In the New Yorker, Laurence Scott provides A History of the Influencer, from Shakespeare to Instagram: “Influence is a challenge to sovereignty, both political and personal; to admit to being influenced is to give up the attractive idea that, as individuals or societies, we are entirely self-contained. The elusive quality of influence—the difficulty we encounter when we try to identify its sources or measure its effects—is equally destabilizing. Influence works best when it’s wielded obscurely, in the shadows and behind the scenes.” (This above all: to thine own self be true.)