We accept that celebrities get paid to say things. However, we generally expect things our friends say to not be paid endorsements and to come with a high level of authenticity. Any friend-based endorsement system has to be extremely careful not to come across as spammy. I agree there’s a lot of potential here, but whatever service offers this has to hit the tone just right so as not to alienate users (see Beacon for how not to do it).

On another note, you’re definitely right that any system like this needs to leverage the existing social networks. It’s high time we stop requiring users to reinvent their social network by doing the “find and friend” cycle for every new service.

I enjoyed your post because I couldn’t agree more with you. I’ve written a series of articles (some academic too) that discuss how important peer influence is. In fact, I believe it is going to result in a new form of marketing – social influence marketing that is all about allowing for peer influence to take place on domain and off domain. You can find some of my articles on the subject (and motivations etc.) over at Going Social Now http://www.goingsocialnow.com

On a separate note, good job with the panel today at GSP East. I was in the audience and found the conversation interesting. For reference, I moderated the morning panel on App Advertising.

Shiv

No. We are not at the end of celebrity endorsements. Celebrity endorsements bring the celeb’s personality to the product. Some people might buy the appliances because Kelly recommends them, but that is not the main purpose. The purpose is to make the products appear fun and exciting, like Kelly. Celebrity endorsements are about increasing awareness and positioning the product.

Kelly is a bad example for tech, let’s look at Steve Jobs.

When Jobs releases a new Apple product, that’s the biggest tech celebrity endorsement. Why do Apple products get so much hype, even when competitors offer similar products? Jobs is part of the answer. He’s creative and smart, he brings these qualities to Apple products. If you buy Apple’s stuff, you’ll be creative and smart too (or so they want you to think.)

I think we’ll see more sophisticated systems that allow friends to recommend products, but celebrities aren’t going away.

Greg
beYOU.tv
SoUrban.net

I agree with you completely. It has conveyed sharply what is the truth.

Regards
Kanth