Transcript presentation

Using Social Networks
As Research Networks
Kathy E Gill
1 May 2008
Outline
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Some definitions
GaTech WWW Survey
Social Network Sites
Online Focus Groups
Technical Networks
• Computer Network: a system of composed
of hardware and software that allows
computers to communicate with one
another
• Internet: a worldwide system of computer
networks that communicate using TCP/IP
• The Web: a subset of the Internet that
communicates using HTTP
Social Networks
• An association of people drawn together
by family, work or hobby; coined by
professor J. A. Barnes in the 1950s. He
described the social network as a group of
about 100 to 150 people. (source)
The GrandDaddy: GVU
• What: Technical Networks + Social
Networks
• Who: Georgia Tech Graphics, Visualization
& Usability Center (GVU)
• When: Jan 1994 – Oct 1998
• How: 10 “user surveys” that documented
“developing Web demographics, culture,
user attitudes, and usage patterns”
GVU Methodology
• Non-probabilistic sampling based on social
networks and other promotion
– Announcements on Internet related newsgroups
– Announcements made to the www-surveying mailing
list
– Banners on high-exposure web sites (e.g. Yahoo,
CNN, Excite, Webcrawler, etc.) and through
advertising networks (e.g. DoubleClick)
– Publicity via popular offline media (e.g., newspapers,
trade magazines, etc.)
GVU Survey 1
• When: January 1994
• The first publicly accessible Web-based
survey; composed of five parts
• Estimated N=20 million Internet users.
4,853 responses to all surveys combined
• Demographics: 6% female
GVU Survey 7
• When: 10 April 10 1997 through 10 May
1997
• Estimated N=30 million. 19,970 unique
respondents (~1-in-1,500)
• Demographics: 31.30% female
Social Network Websites
• Web-based services that allow individuals
to (1) construct a public or semi-public
profile within a bounded system, (2)
articulate a list of other users with whom
they share a connection, and (3) view and
traverse their list of connections and those
made by others within the system
(source)
Key Characteristic
• Makes social networks visible – to self and
others
Brief History
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SixDegrees.com (1997)
LiveJournal (1999)
LinkedIn (2002)
MySpace (2003)
Facebook (2004, 2006)
YouTube (2005)
Twitter (2006)
“Survey” Research
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Facebook Polls
LinkedIn Answers
Twitter Polls
“Focus Groups”
Facebook Polls
FB Poll Not Free
• From TechCrunch
“Facebook charges you a variable amount
based on how quickly you want
results…The more you offer, the more
quickly results are returned to you…
Facebook will estimate the completion
time for the poll based on how much you
bid.”
Useful?
• One Marketer’s Experience (Dec2007):
“Currently you can only ask 100 people,
with the possibility of each individual only
being profiled on one variable (i.e. age OR
gender, etc.)…the 24hour turn around
time is a definite bonus. I see this
service being used in small
businesses and startups where the
market research resources are very low.”
Linked In Answers
LinkedIn
• A “professional” network
• Follow the blog for examples
– Featured Q this week: Pros and Cons of Refinancing
• Success story:
“after 12 hours... [1] from my blog post
and the rest … from my 200-ish LinkedIN
contacts.”
Twitter
• Quotably.com
• Summize.com/about
– #poll
– Obama or Hillary or Clinton
• TweetClouds.com and TwitterVerse.com
and PicoBuzz.com
• TweetScan.com
• Twitter.Alltop.com
Real-Time Feedback
• Twitter in conferences (“back channel”)
– #forrmarketing08
• Twitter as “research diary”
– Search @ginsoak or @learningspaces
– twitter.com/learningspaces/with_friends
For Journos
• From OnlineJournalismBlog (UK)
– News of UK earthquake broke on Twitter
– Monitor groups with CrowdStatus.com
– BreakingNews
– Wire Feed (TwitterFeed + TweetBurner)
– TwittUrly – top 100 URLs (think
Memeorandum or TechMeme)
– Live Book Review
• News Organizations Using Twitter
Twitter Misc.
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Web, IM, Phone
gridjit.com
Twhirl or Snitter
The User-Created PBWiki
Organization-Specific
Social Network Sites
• Del Monte Foods
– “I Love My Dog”
– 400 members; handpicked
– Introduced Snausages Breakfast Bites in six months;
normal time 12+ months
• Sylvan Learning
– With MarketTools, surveyed a group of mothers with
children in 1st-12th grades
– Sent possible ad storyboards; feedback helped
shaped new ad campaign
Wall Street Journal, 14 Jan 2008
In Summary …
• This is “non-scientific” research; don’t
extrapolate to larger audiences!
• This is early adopter research; don’t
extrapolate to late adoption audiences!
• Low transaction cost makes it possible to
get opinions, case study material quickly,
cheaply
• Online focus groups may combine best of
off- and online qualitative survey methods