Conversation Prism: The Language of Human Connections is International
When Jesse Thomas of JESS3 and I started to lay the foundation for the Conversation Prism, we realized that it was a much larger task then simply categorizing social networks and placing them within a visually-rich graphic or chart. My goal was to observe, analyze, dissect, and present the dynamics of conversations, how and where they transpired.
We immediately realized that V1 would be short-lived and the need for continual iteration in order to document the evolving conversation online would emerge inevitable. As we work diligently on V2, as well as developing a supporting, scalable ecosystem, friends all over the world are simultaneously documenting the language and architecture of global online conversations.
In advance of our impending announcement, I wanted to spotlight the valuable work of those around the world. The Conversation Prism is now available in French, Chinese, and Japanese, with each localized to visually demonstrate the unique channels of online discussions materializing respectively.
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Melissa Pierce recently at The Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Brett Petersel of Mashable and Jane Quigley of Crayon insisted that we connect and I gladly obliged.
Melissa is a professional life coach and also the producer of Life In Perpetual Beta, an ambitious interview-driven documentary that features stripped-down, honest, and unpretentious one-on-one conversations with thought leaders and pioneers in the fields of New Marketing and Social Media.
Life In Perpetual Beta explores the nuances of, and rewards for, listening to who you are, not who you, or those around you, "think" you are. The video series is a catalyst for discovering and unleashing your creativity and living in the moment, every moment. You can shape and define your destiny if you continually invest in its definition and cultivation.
Melissa and I spent some time together, on camera, and the unrehearsed discussion was both refreshing and invigorating. She has a special talent for unlocking and inspiring people to uninhibitedly share their soul, passion, and vision.
During our discussion, lessons and observations from my fieldwork online and in the real world suddenly rushed into consciousness.
The link between authenticity and creativity though technology...
I'm inspired by people and ideas, and finding them in new places everyday. Social tools are bringing dynamics of the real world online.
Ambient intimacy versus ambient irrelevance...
The evolution is evoking a new genre of communications. We are forging deeper and more intellectual relationships that are contextually interwoven. Concurrently, we are striking ambient relations and event/opportunity-based connections that are harnessed to intermittently share transient ideas, promote causes, spotlight brands and products, invite participation, etc.
There are also many cases of ambient (pervasive) irrelevance. Because social tools are lowering the barrier to entry for anyone to create a lifestream online, there's also a parallel increase of extraneous noise and chatter. The socialization and democratization of content creation, curation, and publishing is inducing a real world state of attention scarcity. Relationships are either earned or lost based on what, when, and how we contribute to and invest in their advancement.
Pay It Forward...
The Social Web is powered not by self-promotion, but by the value of the community and the selfless act of recognizing, showcasing, and connecting the great people around us.
The undercurrent of a global cultural renaissance...
Going through life, process by process, in order to meet an end-goal is formulaic and ingrained in our intellectual DNA because it's how we were raised, which is a reflection of how our parents and grandparents were raised. The Web is sparking a cultural renaissance that is globally surging with free thought and insight. And, it's changing how we think about life, how we go through life, and how we share experiences and stories...We're going to see a fundamental shift in everything - especially our priorities.
The evolution of knowledge...
I had a conversation with a 15 year-old who had already created and sold a startup and several applications, and the question surfaced asking whether or not a traditional scholastic experience was necessary for, or beneficial to, him. Will kids in the future need to go through their academic career studying the same topics and learning the identical skills and trades that we were taught? Everything is changing to the point where the foundation for education may need to adapt or it risks irrelevance - and may eventually hold future generations back from succeeding in the real world.
Society is changing and in turn is going to influence how we structure and meet our goals, while also opening up a broader set of opportunities and ideas to pursue and attain - even those we previously deemed or thought impossible.
Personally, I am accomplishing things that I never imagined existed in the realm of possibility. I've surrounded myself with those who've helped expand my horizons for learning, while also opening my eyes to view and appreciate the subtle nuances that spark innovation. I'm learning each and every day. We can define our destiny and our place within society...
There's a great deal that we can learn from each other as we lay the foundation that will serve to inspire the next generation of leaders. We're paving the way for children to learn new things in new ways. What they're learning, remembering, honing, and in turn, what they're sharing, will say everything about who they will become. And, most likely, it will not emulate our traditional processes of discovery and education. In a sense, we're all learning new things together, in new ways.
