We are pummeled daily with press releases, news stories, online and offline advertising; it surrounds us. Marketers push a message into multiple streams and channels attempting to cut through the noise to get our attention - just for a few seconds. Then hope we’ll dig deeper and end up buying. They analyze any data they can to tweak and perfect the message they can no longer control. But to many all this is just White Noise. Now is the rise of the Market Maven - an old marketing term for “people who influence others to buy a product” - on a scale never before seen. One person, who becomes an expert, can now influence not just a few friends, but millions. This changes the dynamic. How?

Tupperware was one of the first organizations to leverage Influencers through selling household plastic containers at freindly gatherings. Then cam Avon, Mary-Kay and that candle one I can never remember the name of. Some continue today. The underlying premise being that a person who is seen as an “expert” in a topic, field or product/industry, wields great influence in the purchase decision. I still like the quaint “Market Maven” term. It’s been that way for many decades. The Web has suddenly changed this. Now, an individual who is smart and can see strategically and anticipate trends and issues, can become a Market Influencer. Only now, instead of reaching a few, they can reach millions. They can instigate conversations and gather millions to follow.

Usually they do this through writing a blog, generating buzz, gathering people who like what they say. Then maybe writing a book, getting a speaking engagement and suddenly, bam! They’re a Market Influencer. They’re value is that they think strategically, they see subtle changes, they engage their audience in conversation and they make sense. They also use all the conversational tools of the Web; Blogs, video blogs, Twitter etc.

And as consumers or business services/products consumers, we follow them. We’re all learning a new dynamic of conversations and we follow these people because they help us make sense of this new, evolving world. Companies seek them out to endorse products or strategic moves, journalists quote them because they help validate our understandings. Some major market influencers are Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan and Jeff Pulver.

These people have built market segments, influenced trend shifts and pushed new technologies into the hands of millions.

We’re working on a list of Web Market Influencers, so keep an eye for who we think are the people to watch out for in the coming year.