who has more influence: devs or cultural leaders?

imo the relationship b/w the two is bidirectional, but devs have a stronger, more transformative impact on society

the best devs care to build something that meets consumer demand, which is not always mutually inclusive w/ "cool"

we tend to forget that last part

/ted | exploring the onchain frontier | surfing @ venice, ca | eating @ gjusta / gjelina

As a dev: 100% cultural leaders have more influence, and I'm surprised this is even a question you are asking.

It's almost never true that if you build it, they will come.  All movements require cultural leaders, and tech movements are no different.  Some are less centralized then others, but is is undoubtedly the ones who bridge the gap with regular humans that have a lasting impact.

Some devs can do this, but those devs are also cultural leaders.  It's almost a tautology by definition: cultural leaders create cultural impact.  Whether or not they are a dev is irrelevant.