In her keynote address to OMMA Social San Francisco 2009, Angela Courtin, SVP Marketing, Entertainment & Content, MySpace, explains how each user's actions feed outward as a sphere of influence into the interests and actions of their friends, hence the "Momentum" effect.  To illustrate how this effect works in tandem with an integrated marketing program, Ms. Courtin tells us the story of a new e-commerce joint venture that MySpace has launched with 4 major record labels.  This project was inspired by artist's needs for a more economically sensible engine through which fans would discover and acquire new music.  That need was an outgrowth of the good old days (last year) when music discovery was led by MTV, but the road to acquisition on iTunes was littered with potholes.  The smoothly streamlined environment in which music is curated, presented, discovered, and downloaded has increased the number of top (and other) artists who are able to work in this space.

Because music creates a lot of conversation, fans are the curators who distill the offerings in a short span of time.  Your own best personal curators are your best friends who know your tastes, and with whom you are connected in the social media milieu.  Their actions feed outward into your range of view and listening, thus the "Momentum" effect has kicked-in.  When you upload a song or put it on your playlist, it goes into your friend feeder, where perhaps 10% of your friends will take an action related to that feed post.  If you allow your feed to be visible to the artists or their labels, then the tap root of your influence becomes known by those who it has benefitted.  Congratulations, you may actually have a personal CPM, and you have a good grip on the Momentum effect.

Ms. Courtin's explanation of Momentum helps each of us who practice social media, as we struggle to overcome our own boundaries in listening, understanding, engaging, and growing with our chosen few (or many).

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