Abstract: Online reviews present a wealth of information for consumers to consider when making purchase decisions. Consumers however, can be disadvantaged by an inability to determine the usefulness of reviews, the wealth of information thus providing marginal utility. Where consumers can establish an affinity or trust with a reviewer, the usefulness of a review can be vetted against the perspective of the consumer, assisting consumers in making purchase decisions with greater confidence and reliability. Social media further supports consumers by providing a convenient pool of reviewers with whom a consumer may already have pre-existing relationships or familiarity with, bolstering the ability of the consumer to establish an affinity or trust with the reviewer. An adaptive influence process provides a method for consumers to adapt such a collection of reviews, and tailor them to the consumer's own perspective to assist in making purchase decisions with greater confidence.