Big-name influencers struggle to spread complex ideas – but “hidden social clusters” can help

Genevieve Silk

Social clusters on the fringe of a network can more effectively promote complex ideas and innovative products among the community than big-name social influencers.

Popular online influencers can help promote simple, uncontroversial messages, but people with fewer contacts and little obvious social clout are often better placed to spread new, complex information.

These were among the findings of a recent study, entitled Topological measures for identifying and predicting the spread of complex contagions, published in Nature Communications, and written by Douglas Guilbeault (UC Berkeley) and Damon Centola (Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania). 

More specifically, they found people are more likely to embrace complex ideas – be it about new tech, health behaviours, social movements, or even...

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