Social media did not exist when Wendy W. Moe transitioned from business to academia. She first heard about sites like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook from her MBA students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business when she arrived in 2004.

A lot can happen in 100 milliseconds. Research from Michel Wedel at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business shows that people may glance at online ads and look away in less than a blink.

How much is social media buzz worth to your brand? A new working paper, co-authored by Smith School professor Wendy W. Moe, quantifies the value of word-of-mouth mentions in terms of equivalent advertising dollars spent to influence consumers.