Introduction of Theories of Technology Acceptance

        Nowadays the influencers play a very important role, and at the same time their recognition is fast growing (Scoble & Israel, 2006) due to them offering synthesized information in various forms and functionality (Akritidis, Katsaros & Bozanis, 2011). The main factors defining the consumer’s propensity of being influenced by a specific influencer are highly dependent on the right information, at the right time, on the right place and from the right person (Wu, 2012). The influencers withstand a special part in the virtual community - they spread information via various social media channels, such as blogs and social networks; they share stories and pictures; they relate to their experiences; they express different opinions about numerous subjects, services and products; they are an illustration of the particularly important phenomenon of influencing (Alsulaiman, Forbes, Dean & Cohen, 2015; Alhidari, Iyer & Paswan, 2015).

        Contrasting the celebrities who are usually public figures with vast amount of flowers and fans, influencers are creating advertorials on social media or on blogs. Sometimes they receive payment in exchange for writing or promoting products and/or services. Bloggers have an audience that is interested in specific topics for discussions, and the popularity of online blogs is not unrecognized by the marketers- after all 77% of all internet users read blogs (McGrail, 2013). Accordingly, marketers have started using bloggers as endorsers, as they may be perceived as more credible than celebrities (Mendoza, 2010). Hence, the connections forged by the internet mean that brands wanting to be perceived as authentic will turn their marketing efforts towards seeding information or products with influencers, relying on their ability to provide the consumers with the feeling of “people like me” (Solis, 2016, p.1) - cited as the highest form of influence by the consumers themselves (cf. Nielsen, 2016). This means that brands have to carefully look for influencers who generate genuine interest, and these influencers can differ from the traditional celebrities and paid endorsements.