How to Use Herd Behavior to Get Others to Follow (the Funny Guy Dancing Post)

(MoneyWatch)  You walk down the street and you see a man staring up at the sky. "This guy forgot his meds," you think. Walk down the street and see three or four people staring up at the sky, and suddenly you find yourself stopping and staring, too. Are you nuts? Psychologists call this tendency to look to others to determine appropriate behavior "social proof," and it happens all the time.

Watch this video to see herd behavior -- when social proof affects large crowds -- in action.


There's a fine line between crazy and leader. Often all it takes is getting a few people to follow for a revolution to start. It's not necessarily the idea, the vision, or the goal that moves people -- sometimes it's as simple as reaching critical mass (which can be just a handful of people).

The takeaway? Find your inner dancer and start something. You can talk and brainstorm and chart and poll all day every day, but nothing happens until you get out there and do something.

Read my post, Is Social Networking Bad For You? to see how social proof's cousin, groupthink, can taint your online experience.
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