With billions of people conversing online, observing the landscape appears to be an overwhelming task. As in the physical world, however, some voices are significantly more influential and insightful than others. It is much more efficient to focus on the relevant top influencers who will spread the word, rather than chase the long tail. In the Dell example, Jeff Jarvis was one of those key influencers. There are now many tools (free and paid) that automate social media monitoring and provide insight into the myriad of data. No one tool does it all and most social media managers use a mix of tools to get the most complete and accurate picture possible.