

What the Airbnb Saga Tells Us About the (False?) Power of TechCrunch - DanLivesHere
http://danlewis.tumblr.com/post/8256395516/what-the-airbnb-saga-tells-us-about-the-false-power

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emanuer
I voted it up, although I disagree. I believe the power of TechCrunch lies not
in the amount of RSS subscribers, or Twitter followers, rather it is the most
connected player.

What I mean by this is they are arguably the biggest influencers of
influencers. Here is a related Ted Video:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_how_social_netw...](http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_how_social_networks_predict_epidemics.html)

If I understand the autor's argument correctly, TechCrunch is an "epicenter of
the saga", but this does not mean they are influential to the outcome.

Following the insights derived from "Network Theory" you only need a hand full
of highly connected nodes broadcasting the same information and an idea can be
spread to in the entire network. Interesting article how only >10% of the
population with an unshakable believe can "convert" the entire population.
[http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/07/28/minority-rules-
why-10...](http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/07/28/minority-rules-
why-10-percent-is-all-you-need/)

I asume this understanding led Mr. Chesky & Mr. Graham to mainly correspond &
respond to articles posted by "the epicenter of the sag".

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wccrawford
Power is held by people who are believed to hold power. If people -think-
TechCrunch is powerful, it is. That's all it takes.

