Co-Creating and the growing power of 'average person like me'

Link: Speak Up: Co-Creating and the growing power of 'average person like me'.

The most profound finding in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2005 - out annual study of 1500 opinion leaders in eight countries - is the rise of the "Average Person Like Me" as a trusted spokesperson. The average person now ranks as high as academics and physicians as a trusted source of information about a company. Nearly 60% of Americans and a comparable percentage of Brazilians, Brits, Canadians, Chinese, French, Germans and Japanese look to their peers for knowledge and advice, up from 20% only two years ago. What's going on here?

Part of this trend must be attributed to lack of trust in traditional figures of authority and institutions, such as business, government and the media. Some of this trust void is being filled by alternative institutions such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). But it is also manifested in a greater reliance on those close to you, who form a personal web of trust that supplements what you read, see or hear in the media, or through official company channels and in advertising.