“One of the effects of living with electric information is that we live habitually in a state of information overload. There’s always more than you can cope with.”
—Marshall McLuhan
You already knew that, didn’t you?
So if we are all up to our ears with information, why does your audience (or would-be audience) need an Authority or Thought Leader?
Your audience needs you not so much for information, but for wisdom, which is the application of that knowledge in a new, useful, and relevant way. They want to have easy decisions, a place where they fit in, and a vision of the future that works for their goals.
They need you to help them cope with all that information. What’s important, what’s not: What should go on their mental map of understanding, and what can safely be left off. They want to know where the boundaries are, and what the rules are.
People don’t need an Authority to get more information (knowledge). They need an Authority to make that information make sense (wisdom).
You can provide that by teaching them your lexicon (and thereby branding your expertise in their head), telling them your manifesto (your philosophy of right/wrong, good/evil, etc.), and your stories.