In October 2008, I documented months of research and analysis into a full directory of Twitter applications for communications and marketing professionals. In May 2009, I categorized the most applicable and qualified applications, and with the help of JESS3, we published The Twitterverse, a beta map of the Twitter universe that arranged relevant applications in a way that allowed us to see and navigate the landscape more efficiently and effectively.
As Web 2.0 and Social Media became globally pervasive, the landscape proved expansive, overwhelming, and bewildering. It required a social cartographer in order to visualize its grandeur. Thus, in August 2008, the original Conversation Prism was born with the help of Jesse Thomas of JESS3.
The Conversation Prism continues to rapidly evolve as social networks emerge, merge, and vanish. In fact, Jesse Thomas and I are already hard at work mapping version 3.0.
According to a recent study, 20 percent of tweets published are actually invitations for product information, answers or responses from peers or directly by brand representatives.
Jim Jansen, associate professor of information science and technology at the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) at Penn State, along with IST doctoral student Mimi Zhang, undergraduate student Kate Sobel and Twitter chief scientist Abdur Chowdhury, investigated micro interaction as an electronic word-of-mouth medium, using Twitter as the platform. The results were published in the Journal of the American Society for Information Sciences and Technology.
More often than not, we’re reminded through simple human behavior and interaction that Twitter isn’t always the TNN (Twitter News Network) we expect it to be. And, when the collective of people “being themselves” amasses concentration and velocity, we learn that sometimes the wisdom that manifests within the crowds isn’t very wise at all.
Social media can be an incredible tool, both for producing and consuming incredible amounts of information. Over the last few years, there is no question that an unprecedented change has taken place, putting tools for publication and discovery in the hands of everyone – from simple text to photos and video. Social media tools are changing businesses in terms of how they can connect with customers, partners, peers and even the competition. But the non-stop promotion of the tools and, yes, the individuals who think they are “experts” is getting a little overwhelming.
When Deirdre Breakenridge and I initially heard that book stores were reporting that Putting the Public Back in Public Relations was out of stock, we suspected a distribution hiccup was at root of the issue. While it’s never good news to hear that customers cannot get their hands on the very object in which we dedicated and invested over a year of our lives, Deirdre and I were elated to learn that the month-long dry spell was actually due to the book literally selling out around the world.
Recently ESPN established new social media guidelines banning their employees from discussing anything related to ESPN or sports on any social network. Some see this as a clever move for ESPN to save their intellectual property. I see this decision as detrimental both to ESPN as well as their employees. This sweeping decision has two tragic consequences. Not only does it severely hamper its own staff’s room for professional growth, it marginalizes ESPN’s own opportunities to increase its visibility and reach over the web, possibly hampering its own long term growth.
I recently participated in #PRStudChat, a recurring discussion between PR experts and those looking to learn on Twitter.
I found it enthralling.
The interactive forum was created by Deirdre Breakenridge, my co-author for Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, and Valerie Simon in response to an ongoing series of questions they received from students seeking advice or insight into how PR was changing in the face of the “now” or real-time Web. In one such interview, PRSSA member and student Angela Hernandez, @AngelaHernandez, posed a simple, but poignant career question, “Is PR Right for Me?”
Publishing “top 10″ lists is unfortunately a staple of modern journalism. But alas, writers must drive readers’ eyeballs, even when discussing serious topics like the government. And so we find a new list that mixes Web 2.0 with the government: “Top 10 agencies with the most Facebook fans.” For the record, this list is topped by the White House with 327,592 fans, followed by the Marine Corps, Army, CDC, State Department, NASA, NASA JPL, Library of Congress, Air Force, and Environmental Protection Agency. Congratulations to all these hard-working agencies.
I’ve long believed that the “@” sign carried with it great power on the Web. In definition, it is the representation of “at” which evolved from the phrase of “at the rate of” in accounting and commercial invoices. Over time its ubiquity was solidified with its use as the buckle linking names to domains in email addresses.
Now Internet culture, specifically Twitter, has evolved and popularized @ conjuring a powerful and poignant symbol of designation, recognition, and action.
Brian Solis is principal at Altimeter Group, a research firm focused on disruptive technology. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing, and culture. Solis is also globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. His new book, What's the Future of Business (WTF), explores the landscape of connected consumerism and how business and customer relationships unfold and flourish in four distinct moments of truth. His previous book, The End of Business as Usual, explores the emergence of Generation-C, a new generation of customers and employees and how businesses must adapt to reach them. Prior to End of Business, Solis released Engage, which is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to market, sell and service in the social web.
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