In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed.

但是在最近的研究中，一些研究人员发现，影响者对社会流行潮流的影响力远比人们认为的要小。

Yet it is precisely these non-celebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics by influencing their friends and colleagues directly.

然而根据两级传播理论，正是这些非名人影响者直接影响了他们的朋友和同事，从而推动了社会流行潮流。

Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those select people will do most of the work for them.

营销人员接受两级传播理论是因为该理论认为如果能够找到影响者，并对他们施加影响。这些精英们就会替他们完成大部分的营销传播工作。

Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those selected people will do most of the work for them.

营销人员接受两级传播理论是因为该理论认为如果能够找到影响者，并对他们施加影响。这些精英们就会替他们完成大部分的营销传播工作。

The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible sounding but largely untested theory called the " two step flow of communication" : Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else.

人们之所以认为影响者很重要，是源于" 两级传播" 理论。即信息先从媒体流向影响者，然后再从影响者流向其他人。这一理论看似合理，但未经验证。

They found that the principal requirement for what is called " global cascades" — the widespread propagation of influence through networks — is the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.

他们发现，人们所说的 “全球连锁反应” ——影响力通过（人际）网络进行广泛传播——发生的主要前提，并不取决于是否存在着那么几个影响者，而主要取决于易受影响的人们是否达到了临界数量。