Mapping the new economy of micro-influence: What governments can learn from brand marketers

Over the last decade, we have watched social media upend institutions and topple governments, create and destroy prominent figures, disrupt entrenched industries and upend electoral politics. Above all, social media has fundamentally altered the art and science of public opinion, ushering in an entirely new economy of influence. In this new economy, influence happens at the most local level. The influencers aren’t celebrities or news organizations, but active members of a home association, a neighborhood watch organizer or a vocal PTA parent. Their power is easy to overlook if you are not using the right tools to listen, or if you’re looking from too high a level.