The JonesesCommunication Networks

to Do Your Dirty Work

Tonya Oaks Smith27 June 2011

Meet The Joneses

Meet The Joneses

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Who am I and why do you care?

Who are you? I do care

What are we talking about today?

@marleysmom @ a glance

Communications Director at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law

Co-chair for #hewebAR

Co-chair of the HighEdWeb regional support committee

Earned master’s degree in applied communication studies in 2010

Who are you?

On the agenda today

Background

Theory

Research

Results

Application

The background

Why Twitter? Presence is more and more

prevalent – use in Iran, Hudson River crash, H1N1

65 MM Tweets per day from millions of users

Why H1N1? Health catastrophe that was

anticipated Other communication vehicles

used in preparation for outbreak

Right place, right time

The theory

Diffusion of Innovation Ev Rogers – communication

researcher and supreme networker

The way a new idea is shared through both interpersonal channels and mass media

Begun as way to chart spread of information about and adoption of crop innovations in Iowa

Now theory is used as way to share health information on a broad scale – HIV, malaria, STDs

The theory

The theory

Reports of my assimilation have been greatly exaggerated.

- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Change agency – organization that desires the change

Change agent – individual who represents that change agency

Opinion leader – member of a social system who is able to influence other members’ behavior

Communication network – interconnected people who are linked by patterned flows of information

Opinion Leaders

Characteristics More external

communication – mass media, change agents, cosmopolitan

Greater social participation

Higher socioeconomic status

More innovative

The research

Over 300,000 tweets used one of three terms (H1N1, swineflu or swine flu) during the height of the outbreak – spring to fall 2009

Isolated tweets for three key dates in the outbreak – April 25, Sept. 4, Oct. 24, 2009 = 15,000 tweets

Detailed reading of 5,000 tweets for content analysis

Later survey of Twitter users for in-depth information about follow-through on vaccinations

The results

Influence means what?

A few years ago I was captured by the Borg. I was assimilated into their collective. I was part of their hive mind. Every piece of my individuality erased. I was part of them.

- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

The application

Seek out those who…

Interact with your institutional accounts

Interact with other folks – online and IRL

Have friends in many circles – are connectors

Have toys, but not too many

And encourage them.

Fun will now commence.

- Seven of Nine

They will deliver communities.

To build communities, do: Accept the importance of the medium Build relationships Share salient information

Allow users to scoop you sometimes Encourage questioning Fill the information vacuum Reduce uncertainty

But we can help more…

Segment your populations

Bring together followers with similarity

Sprinkle in some difference

Create contact opportunities

No, seriously… assimilate already

To build community, don’t: Share information unworthy of your followers Ignore followers’ legitimate concerns Waste time sharing useless information Ignore misinformation Spread information you can’t confirm Abuse your followers’ trust Use Twitter without pondering the ramifications

So what did we learn?

Assimilation – in moderation – is not a bad thing.

Our followers trust us as change agents, and they trust those in their communities who are opinion leaders.

Twitter can’t be the only medium we use to communicate information – it is part of a toolkit.

Questions?

tosmith@ualr.edu

@marleysmom

501.324.9896

Complete research is on issuu.com/marleysmom