I'll grant you that traditional celebrities still move the needle on awareness, that's not nothing. But influence is really about changing behavior, not reach. Think of it as a game where payoffs depend on trust. A traditional celebrity is a one-shot player, their endorsement reads as a transaction. An influencer built their audience through reputation, so their payoff structure rewards maintaining authenticity over time. That repeated interaction makes their recommendations credible, which is why their audience actually buys, votes, and shifts taste. Followers aren't the point, the trust equilibrium is.