Despite increasingly sophisticated marketing efforts to target and reach many people more cost effectively -- direct marketing, advertising, publicity and more -- "word of mouth" continues to be one of the primary ways people influence their friends and families' purchasing decisions. Learn how the internet factors into the equation from a new report from DoubleClick -- Influencing the Influencers: How Online Advertising And Media Impact Word Of Mouth.

Well, only if you have a really big stocking. But this book, Citizen Marketers: When People Are The Message, has made my gift list.

If you're asking how a person with a laptop, an opinion and a blog can have a significant influence over your brand, read this excerpt  from BrandWeek.