This new world of discovery, sharing and studying will redefine everything and create an unprecedented era of media literacy. It will set forth a new institution of education that will reshape what we learn and when. Perhaps our children will be a bit more capable of defining and creating their own destiny than we ever were. If you think about how society over the centuries influenced our evolution and through education, defined our place within it, we were conditioned to study hard up to, through, and potentially beyond college so that we may earn a better living. And, for the most part, this is still true and incontestable. Now, with highly visible and far-reaching Web platforms that spur individual freedom of expression and our self-empowered ability to globally spotlight why we're uniquely special as a personality, thought leader or valuable member of any given community, we can create our own plan and earned providence - as long as we're empowered and encouraged to do so.
BusinessWeek Seeks Guidance on Who To Profile in Social Media
Stephen Baker and Helen Walters of BusinessWeek recently asked readers to nominate those individuals who are driving the evolution and pervasiveness of Social Media as part of its “voice of innovation” series.
Who is truly the most innovative force within social media? Who’s really making a difference? Who really gets it? Who do you think your fellow BusinessWeek readers NEED to know about?
The submissions are in and I’m honored and humbled to be included in the list of candidates.
Now, BusinessWeek needs you to help them sort through the nominees to tell them why one or another should be featured in BW. The candidate Steve and Helen consider most worthwhile will be featured in a short profile and video we run in the Innovation channel.
This list (see below) features my peers and mentors whom inspire me to not only look ahead but also build a bridge back to the real world so that we can all move forward together.
Truthfully, it’s impossible to select any one person to profile as the “voice of innovation.” Everyone is worthy of a profile and perhaps, in true social media fashion, BW can feature submitted videos from all of the nominees to feature as the collective voices of innovation. It is social media after all - of the people, for the people.
Over the years, I’ve worked with some truly amazing people such as Doc Searls, Stowe Boyd, Robert Scoble, Jay Rosen, Chris Heuer, Jeremiah Owyang, Shel Israel, Chris Shipley, Deb Schultz, JD Lasica, et al., among many many others to theorize, debate, define, defend, and promote Social Media - before it was Social Media. Some of those definitions are still widely sourced today. Now, Social Media is widely recognized as the latest chapter in an ongoing evolution of “New Media” and it’s completely transforming the way we share, discover, communicate, and learn.
In early 2009, JESS3 and I will release v2.0 of The Conversation Prism to help chart the rapid expansion and contraction of the Social Web so that we can visualize the complete opportunity of how and where to listen, learn, study, and ultimately participate.
At the end of the day, Social Media is about people, not technology. The tools and technology that serve as its foundation is governed by the dynamics of human behavior and interaction. The true Social Media experts will understand the ideologies of Social Sciences (sociology, anthropology, ethnography) combined with an understanding of specific services and networks to individually connect with the people who define the communities that are important to their ecosystem. It’s the difference between theory and practice.
Again, thank you for even including me in this list. I will continue to share all that I learn so that we can grow in tandem.
It's easy to lose sight of the beacons and milestones that resonate, influence and guide us as we navigate through these evolutionary times. After all, we're deluged with education, lessons, and insight from so many brilliant leaders and inspirational voices, that it's practically impossible to retain and reference all that moved us when we're moved on a minute-by-minute basis.Our attention and relationships are more precious than ever.
As 2008 comes to a close, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite posts on PR 2.0 over the last the year. I hope they help you as you explore the new opportunities that will define your future in 2009 and beyond.
PR 2.0 2008 Top 40:
Free ebook: The Art and Science of Blogger Relations
SolutionsStars Video Series Helps Businesses Embrace Social Media
During Blogworld Expo 2008 in Las Vegas, The Network Solutions Team shot footage for SolutionsStars, its online Web series designed to help small businesses harness the potential of Social Media to identify, understand, participate, and excel in the communities that impact their bottom line.
I was asked to participate by good friend Geoff Livingston (the man behind the book Now is Gone). Portions of the resulting footage were edited into two videos as part of the series, The Social Opportunity and Start with Listening.
The Social Opportunity
"Businesses now have the ability to become authorities on their subjects and also earn influence in the process, while building communities around their expertise."
