I played a fun game with myself and listed all of the ways that I spend my money.  When I listed my car, the restaurants I frequent, the wine that I drink, the beer flavor of the month I enjoy, the style shirts I buy, the movies I see and the concerts I buy tickets for, the incredible fact is that EACH of these purchasing decisions were in some shape or form,  based on friends’ suggestions.

More interesting is that when thinking about this, it was more often than not that I would *not* buy other products or services due to experiences shared by friends in my social circles.

It is no wonder that ad display click rates on the internet, especially on social media sites like Facebook and MySpace are so rarely clicked on.   We do not like to be interrupted and we do not typically appreciate in your face advertising campaigns and being told to buy products and services by people that we do not know, let alone trust.

What are your thoughts?  What influences you?