Have you blogged yet? If the answer is yes, then you're either a hip Connector who is always first to be in the know, or an information-hungry Maven who wants to know everything there is to know about blogs, the latest Internet trend. Connectors and Mavens are two of the essential enablers critical to that social and marketing phenomenon known as word-of-mouth, the glue that holds the alternative marketing universe together.

These distinctions beyond the blog world, of course, into the broader realm of alternative marketing in general. Connectors don’t just blog. They troll through YouTube looking for the next great funny video. They know about everything there is to know about the iPhone long before it ever hits shelves, and they have their piece on hold months before it is publicly available, if they don’t get an advance copy.

Mavens don’t just look through the blogosphere. They have email and messaging networks that reach tendrils into all walks of life an social strata. They are the ever curious and the inexhaustible researchers. They go through every bit of information they can get their hands on, and conglomerate it all.

In his best-selling book The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell asserts that trends, in everything from fashion to crime to media, develop and spread like viruses thanks to Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. "Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. But there is also a select group of people-Salesmen-with the skills to persuade us."

This third group, the Salesmen, are the key ingredient in buzz marketing. Mavens provide the data and Connectors provide the image, but Salesmen turn the social network into results- namely, sales of whatever product is the next great trend.

An Array of Alternatives

Alternative media, by any other name, including word-of-mouth, is a confusing collection of attempts to reach the consumer while bypassing traditional advertising vehicles. Some refer to it as buzz marketing. Others prefer street marketing, guerrilla marketing, renegade marketing, virtual marketing, ambush marketing, vanguard marketing, ambient marketing, covert marketing, under-the-radar marketing, below-the-line marketing, diffusion marketing or viral marketing.

Regardless of the moniker, alternative media rely on the influence of Connectors, that special category of people who have mastered what sociologists call the weak tie or social acquaintance. The larger their network of social acquaintances, the more power Connectors wield in society, and the better positioned they are to trigger trends. Marketers also know them as influentials, carriers, trendsetters and evangelists. These are the people who’s opinions carry weight, and they have the large networks to make it profitable for companies to get them in on whatever it is that they are selling.

Similarly, Mavens stand at the ready, sharing the detailed knowledge they have gleaned from reams of research, product comparisons and personal testing. As Gladwell sees it, Mavens "are the folks who willingly read the instruction manuals, test drive cars and Beta test software. They are the early adopters, the few who thrive on complexity and simply don't shut down. Their behavior is distinctive." Mavens are the detail-oriented types who aren’t trendsetters in their own right. They still provide a valuable service to the alternative marketing industry, however. Someone has to have the details of the product, be able to call them up, and share them on demand.

It is important that Mavens and Connectors are not the same people. We don’t look up to the bean counters of the world; we do not view them as hip and cool. They provide information when we want it, but they don’t make us want the information that they have. It is Connectors that make us want to get the information that Mavens have. It is Connectors that set the trends. When you see that guy on a new Vespa, or that girl with the iPhone, you know you want one. It is at that point that you seek out the Mavens, and perhaps bump into a Salesman along the way, to push you along just a little bit.

Why Word of Mouth Works

The marketplace in the modern world is a large and bewildering place. We are inundated with seemingly limitless options, all of them vying for our attention and business. This intense complexity can cause the average consumer to merely shut down. It is part of the reason for the rise in popularity of DVRs, which bypass traditional advertising, and the growing popularity of viewing television shows on the Internet via a high-speed connection.

Complexity gives rise to confusion, confusion to isolation, and isolation to immunity. Gladwell believes that word-of-mouth works because, in the face of complexity, "people embrace more primitive social bonds and turn to the very personal networks run by Mavens and Connectors." We turn away from the broad, noisy, confusing marketplace and to our friends and family, people with whom we are personally acquainted. This is a much smaller realm, and one in which the options don’t seem so overwhelming: we are limited to finding out about products that those in our network are aware of.

The initial response to complexity is confusion. As people seek more information for clarity, it merely adds to the data overload. A second response to complexity is isolation-the need to limit social connections and media options to the trusted few. Eventually, people become immune to media influence, responsive only to known influentials.

According to Gladwell, "A great example of media immunity is the telephone. In the beginning, when the phone rang, it was a friend calling. Now we need caller ID to filter out the telemarketers. When e-mail first arrived, we'd rush home to open all four or five of them. Today we cringe at the thought of wading through hundreds of e-mails, many unsolicited."

One way to circumvent built-up media immunity: reduce market complexity by simplifying the product offering, from fewer SKUs to more versatile products. Combining conditioner with shampoo in a single product was liquid genius. So too was the convenience insight that converted the cap on a bottle of laundry detergent into a measuring cup for the product.

However, another equally valid response is to place marketing within the personal connections network that is word of mouth, and this is the alternative marketing strategy known as “buzz.”