Fast Company: The Influence Project | Princeton Researchers Develop a New Way to Map Influence

The idea is that a paper that gains many citations, or a site that garners many links, might ultimately not lead to a real shift in thinking, despite its apparent popularity. The converse is also true: Papers and sites that evade widespread citation might nonetheless find channels of influence despite their apparent obscurity, perhaps simply by affecting the point of view of a handful of powerful people.

“We are also exploring the idea that you can find patterns in how language changes over time,” said Blei in a press release. “Once you’ve identified the shapes of those patterns, you might be able to recognize something important as it develops, to predict the next big idea before it’s gotten big.”

via Fast Company

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