The New Social Media

WHAT’S NEXT IN MEDIA HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGES THE RULES FOR GOOD

Neil Perkin Only Dead Fish http://neilperkin.typepad.com/

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HOW MEDIA IS CHANGING FOREVER

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME UBIQUITOUS

184 million bloggers 73% of active online users have read a blog 45% have started their own blog 57% have joined a social network

55% have uploaded photos

83% have watched video clips 39% subscribe to an RSS feed

Source: Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends April 2008

BUT THIS ISN’T THE POINT

SOCIAL IS BECOMING A PART OF ALL MEDIA STREAMS

Social dimensions are paramount to most people ….and most forms of entertainment

“The desire to be part of a group that shares, cooperates, or acts in concert is a basic human instinct.” Clay Shirky Source: Future Foundation: Entertainment Futures 2007, Image credit http://dicksdaily.co.uk/

BUT THIS ISN’T THE POINT EITHER

SOCIAL MEDIA IS COUNTERINTUITIVE TO COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA

COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA

Space defined by Media Owner

Space defined by Consumer

Brand in control

Consumer in control

One way / Delivering a message

Two way / Being a part of a conversation

Repeating the message

Adapting the message/ beta

Focused on the brand

Focused on the consumer / Adding value

Entertaining

Influencing, involving

Company created content

User created content / Co-creation

“THE PHYSICS OF MEDIA ARE CHANGING”*

Limited distribution channels Abundant attention *http://www.fistfulayen.com/blog/?p=147

Unlimited distribution Attention scarcity

THE CHANGES ARE FUNDAMENTAL AND PERMANENT

“See, I’m kind of tired of people talking about how newspapers are going through a ‘transition’. As in, ‘we just need to get through this transition.’ Transitions have beginnings, middles and ends. Transitions eventually stop and you get a chance to take a breath and say, ‘cool, we survived.’” Howard Owens

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timothyschenck/

So this requires

a different mindset

different approaches

different ways of working

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adviceposters/sets/72157602720078403/

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HOW THE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR AUDIENCE HAS CHANGED FOREVER

EMPOWERED USERS, UNLIMITED CHOICE

Everyone is a media owner The means of production and distribution are now free (Moore’s Law) Control is shared http://www.flickr.com/photos/esparta/

MILLIONS OF CONNECTIONS Models based on linear distribution are being disrupted by networked models

“The web is a subset of humans interacting” Sir Tim Berners-Lee

SUDDENLY MEDIA IS A MASS OF CONVERSATIONS

SUDDENLY MEDIA IS A MASS OF CONVERSATIONS

AND YOU CAN’T CONTROL THEM

TODAYS USERS ARE CREATING HUGE AMOUNTS OF VALUE

They’re discussing the subjects you write about They’re writing reference entries on Wikipedia about them They’re documenting them on Flickr and video sharing sites They’re showing what subjects they like the most on social bookmarking sites http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsyt/

AND MOST MEDIA IS IGNORING IT

“We’ve been too busy trying to dictate the experience, building walls, obsessing over the gates rather than the experience” Ian Rogers Ref:http://www.fistfulayen.com/blog/ Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoyan/

THE VALUE EQUATION IS CHANGING

Content

= Attention

Content, tools, services

= Attention, participation, interaction, content

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wespionage/

COMMUNITIES DRIVE BRANDS, COMMUNITIES DRIVE TRAFFIC More authority More links

More Loyal Users

More traffic

More useful site

Higher repeat visits

Higher levels of interaction

More content

THE RESULT OF AN ENGAGED COMMUNITY

ONLINE COMMUNITIES CAN BE A PUZZLE

www.spy.org.es/upload/actuacion/imagen-35.jpg

ONLINE COMMUNITIES CAN BE A PUZZLE

UNTIL YOU REMEMBER THEY ARE ALL HUMAN

www.spy.org.es/upload/actuacion/imagen-35.jpg

ONLINE COMMUNITIES CAN BE A PUZZLE

UNTIL YOU REMEMBER THEY ARE ALL HUMAN

AND STOP TRYING TO CONTROL THEM

www.spy.org.es/upload/actuacion/imagen-35.jpg

SO HOW CAN I CREATE A COMMUNITY?

WRONG QUESTION

“Communities already exist. Instead, think about how you can help that community do what it wants to do” Mark Zuckerberg

UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WORK

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Every community has super-users – high authority, highly active Know who they are

“One part anarchy, one part aristocracy, one part democracy, one part monarchy” Jimmy Wales on the Wikipedia Community

LISTEN

Act on their feedback Encourage discussion, be a part of it http://www.flickr.com/photos/twenty_questions/

AND ADD VALUE

Understand what they are trying to do Creat tools and content to help them do it Interact with them, engage with them, respect them http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsyt/

UNDERSTAND THAT MOTIVATIONS ARE DIFFERENT

Blog Her/Compass Partners 2008 Social Media Study

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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE WAY MEDIA COMPANIES SHOULD WORK

Media brands are increasingly defined less by the platform and more by the community

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hankins/

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THAT COMMUNITY

Be Useful

"...journalism is shifting from being a product to a service and, with this, a news outlet shifts from being a final destination to being part of a network." Alfred Hermida, reportr.net http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonasj/

