Online opinion leaders influence each other

Regarding how opinion leaders of virtual communities obtain information online, the results of my study overwhelmingly show online opinion leaders influence other online opinion leaders. Most of the online opinion leaders interviewed mentioned they checked out what other bloggers had to say before sharing information and their own opinions online. This result is not surprising, given the nature of opinion leaders and their importance in the adoption of innovations process as early adopters. As expressed in Gladwell's The Tipping Point, early adopters often share ideas or innovations with each other, which builds a base of early adopters that bridges to the early majority.

Importantly, understanding that online opinion leaders influence each other is critical in communicating online. This adds value to communicating directly with an online opinion leader because not only are they likely to spread their opinions to others within the community, they are likely to share these opinions with other opinion leaders within the community, which creates an exponential word-of-mouth effect. Understanding this exponential effect, public relations practitioners may find it more valuable allotting media relations time and resources to their industry blog stars.