Social Media world and Real world don't easily map to one another

A very interesting article on the disconnect between social media and real world decisions.  From Millions of Followers? For Book Sales, ‘It’s Unreliable.’ by Elizabeth A. Harris.

A book by Billie Eilish seemed like a great bet. One of the most famous pop stars in the world, Ms. Eilish has 97 million followers on Instagram and another 6 million on Twitter. If just a fraction of them bought her book, it would be a hit.

But her self-titled book has sold about 64,000 hardcover copies since it came out in May, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks most printed books sold in the United States — not necessarily a disappointing number, unless Ms. Eilish got a big advance. Which, of course, she did. The book cost her publisher well over $1 million.

Harris then goes onto cite numerous other similar instances - high celebrity and follower counts but low conversion from celebrity to influencing purchasing decisions.  Harris also provides a couple of instances where a high celebrity does in fact translate into sales.  

But overall,

Even having one of the biggest social-media followings in the world is not a guarantee.

“The only reliable part about it,” said Shannon DeVito, director of books at Barnes & Noble, “is that it’s unreliable.”

Real world and Social Media world are radically separate and we are still only at the beginning of understanding how and in what ways they differ from one another and when and how they affect each other.