Social Media is celebrated for its power to cultivate influential relationships and foster viral conversations. As consumer attention shifts away from traditional mediums and migrates to the golden triangle of mobile, PC, and next generation Web appliances, businesses are racing to engage in the hopes of capturing fleeting awareness and igniting affinity. Social media, as practiced today however, largely represents a means, not a means to an end, or said another way, social media is missing actions where the purpose…
Social “Me”dia and the Evolving Twitter Egosystem
There’s a saying, “technology changes, people don’t.” Yet, when we consider the impact of technology on our daily lives, some very interesting observations surface… A pen now feels awkward to hold and as such, our penmanship is deteriorating. It’s now common to sit at a dinner table with family and friends where some are actively communicating with others, listening to music or gaming via mobile devices. We are redefining the perception, boundaries and thresholds for privacy as we once knew…
7 Scientific Ways to Promote Sharing on Facebook
Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Kelly Johnson modernized that philosophy with an alternate twist, KISS, Keep it Simple, Stupid a.k.a. Keep it Short and Simple. In a social economy where attention is a precious commodity, the ability to strip a social object down to its essence to capture attention has less to do with compacting character counts and more to do with the art and science of packaging and presenting content so that it is…
Mark Drapeau’s New Job: Corporate Public Diplomacy via Innovative Social Engagement
Guest post by Mark Drapeau For a good part of my career, I was a scientist researching how animal behavior is controlled by genes and neurons. Desiring something more, I got a terrific fellowship from the scientific society AAAS in 2006 and was able to conduct science and technology policy research at the Department of Defense for a few years. That experience opened my eyes to everything from the inner workings of the military, to how the government purchases goods…
The Science of Retweets on Twitter
Source: Young Go Getter Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with “Viral Marketing Scientist” Dan Zarrella on special projects related to Twitter. His focus on social science and psychology as it relates to new media and online interaction and behavior is in line with my philosophy and approach to understanding and documenting socialized media. Zarrella recently debuted TweetPsych, a sophisticated system that uses two linguistic analysis algorithms (RID and LIWC) to build a psychological profile of a…
The Psychology of Twitter with Dr. Drew
Twitter is a phenomenon unto itself. Which is why, in the study of Social Media, Digital Anthropology and Sociology prevails. Technology indeed facilitates interaction while also introducing us to nuances that transcend the parameters governing natural conversations and asynchronous dialogue into new forms of conversational threads and networks. Twitter is among those networks actively studied by many (myself included) as it seemingly defies the laws of natural flow and engagement. The foundation that makes Twitter work is also the very…
Twitter Flutters into Mainstream Culture: The New Competition for Attention Starts with You
Source Following the solo media vs. traditional media race that led Twitter into both relevance and irrelevance, the result is that the carefully guarded community and its unique culture are now permanently altered – for better or for worse. According to estimates sourced by Engadget Editor-in-Chief Ryan Block, Twitter grew by 1.2 million users simply as a result of the “Oprah-effect.” TechCrunch’s MG Siegler also explored the process for estimating Twitter’s path into the mainstream. What does 1.2 million new…
PR 2.0: Putting the Public Back in Public Relations
Have you ever met someone so energetic, positive and incredibly smart – someone who exudes passion and someone who “gets it” in an inspirational way? I’m lucky to know one such person, Deirdre Breakenridge, and she has just published a new, must-read book, PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences. I’m honored to have my ideas, philosophies, experiences, and vision shared throughout the book. I’m even more humbled to have been asked to contribute the foreword. PR 2.0, as…
PR 2.0 = The Evolution of PR, Nothing Less, Nothing More
Source There are many of us running back and forth from the edge to the center who would love to drop “2.0” from new evolution of PR. Hey, it’s even the name of this blog, and has been for years, but there’s a reason I haven’t changed the name yet. The subject itself is a catalyst for healthy, informative, and motivating conversations. I was reminded of this as good friend Kami Huyse shouted on Twitter recently, “I hate PR 2.0…
Cultural Voyeurism and Social Media
Sociology – The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society. About a year ago, I wrote an article entitled “Social Media is About Sociology and not Technology.” The recognition of people versus the tools is now more critical than ever. Although, it still isn’t necessarily embodied in many of the words and work shared by fellow Social Media Marketers. Less talk, more learning and action are required. There’s no…
