Transcript 2-Impact-of-social-media-on-society

Antony Carpen
Public Policy & Social Media
Tel: 07779 205270
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk
The Impact of social media
on society
18 April 2013
Cambridge
What is social media?
“The “social” in social media implies a conversation. The
difference between social media and the TV is that with the
latter, viewers seldom engage with the programme-makers of
the show that they are watching. Only in very recent times
have programme makers expanded into the world of social
media. Think X-Factor.
What is social media?
The Central Office of Information (www.coi.gov.uk) said
the following in its 2009 publication “Engaging through
Social Media”:
Social media is a term used to refer to online technologies and
practices that are used to share opinions and information,
promote discussion and build relationships.
Social media services and tools involve a combination of
technology, telecommunications and some kind of social
interaction. They can use a variety of different formats, for
example text, pictures, video and audio.
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What is social media?
Social media is different to traditional forms of
communication such as through newspapers, television, and
film.
Cheap – anyone with access to the internet (for example
through public libraries)
Accessible – the tools are easy to use
Enabling – allows almost anyone to do things that previously
were only the preserve of well-resourced organisations
The use of the word “Social” implies a conversation. Social
media is definitely not about one-way communication to a
large audience from big organisations.
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Megatrends 1 – the death of control
The old era
The age of
control
Big organisations and
companies had a monopoly on
mass communication and got
used to controlling the message
The new reality
The age of
influence
Anyone literate with an internet
connection can self-publish for
free
Hard to control, can only
influence
Megatrends 2 – Fewer gatekeepers
The old era
One to many
Manage the gatekeepers
One-way, broadcast model.
Managing reputation =
managing the media.
The new reality
Many to
many
Less reliance on media: people
get information direct from the
source, and from each other.
New-style comms must reach
beyond media to a complex
interactive model.
Megatrends 3 – Fragmentation
The old era
A few
centralised
channels
People got most information
from a handful of news media.
Organisations could efficiently
manage (or at least monitor).
The new reality
A huge
cloud of
interaction
Conversations are distributed
wherever people form opinions:
blogs, social networks, YouTube
Separate provider for the
content, and the platform for the
content
Megatrends 4 – New web landscape
Old (web) era
The new reality
Push
Pull
communications
communications
Web as distribution channel
Web as community
The Web was a channel for
pushing out information.
Sites were static e-brochures.
The Web was utilitarian. People
felt neutral about it.
Now, people spend most time
on interactive social media.
The social web is informal,
immersive and emotive.
Megatrends 5 – New journalism
The old era
Ordered
and
predictable
The world of press releases,
news conferences and interviews
was well ordered.
Journalists knew the rules of the
game and were predictable.
Balance, professionalism,
accountability
The new reality
Messy and
opinionated
Huge and distributed.
Everyone can report.
Each sets his/her own rules.
No obligation to be balanced.
Complicated recourse for
inaccuracy.
Opinion dominates content.
How big is social media in the UK?
10 million UK
accounts
> newspaper sales
30 million+ accounts
Almost half the UK
population
5% of users write 75%
of tweets
Antony Carpen
Public Policy & Social Media
Tel: 07779 205270
Email: [email protected]
Social networks
Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk
How I (as a new user) formed my networks
• After setting up an account on a given platform – e.g. Facebook or Twitter, I
then used the search tools to find people with similar interests to me. For
example:
- Career
- Sport
- Academia
- Campaigns
• For each interest, I was able to build up a small “virtual” network that looks
something like the diagram below
Everyone within this network of
interest is connected to each
other
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Your networks and communities
In pairs or threes, spend a few minutes
talking to each other about the
community groups that you are part of –
whether in your neighbourhood, across a
wider geographical area or online.
I will then ask you to summarise to the
rest of the group the networks and
communities that the person you are
paired with has described to you.
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How I (as a new user) formed my networks
This gave a picture that looked something like this:
Represented by the large yellow circle, I have links into a number of
different virtual networks as represented by the small yellow circles:
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How I (as a new user) formed my networks
As people have multiple interests, some of those interests are shared:
Accordingly, they may already have links to the same communities of
interests that I have – represented by the green lines
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How I (as a new user) formed my networks
Through the use of social networks, other people start linking up too denoted by the blue lines,
There now is a very complex virtual web of people linked by mutual interests.
The stronger each of those individual links is, the stronger the web is.
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How networks can be used
Having a virtual web such as this can serve three key purposes:
1)For “support”
2)For the search for greater knowledge
3)To challenge those in authority.
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1) Support
If, for example an individual finds themselves being criticised in the mainstream
media, a “virtual network” of shared interests can respond accordingly.
Think of the web below being like a trampoline. When pressure is put on the
individual at the centre (i.e. the big yellow circle in the middle), it is felt not just by
the individual, but also by others linked through the virtual network.
In order to return to the “steady state”, the trampoline responds accordingly –
bouncing back. The same is true with those who are linked by a common
interest to the individual who needs the support.
What is difficult to predict is how others will react to such an individual being
targeted.
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2) Search for greater knowledge
People – and now organisations are using their social media networks
to crowd source information.
Crowd sourcing is literally as defined – sourcing your information from
a crowd of people using social media.
Question: What sort of things could the following people use ‘crowd
sourcing to find out?’
-An office worker organising the staff Christmas party
-A journalist investigating a story
-An academic researcher
-A Member of Parliament
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3) Challenging those in authority
We looked at
-A journalist investigating a story
-An academic researcher
-A Member of Parliament
More people from these backgrounds and beyond are now using their
social networks to challenge those in authority.
-Journalists are widening their social networks, in particular on Twitter,
while at the same time receiving direct feedback on their articles
-Academics are now able to bring their work to much wider audiences –
but at the same time face greater public scrutiny on their work
-MPs are now able to crowd-source parliamentary questions, but face
scrutiny on how they vote in the Commons.
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Antony Carpen
Public Policy & Social Media
Tel: 07779 205270
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk
Thoughts, questions or comments
on:
- Social networks?
- People challenging, and being
challenged via social media?
Antony Carpen
Public Policy & Social Media
Tel: 07779 205270
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk
Staying safe with social media
How should you use social media?
Responsibly
‘I trust my officers with the powers of arrest and the ability to deprive
you of your liberty. Therefore I am going to trust them to use social
•
media’
A senior police officer on Twitter.
-That is not to say they are given access to social media without any
training. Social media carries risks. So does life. What matters is how
we manage those risks.
-Part of that training involves you seeking out further knowledge –
enough for you to ensure that you are comfortable using social media.
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The Information Commissioner
•
Social media is value neutral; people are not. Bad people
use social media as well as good people. You need to
protect yourself from the latter.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner is the public
body primarily responsible for how people and
organisations use social media, in particular with regards
to data protection.
Please ensure that both you and any young people that
you know read through guidance from the Information
Commissioner at http://www.ico.gov.uk/youth.aspx
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Social media guidance?
This excellent short digital video guide was produced by the
the State of Victoria’s Department for Justice in Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQLkt5CG8I
This gives you an idea of some of the issues organisations to
consider in this new social media world
Later on we will be looking at how you can create your own
social media policy.