NEW JOURNALISM – CONTENT PRODUCERS TAKE ON A BROADER ROLE Authenticator: Help the audience figure out what to believe, what can they trust

Sense-maker: Help the audience derive meaning from what is happening in the world

Navigator: Help the audience find their way around a story or issue and point them to the “good stuff”

Forum-leader: Help the audience engage in a discussion in a knowledgeable way Ref: Tim Rosentiel www.journalism.org , Image http://www.flickr.com/photos/patty_colmer/

ATTRIBUTION, AUTHENTICITY, RECOGNITION, SHARING

"In the past you were what you owned. Now you are what you share." Charles Leadbeater – We Think

“On the web, audiences are more fragmented. People are using personal devices to communicate. That means, what works best is the conversational voice, a personal point of view, and a mindset that says, “I’m sharing,” rather than, “I’m reporting.” Howard Owens

THE LINK IS THE CURRENCY OF SOCIAL MEDIA. USE IT.

“Do what you do best and link to the rest” Jeff Jarvis http://www.flickr.com/photos/jairo_abud/

AND IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY

"Over and over again, connecting people with one another is what lasts online. Some folks thought it was about technology, but it's not.“ Seth Godin

Image: http://www.gapingvoid.com/

WHAT THIS MEANS - NETWORKED MEDIA Social media thinking has to run through the organisation Models built on ubiquity not scarcity

Loosely-coupled value chains that include users as value creators

“Most items of value derive that value from scarcity. Digital changes that, and you can derive value from ubiquity now.” Ian Rogers http://www.flickr.com/photos/arbegofoto/

WHAT THIS MEANS – FREE FLOWING CONTENT “Content Ubiquity” Peter Chernin, News Corp Services, applications and content are scalable and portable

Platforms that are seamlessly inter-connectable No barriers to interaction - interfaces that get out of the way Image: img209.imageshack.us/img209/5781/deadlocknajkcomafarialibh3.jpg

CREATE CONTENT THAT IS REMARKABLE

If the web is a mass of conversations, then get talked about

Create content and services that are worth passing on Make it as easy as possible for your fans to find it and spread the word http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldflints/

SETH GODIN – ‘FLIPPING THE FUNNEL’ Marketing spend generates traffic Some of that traffic sticks

Users are inspired and enabled to talk about your product They spread the message around the network Ref: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/files/flippingfunnelPRO.pdf

LINEAR

NETWORKED

Scheduled

On demand

Appointment

Whenever, wherever

Sit back

Participative

Messages

Experiences

Content we think you’d like

We control the way it is delivered

Content we know you like (because you’ve told us) We allow you to play with it, pass it on

COMPONENT BASED APPROACH TO CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

BRAND

COMMERCIALLY DRIVEN DISTRIBUTED CONTENT

THE URBANISTA DIARIES

WIDGETS

LEVERAGE YOUR CONSUMER INSIGHT

Listen to your community

Use the feedback and insight to shape what you do

Reframe problems, Identify ‘swells’ in your market

“Good insight helps you know what your customers need before they know themselves.” Matthew Milan, Critical Mass http://experiencematters.criticalmass.com/

COMMUNITY GENERATED CONTENT

“The Sound Index is a massive index of the hottest bands and tracks that are being talked about on the internet right now.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/soundindex/

WHAT ELSE?

Hyper-targeting, improved relevancy Smarter content tagging solutions Improved personalisation of content Application of behavioural solutions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xurble/

THINK ABOUT HOW YOU MEASURE

It’s not all about page impressions

Broader use of hard metrics – users, time spent, interactions, pass-alongs …combined with digital ethnographic measures http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/2008/04/blended-measure.html

ACCEPT UNCERTAINTY

Be flexible Experiment more Embrace failure Image: http://russelldavies.typepad.com/planning/

AND…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adviceposters/sets/72157602720078403/

THANK YOU

Join the debate at… http://neilperkin.typepad.com/ Neil Perkin

RESOURCES & CREDITS •

Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends April 2008

http://www.universalmccann.com/Assets/2413%20-%20Wave%203%20complete%20document%20AW%203_20080418124523.pdf

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Future Foundation – The Future Of Entertainment

http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/2007/12/the-future-of-e.html

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BlogHer/Compass Partners Social Media study

http://www.blogher.com/files/BlogHer.CompassPartners.Social%20Media%20Study.ppt.pdf

Howard Owens http://www.howardowens.com/

Clay Shirky – Here Comes Everyone, The Power of Organising Without Organisations http://www.shirky.com/

Wikinomics

Mark Earls – Herd

http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/

http://herd.typepad.com/

Joseph Jaffe - Join The Conversation

Seth Godin – Small Is The New Big

http://www.jaffejuice.com/

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/

Tim Rosentiel

Seth Godin – Purple Cow

http://www.journalism.org/

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/

David Cushman

Ian Rogers – Yahoo

http://www.fasterfuture.blogspot.com/

http://www.fistfulayen.com/blog/

Jeff Jarvis

Alfred Hermida – Reportr.net

http://www.buzzmachine.com/

http://reportr.net/