An Ecosystem Approachto Social Media

(crap fertilizer)

Aaron LouieZAAZ

Me

Graphic Designer Biologist Psychologist Web Developer Librarian User Experience Designer Urban Farmer

This kind of farming

Photo: Kristen Shuyler via Flickr

Not this kind of farming

Photo: Andrew Stawarz via Flickr

Resources Food $$

Photo: noiseburst via Flickr

Dust Bowl

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: backpackphotography via Flickr

Ecosystem Scienceto the rescue

Ecosystem

• Complex• Interdependent• Organisms• Resources• Relationships

A Simplified Food Web for the Northwest AtlanticDavid Lavigne, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Rules of Healthy Ecosystems

• Everything that eats is eaten.

• Everything that dies decomposes.

• Everything that poops fertilizes.

Diagram: Mindfully.org

Rules of Healthy Ecosystems

• Everything that eats is eaten.

• Everything that dies decomposes.

• Everything that poops fertilizes.

Diagram: Mindfully.org

PoopLoop

This kind of farm

Photo: Robbi Baba via Flickr

Not this kind of farm

Photo: Andrew Stawarz via Flickr

WTF?Social Media?

If you treat social media like this…

Photo: noiseburst via Flickr

…you’re treating customers like this

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…you’re treating customers like this

Art: ~AdoC via deviantART

Art: ~AdoC via deviantART

Social Media is an Ecosystem

• Complex• Interdependent• People• Content• Relationships

The Healthy Social Media Ecosystem

• Every user type produces.• Everything that is produced has an audience.• Value-less content is decomposed into

valuable information: i.e. analytics, market intelligence.

Social Media poop

• Outdated content• Unanswered questions• Inactive profiles• Flame wars• Astroturf

ValueLoop

Value Web$

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