My new ‘Blogging Idol’ mentioned yesterday that she didn’t understand the ‘Twitter Challenge’.

Well, she’s 13, and I wasn’t very clear about how Cialdini was involved, so this post is to explain it better.

Dr.Robert Cialdini wrote one of the most impactful books on applied human behavioral psychology, especially in society. It’s called “INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion”.

Steeped in a ton of research, the content is extremely valuable to anyone who is in a position where they want to ‘influence’ behavior, thoughts or feelings of anyone else - which is you, unless you happen to be a trappist monk in the solitary highlands of Tibet, immersed in deep meditation and not communicating with the world for years!

So, INFLUENCE is a must-read book - for just about everyone.

One of the principles Cialdini spotlights is ‘Uncertainty’.

In a major city, if you see a man lying on the sidewalk, your human compassion and curiosity to learn what caused it is competing with the common-sense intuition everyone in a metropolis has learned to acquire - “Don’t meddle, it isn’t your business!”

With the result, if the guy is seriously injured or needs urgent hospitalization, he just might die unattended in the middle of a crowded street with dozens of people watching - because the ‘Uncertainty Principle’ is at play.

Unless ONE person gets involved.

Once the crowd sees that first person going to attend to the fallen guy, and they realize that:

a. nothing bad happened to that Good Samaritan
b. the fallen guy needs help or attention

… then things get better for the guy on the sidewalk.

The lesson Cialdini points out is that when you need help in a crowd, make eye-contact with ONE person, and get that person to come to your aid - instead of waving your arms to get everyone’s attention, and maybe not getting any.

In the “Twitter Challenge”, I’m employing that principle to our online digital social world.

I’m talking to you. Yes, YOU…. NOT the hundreds of others who might be reading this post (in fact, they might not be… you could be the ONLY one who ever reads this!)

And I’m asking YOU to help Meghna win the “Blogging Idol 2″ contest.

Now YOU no longer have the option of saying, “Oh, maybe someone else will help her” - because you don’t know anyone else will.

But you still may be wondering, “Am I the only one involved?” - and to address that concern, I’m showing you how many people are already doing their little bit, and how you can add momentum to the effort, help Meghna WIN this contest.

One last thing that may be making you hesitate is, “Will what I do really make a difference?” Well, I just did the math. 11 people subscribed to her feed yesterday, and she rose by 4 spots. With just 89 more, she’ll break into TOP 20.

And YOU can help make that happen!

Will you break through Cialdini’s ‘Uncertainty Principle’ and help out today? Please. Get the details here.