Social Media For Research 24 02 10

Social media tools for research

Manchester Metropolitan University25th February 2010

Susi O’Neill, digital consultant

About me Digital content producer, online marketer & website manager since 2000 in music & TV Digital strategy consultant –growing businesses online through strategic planning and marketing Specialise in media industries moving to online economy, multimedia content and e-marketing Founded CreativeNottingham.com, new blog for creatives in Nottingham Trained as a musician, toured Europe with many alternative bands A leading UK theremin player, many TV appearances & recently 4th plinth, Trafalgar Square

Today’s presentation

1.Social media: what it is2.Social media tools for research3.My MA Media Enterprise research

“(the internet is) a work in progress that is constantly evolving.” Kim BayneThe Internet Marketing Plan, 1997

What is social media?

Defining social media

Using web tools to transform 1-to-1 to 1-to-many conversations

Links with...

Web 2.0 (software for sharing)

...or as Tim Berners-Lee calls it

“a piece of jargon”

Isn’t the web inherently social?

Usenet Newsgroup, established 1981 (now

Google Groups)

Isn’t the web inherently social?

Google Wave, collaborative

communication tool, launched

Sept 2009

Popular music is “Social Cement”

Adorno, 1941

Markets are conversations

“Markets are conversations. When you think of the Internet, don’t think of Mack trucks full of widgets destined for distributorships, whizzing by countless billboards. Think of a table for two.” The Cluetrain Manifesto, www.cluetrain.com

The Whuffie FactorThe more you give away, the more you gain.Give away control and ownership as well as stuff.This makes more sense to small social groups than larger organisations.

Whuffie principles to be successful online:

1. Stop talking and start listening2. Become part of the community you serve3. Create amazing customer experiences4. Communities are made up of people, people are not predictable5. Find your higher purposes: what can you give to the community and still be profitable?

Tara Hunt, The Whuffie Factor

2007: The tipping point

2007: The tipping point

“When we change how we communicate, we change society.”

Clay Shirky, “Here Comes Everybody”

Purposes of social media

Marketing Engagement

Research

Savants

Enthusiasts

Casuals

Lurkers

100 passionate users

How does social media marketing work?

1000 true fans

Social media tools for research

Horizon scanning

Surveys: Survey Monkey Alerts: TweetBeep, Google Alerts Search: Social Mention RSS feeds: Google Reader

Social bookmarking

Meta data Like-minded users Personal collection Content for a blog

Ear to the wirePASSIVE LISTENING:

Social Mention (free)Melt Water Buzz (professional)

ACTIVE LISTENING:

Start a conversation – monitor engagementLinkedIn.com/Answers

Feasibility test and pilots

Twitter feed – information disseminationFacebook group – canvas viewsBlog – test theories/ideas

Academic research tools

Google Scholar Mendeley (sharing research papers with meta data) Enterprise Search

Sentiment analysis

Social Mention

Quantitative analysis

Reverse questionswordtracker.com/keyword-questions

The wisdom (and madness) of crowds

Crowd Sourcing:• Jeff Howe, WIRED magazine 2006• ‘Scopers’ (Edison Innovations) – we could do it better• A Swarm of Angels – film co-investment

Open innovation:Henry Chesborough – bringing in ideas from outside the institute

My Masters research

Qualitative research into independent music entrepreneurs and online marketing/distribution

8 in-depth interviews with experts and practitioners

Online survey for practitioners (Survey Gizmo) 58 respondents

My Masters research

Pros:•Online survey appropriate for assessing online activity•Quick and immediate – international reach•Each to assess and make quantitative comparisons and charts

Cons:•Only reached active participants in online communities•Mainly taken up by ‘friends’ and ‘friends of friends’•Skewed towards amateur participants•Quantitative approach may not always be appropriate

Suggested reading

•Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky (2008) Allen Lane•The Cluetrain Manifesto, Locke, Levine, Searls, Weinberger (2001) Basic Books•Purple Cow: Change your business by being remarkable, Seth Godin (2005) Penguin•Convergence Culture: Where old and new media collide, Henry Jenkins (2008), New York University Press •The Whuffie Factor, Tara Hunt (2009) Crown Business

•Wired Magazine•www.econsultancy.com – Reports, blogs jobs and training in digital consultancy•www.techcrunch.com – US new service in latest technology trends•www.nmk.co.uk – UK training and articles on digital sector and skills•http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-social-media - presentation: WTF is social media?

Thank you. Over to you.

Contact Me:

susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk

Tel: 07981 222799

Twitter: @susioneillSkype: susi.oneill

web: www.digitalconsultant.co.uk