in on the conversation? Never before have there been more opportunities for organizations to hear from their audience, and never has it been more important to know what those people are saying. For better or worse, your crowd is already talking about you. Tap into their wisdom and you're bound to learn something worthwhile.