The books and papers this guide leans on, and what to take from each.
Authenticity: What Consumers Really WantJames H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II, 2007Why people pay for the real thing, and why a brand has to be what it says it is before it can say it. Read it next to Newman and Dhar’s research on contagion.
Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be PersuasiveNoah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin and Robert B. Cialdini, 2008A tour of social-proof research by people who ran it. Enjoy it, then check each finding against the grades in chapter 12 before you build on it.
The Wisdom of CrowdsJames Surowiecki, 2004Crowds judge well when their members judge independently. Reviews that follow the first review aren’t independent, which is chapter 6 in one sentence.
Here Comes EverybodyClay Shirky, 2008How a few people make most of the contributions online. The reason your average rating isn’t your customers’ average.
BlockbustersAnita Elberse, 2013Why attention concentrates on a few hits. Early social proof is part of how a product becomes one.
“The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews”Judith Chevalier and Dina Mayzlin, Journal of Marketing Research, 2006The paper that showed reviews move sales, and that one-star reviews move them more than five-star ones.
“Social Influence Bias: A Randomized Experiment”Lev Muchnik, Sinan Aral and Sean J. Taylor, Science, 2013The cleanest evidence that early ratings steer later ones. A short paper that should change how you launch.
This is one chapter of The Proof File, which is free and readable in full on a single page with no form in front of it.