Brian Clark at Copyblogger explains the difference between positive and negative social proof –
Social proof is also known as herd mentality or the bandwagon effect. People tend to follow the crowd without evaluating the true merits for themselves, especially when the merits are ambiguous.
In a more positive sense, social proof can be the proverbial foot in the door. It can be the difference that leads to attention and acceptance, which turns a message into a movement.
Social proof also tells us it’s okay to do what we already want to do. This isn’t all bad, especially when it involves the acceptance of your message. But it can also result in negative social proof, in that it motivates people to do the opposite of what you want because you’re trying to change behavior already supported by social proof.
Sometimes your message inadvertently convinces people to do or accept the opposite of what you want—thanks also to social proof.
Interesting. The idea behind negative social proof is, in fact, similar to the broken window theory (from Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Tipping Point’), which says that the best way to fix crime is to make small but visible changes, like replacing broken windows in the affected neighborhood and cleaning up graffiti in the subways.
