Writing history through social media

In Wikipedia: The Truth in Numbers the message seems to be: no longer do the victors write the history books, we do: you, me, and everyone else. How is social media (twitter, blogs) forwarding this idea? What gives someone authority to "write history" and why should we listen to them? Is there a hierarchy of authorities? ie. is what someone like Seth Godin says more important? What should be taken as canon?

Social media such as twitter forward the idea that we (you, me and everyone else) are writing the history books because anyone can post information on the internet. Anyone with the internet is given the authority to “write history” but not all of them are given the same level of attention. People will listen (or read) what others have to say for a number of reason. One of the major factors is the credentials that the poster has. For example, one is more likely to read an article on public relations if the author is a Public Relations professional. People are also more likely to listen to someone based on their following and their support network. If someone has a large following it gives the potential reader the feeling that the author may be saying something important.

To a certain degree there is a hierarchy of authorities. Once again this goes back to credibility. Someone like Seth Godin is more important because of the reputation that he has built. To gain this reputation one must start at the bottom and work their way up. They must gain the trust of users through honesty, consistency and authenticity. Without this type of ‘status’ or ‘reputation’ people are likely to take information as is. With all the information that is on the internet it can be difficult to decipher which information is legitimate. Users are likely to sift through information, pick their trusted sources and ignore those who are not yet established.