The video also features: Rohit Bhargava Tim Ferriss Steve Hall, Ad Rants Toby Bloomberg Ryan Anderson, Overlay TV Darren Rowse David Alston, Radian6 Mari Smith Liz Strauss Paul Chaney
Start with Listening
"Search terms that matter to you across the Social Web because it will reveal everything."
The video also features: Chris Brogan Robyn Tippins David Berkowitz, 360 David Alston, Radian6 Toby Bloomberg Ryan Anderson, Overlay TV Matt Dickman, Fleishman-Hillard Jason Falls
Be sure to save the date for the next BlogWorld Expo, October 15-17, 2009.
According to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, a new survey indicates that 40% of respondents claim the Internet as their primary source for national and international news, versus 24% in 2007. In comparison, 35%, up 1% from 2007, rely on newspapers and 70% count on television as their main source for news, down from 74% in 2007.
Perhaps the harbinger of things to come is embodied in the response from Americans under 30. A staggering 59% indicated that they get most of their news from the Internet, up from 34% in 2007. In the group, television tied with the Internet at 59%, but for broadcast TV, it's a steep decline from 68% in 2007. As Dan Farber of CNET points out, these figures add up to more 100 percent because people have the ability to offer multiple answers.
Clearly, printed newspapers as well as television are under tremendous pressure to reinvent themselves in the social economy. It's not just about the socialized mechanisms and channels to source and broadcast news however, a successful metamorphosis requires the creation of an active and enlivened community supported by a profitable business model.
As I've stated previously, through social networks, blogs, and micro communities, consumers have access to information literally as it happens. Their peers become sources for news and information, reinforced by social frequency and reverberation. Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, and other networks ARE emerging as trusted and oft referenced newsfeeds. And, they're fueled by immediacy, brevity, and connectedness.
Twitority & Twithority Rank Tweets and Keywords By Authority
As online conversations continue to gain in prominence and relevance to any customer and market-focused business, it becomes critically important for marketing and service professionals to listen. It's the listening that serves as the foundation for identifying, guiding, and establishing meaningful engagement.
Twitter is one of the more active and influential communities that can effectively recruit affiliates, incite action, and spark trends. Until now, the only way to measure conversations or keywords by authority in Twitter was either manually or through Technorati - assuming that the majority of people discussing any given topic had already claimed their Twitter. I suspect most haven't done this nor realize that this is even an option with associated benefits in doing so.
Enter Twitority.
Twitority is a new service that that facilitates the search and sorting of keywords in Twitter by authority, or in less controversial terms, popularity. At the moment, authority is measured by followers, but perhaps, Twitority will eventually create an algorithm similar to Twinfluence in order to more accurately measure influence.
In the marketing and service worlds however, popularity is still relevant. As is, Twitority is a simple, yet helpful service that will help brand managers, community managers, and communications and customer service professionals tier research and response strategies and programs. It’s also helpful to identify and measure potential opportunities and new trends based on the weighted discussions surrounding relevant topics.
UPDATE: Over the weekend, Sean Percival and Ryan Sit also developed a Twitter search engine based on authority popularity, with a twist. Twithority provides side-by-side keyword results ranked by authority and also time/authority.
I'm fascinated and inspired by the unity, education, and collaboration spurred by the socialization of media. The sources for insight, artistry, and influence have proliferated globally, giving voices to, and creating communities for, every day people who share ideas, passion, and aspirations.
Intel is also inspired by education. The company recently created Inspire, a new community that spotlights education through innovation. It is a platform to celebrate the people, voices, and actions that are making a real difference and impact in our lives. It's also a resource hub that spotlights the remarkable programs, events, and projects around the world designed to improve education.
As an Intel Insider, I was asked to share my inspiration on camera for inclusion in the Inspire network. Inspire also features videos from fellow Insiders, Tom Foremski, Frank Gruber, Cathy Brooks, and Irina Slutsky.
Brian Solis is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley. Solis blogs at PR2.0, bub.blicio.us, and regularly contributes PR & tech insight to industry publications. He’s a published author and an avid speaker on the topic of new marketing and engagement.
Solis is among the original thought leaders who paved the way for Social Media. He’s a co-founder of the Social Media Club and a founding member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup.
Bio here.
