Public Policy & Social Media

Tel: 07779 205270 Email: antonycarpen@gmail.com Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk

Antony Carpen

The Impact of social media on society

18 April 2013 Cambridge

What is social media?

The social in social media implies a conversation. The difference between social media and the TV is that with the latter, viewers seldom engage with the programme-makers of the show that they are watching. Only in very recent times have programme makers expanded into the world of social media. Think X-Factor.

What is social media?

The Central Office of Information (www.coi.gov.uk) said the following in its 2009 publication Engaging through Social Media:
Social media is a term used to refer to online technologies and practices that are used to share opinions and information, promote discussion and build relationships.
Social media services and tools involve a combination of technology, telecommunications and some kind of social interaction. They can use a variety of different formats, for example text, pictures, video and audio.
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What is social media?

Social media is different to traditional forms of communication such as through newspapers, television, and film. Cheap anyone with access to the internet (for example through public libraries) Accessible the tools are easy to use Enabling allows almost anyone to do things that previously were only the preserve of well-resourced organisations The use of the word Social implies a conversation. Social media is definitely not about one-way communication to a large audience from big organisations.
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Megatrends 1 the death of control

The old era

The age of control

The new reality

The age of influence

Big organisations and companies had a monopoly on mass communication and got used to controlling the message

Anyone literate with an internet connection can self-publish for free Hard to control, can only influence

Megatrends 2 Fewer gatekeepers

The old era

One to many

The new reality

Many to many

Manage the gatekeepers One-way, broadcast model. Managing reputation = managing the media.

Less reliance on media: people get information direct from the source, and from each other. New-style comms must reach beyond media to a complex interactive model.

Megatrends 3 Fragmentation

The old era

A few centralised channels
People got most information from a handful of news media. Organisations could efficiently manage (or at least monitor).

The new reality

A huge cloud of interaction
Conversations are distributed wherever people form opinions: blogs, social networks, YouTube Separate provider for the content, and the platform for the content

Megatrends 4 New web landscape

Old (web) era

Push
communications

The new reality

Pull
communications

Web as distribution channel

Web as community

The Web was a channel for pushing out information. Sites were static e-brochures. The Web was utilitarian. People felt neutral about it.

Now, people spend most time on interactive social media. The social web is informal, immersive and emotive.

Megatrends 5 New journalism

The old era

Ordered and predictable The world of press releases, news conferences and interviews was well ordered. Journalists knew the rules of the game and were predictable. Balance, professionalism, accountability

The new reality

Messy and opinionated Huge and distributed. Everyone can report. Each sets his/her own rules. No obligation to be balanced. Complicated recourse for inaccuracy. Opinion dominates content.

How big is social media in the UK?

10 million UK accounts
> newspaper sales 30 million+ accounts Almost half the UK population 5% of users write 75% of tweets

Public Policy & Social Media

Tel: 07779 205270 Email: antonycarpen@gmail.com Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk

Antony Carpen

Social networks

How I (as a new user) formed my networks

After setting up an account on a given platform e.g. Facebook or Twitter, I then used the search tools to find people with similar interests to me. For example: - Career - Sport - Academia - Campaigns For each interest, I was able to build up a small virtual network that looks something like the diagram below

Everyone within this network of interest is connected to each other

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Your networks and communities

In pairs or threes, spend a few minutes talking to each other about the community groups that you are part of whether in your neighbourhood, across a wider geographical area or online. I will then ask you to summarise to the rest of the group the networks and communities that the person you are paired with has described to you.

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How I (as a new user) formed my networks

This gave a picture that looked something like this:

Represented by the large yellow circle, I have links into a number of different virtual networks as represented by the small yellow circles:
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How I (as a new user) formed my networks

As people have multiple interests, some of those interests are shared:

Accordingly, they may already have links to the same communities of interests that I have represented by the green lines

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How I (as a new user) formed my networks

Through the use of social networks, other people start linking up too denoted by the blue lines,

There now is a very complex virtual web of people linked by mutual interests. The stronger each of those individual links is, the stronger the web is.
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How networks can be used

Having a virtual web such as this can serve three key purposes: 1)For support 2)For the search for greater knowledge 3)To challenge those in authority.

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1) Support
If, for example an individual finds themselves being criticised in the mainstream media, a virtual network of shared interests can respond accordingly. Think of the web below being like a trampoline. When pressure is put on the individual at the centre (i.e. the big yellow circle in the middle), it is felt not just by the individual, but also by others linked through the virtual network. In order to return to the steady state, the trampoline responds accordingly bouncing back. The same is true with those who are linked by a common interest to the individual who needs the support. What is difficult to predict is how others will react to such an individual being targeted.

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2) Search for greater knowledge

People and now organisations are using their social media networks to crowd source information.

Crowd sourcing is literally as defined sourcing your information from a crowd of people using social media.
Question: What sort of things could the following people use crowd sourcing to find out? -An office worker organising the staff Christmas party -A journalist investigating a story -An academic researcher -A Member of Parliament

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3) Challenging those in authority

We looked at -A journalist investigating a story -An academic researcher -A Member of Parliament More people from these backgrounds and beyond are now using their social networks to challenge those in authority. -Journalists are widening their social networks, in particular on Twitter, while at the same time receiving direct feedback on their articles -Academics are now able to bring their work to much wider audiences but at the same time face greater public scrutiny on their work -MPs are now able to crowd-source parliamentary questions, but face scrutiny on how they vote in the Commons.

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Public Policy & Social Media

Tel: 07779 205270 Email: antonycarpen@gmail.com Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk

Antony Carpen

Thoughts, questions or comments on: - Social networks? - People challenging, and being challenged via social media?

Public Policy & Social Media

Tel: 07779 205270 Email: antonycarpen@gmail.com Web: http://antonycarpen.co.uk

Antony Carpen

Staying safe with social media

How should you use social media?

Responsibly
I trust my officers with the powers of arrest and the ability to deprive you of your liberty. Therefore I am going to trust them to use social media A senior police officer on Twitter. -That is not to say they are given access to social media without any training. Social media carries risks. So does life. What matters is how we manage those risks. -Part of that training involves you seeking out further knowledge enough for you to ensure that you are comfortable using social media.
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The Information Commissioner

Social media is value neutral; people are not. Bad people use social media as well as good people. You need to protect yourself from the latter. In the UK, the Information Commissioner is the public body primarily responsible for how people and organisations use social media, in particular with regards to data protection. Please ensure that both you and any young people that you know read through guidance from the Information Commissioner at http://www.ico.gov.uk/youth.aspx

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Social media guidance?

This excellent short digital video guide was produced by the the State of Victorias Department for Justice in Australia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQLkt5CG8I This gives you an idea of some of the issues organisations to consider in this new social media world Later on we will be looking at how you can create your own social media policy.