Well said Jason and with great candor. I feel similarly in that surveys like this don't answer my curiosities or the question posed for the depth of the question measured hasn't thorough enough metrics to study the secondary or tertiary effects of influence -right? In the last decade however, the world has lost an innocence of sorts and I feel this has happened naturally but by also by force. We've become wary after being subjected to an onslaught of blatant advertising and suggestive media and now we're wise and some of us distrustful (dare say cynical?). First mailings grew stale then Tevo allowed us the right not to have advertisements forced upon us. When emails started smelling fishy of "marketing ruse" we "opted out" of those too. Facebook is the latest medium but although the lion's share of everyone's marketing budget is spent on "social media" too few get the responsibilities of the trust they're given. I think the hard sell is effectively dead. We trust our friends and they through respected experience. Like many I give in to the impulse purchase now and again but I am calculated for the most part; I trust an admixture of referrals through friends and family with what I read on consumer reports and then sometimes whatever feels right from the hip. I wonder if we're now too savvy to buy in to apparent advertising and instead just gradually log information that culminates in a subconscious choice for a given product whatever it us? So long as I let voices in on my conversations on Facebook and they contribute genuine information, I remain engaged and open to their message. That which works best with wine (at least for me) has to do with tying it to food and love and memorable experiences but I suppose we're all marching to our own drums, aren't we? What moves the rest of you to buy a given wine? This would be a perfect audience to ask because you're deeply devoted to the juice and for so many varied reasons. Great thread Ted! Nicholas On Nov 19, 2011, at 1:14 PM, "Jason Kallsen" <jasonkallsen@gmail.com<mailto:jasonkallsen@gmail.com>> wrote: Their conclusion and their question are two totally different things. "Social Networks Have Little Influence on Purchasing Behavior" is a definitive statement with absolutely no proof behind it. Of course social networks have influence, because everything has influence. Just how direct or subtle is the main question. Ask almost anybody, including me, if social networks influence what wines I buy and I'll say no because I never have a specific example of somebody telling me exactly what to buy ... but the fact that I learn a HUGE amount about some particular wineries or importers from their twitter and facebook presence leads me to almost sub-conciously buy their wines. Knowledge is power. The key to great social media campaigns is when they talk about anything OTHER than the product being sold, thus building a world of trust and influence that guides rather than points. Anybody in the wine world writing and tweeting tasting notes has little to no influence because nobody gives a shit about "decomposed raspberry sauce over fresh leather and dog sweat" -- the public wants to know what to drink on the beach, or have with venison, or enjoy while watching the Vikes get creamed. That's all. How's that for my two cents? I curious about other's opinions. J. On Nov 19, 2011, at 10:37 AM, Theodore Trampe wrote: Ever wonder if social media have an effect on actual wine purchases? Here are the results from one survey. Ted You are receiving this email because you are subscribed as a member of Snooth. [http://edge-assets.snooth.com/images/emails/research/gg-header-email.jpg]&l… [http://edge-assets.snooth.com/images/emails/research/social-network-wine-re… Life keeps on getting busier, and we're all expected to do more and more. Winemakers are supposed to guide the work in the vineyards and the cellars, make the wine, raise the wine, go out and help sell the wine. 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I feel the influence of social media on purchasing is real. The real question is how strong an influence it is and to which demographic. In the case of QVC, having worked for a home shopping channel, the key is: what is the product, who is it marketed to, and what sort of time do these people have on their hands. We are talking about selling mostly jewelry and cosmetics (high margin items) to a bunch of housewives with time on their hands. The key is the focus is narrow and with repeated exposure. I feel the big appeal of social media is that the corporate types look at it as a panacea and a low cost way to send the message out to millions. Sure it may influence just a few folks but the cost so very low per person. Hey, it's cheaper than a Super Bowl commercial! Wine customers are a little different. As with most things caveat emptor. They all make the stuff out to be the best thing ever like the diner sign that says "Good Food". But wine, unlike jewelry or cars, is something that is not as easily manipulated by the hard sell to core customers. As Nicholas said, his wine purchases are more calculated. It's enough for the jewelry to just look pretty, this is not the case with wine. The hard sell will never go away. The number of jaded consumers may increase however. Nicolai On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 1:32 AM, Jeff Grossman &lt;jeff(a)prolifics.com&gt; wrote: