Fast Company Magazine is conducting an experiment to find the most influential person on the internet. And while I have no illusions that I am that person, I also feel compelled to use The Influence Project as a demonstration of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.
I’ve only posted 45 of the 99 ways so far, so I’ll start with those for now.
- Tell stories – Once upon a time, there was a woman who talked a lot about influence in her blog, and she decided she’d better join The Influence Project.
- Model behavior – I joined The Influence Project. You should too.
- Involve them – Only you can help me increase my influence measure!
- Say “please†– Please click this link to learn more about The Influence Project.
- Allow failure – Even if you sign up and fail to influence anyone else to sign up, your picture will still be published in the November issue of Fast Company.
- Ridicule – Seriously, all you have to do is click the stupid link. You can’t even do that?
- Generate scarcity – You must click or participate by August 15, 2010.
- Transfer ownership – Once you sign up, it’s up to you to build your own influence score.
- Clarify expectations – At the very least, I want you to click this link. If you sign up to participate, that would be gravy.
- Provide feedback – If you click the link and wait until you see my photo, you’ve done it right.
- Establish a sense of urgency – If you’re going to sign up for the Influence Project, you need to do so right away so you have as much time as possible to rack up clicks.
- Remove status quo enablers – One way would be to make it so you couldn’t leave this page until you click this link. But that seems a little heavy-handed.
- Acknowledge fears – I realize you might think if you click this link you will be seen as gullible or easily influenced.
- Show you care – Your taking the time to read this list means a lot to me. How may I help you increase your influence?
- Start conversations – What do you think of The Influence Project or the 99 Ways to Influence Change? Add a comment below and let me know!
- Demand compliance – Click this link RIGHT THIS SECOND! Or else.
- Develop support systems – Let’s start a club, and we’ll all click each others’ links.
- Admit mistakes – If you think it’s annoying that I would even write blog post about The Influence Project, I can see why you might feel that way. I apologize.
- Make it viral – The Influence Project itself is viral, and you can also share this list using links at the bottom of this post.
- Remove obstacles – In case you don’t like hyperlinks, click here directly:Â http://fcinf.com/v/bf8u.
- Show that others are doing it – View the collage of all the people participating – over 7,700 as of this writing.
- Tell the truth – I know that The Influence Project is controversial. After all, isn’t it just a popularity contest? I’m torn between whether it’s fun or annoying, but I do know that it’s a learning opportunity.
- Ask for ideas – How else should I get people to click my Influence Project link? Please add a comment below.
- Make it easy – Click here.
- Rely on friends – Many of you have already clicked the link from my personal Facebook page, not because you are interested in influence, but just because you like me. Thank you.
- Beg – Please, please, please! Pretty please, it’s really important to me that you click my Influence Project link.
- Instigate competition – If you are the first person to read this and sign up to participate, I will add your link here (Congratulations, Melanie!).
- Instill curiosity – Don’t you want to know how influential you are and how this works?
- Reframe it – Consider that you might use The Influence Project to learn more about how to influence people in your organization.
- Customize learning – 1. Click the link. 2. Wait for all the site to load all the photos. 3. If you don’t want to participate, just close the window. If you want to sign up, click the “Discover Your Influence” button.
- Set the default – I suppose it would be possible to set it up so going to my website re-directs you to my Influence Project link. But then you wouldn’t be reading this.
- Build trust – If you really don’t want to click the link, then don’t. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or coerced in any way.
- Listen – What does influence mean to you?
- Bribe -If you sign up using my link, I will click your link in return.
- Encourage – You are more influential than you think. Sign up and see!
- Prioritize – I’ll admit, there are far more important things you can do than click the link. But if you click it now, it will open in a new window. By the time you are done reading this list, the site will be loaded.
- Give praise – Thank you so much for clicking this link! You are a great blog reader and a valued part of my online community.
- Educate – I think the Influence Project is more than just a popularity contest. Using methods like these, it is possible to influence people to take action without being popular.
- Help them succeed – If you sign up with my link to participate in The Influence Project, it’s actually in my best interests to help you succeed at getting others to click your link (I get partial points from people you influence).
- Build new skills – To increase the number of people who click on your link, learn how to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, among other social networks.
- Do favors – Now through August 15, 2010, use code “INFLUENCEPROJECT” to get $5.00 off the Beyond Buy-in Workbook, my step-by-step guide to influencing leaders.
- Fix problems – For a while, the loading time for The Influence Project was excessive. While I had nothing to do with fixing it, it seems to be better now.
- Keep promises – I promise that clicking the link will be painless. Have I let you down before?
- Remove doubt – If you want to check out The Influence Project without using my link, you can go directly to http://influenceproject.fastcompany.com.
- Laugh about it – If you have read this entire blog post and you still haven’t clicked the link, you really are being stubborn, aren’t you?! Just click the stinkin’ link already! I know this is a silly contest, but this is not a battle of wills, it’s a fun learning exercise.
If you clicked any of the links above, which one influenced you the most?
Stay tuned to the blog for the rest of the 99 Ways to Influence Change!