by Rob Paterson
September 30, 2010 at 2:56 pm · Filed under
Adoption, Andy Carvin, KETC, Measurement, Media, NPR, New Realities, Public Radio, Public TV
One of the Holy Grails of the Public Radio system when I worked there back in 2005/6 was to attract a younger audience. At the time – even though the context of my involvement was the web – the CW on the solution was to add more younger programming – Hence Bryant Park. Of course this failed as what station manager was going to give up the BlockBuster Morning Edition to have an alternative that the mainstream would not like. The CBC has gone full on to find a younger audience by changing the POV of its programs. I wonder how they are doing? They have largely driven me away.
But the guys at NPR are smart and they learn. They went full on into the use of Social Media. New data out shows that their drive into social media – Twitter in particular – has given them what they wanted a new and younger and larger “audience” that have been attracted to NPR’s programming – not because of a content shift but because they made it easier for a younger audience to connect to content on their terms! The secret was in the flexibility of the new connection NOT the content.
In a survey of more than 10,000 respondents, NPR found that its Twitter followers are younger, more connected to the social web, and more likely to access content through digital platforms such as NPR’s website, podcasts, mobile apps and more.
NPR has more than one Twitter account; its survey found that most respondents followed between two and five NPR accounts, including topical account, show-specific accounts and on-air staff accounts.
The data on age is hardly surprising. The median age of an NPR Twitter follower is 35 — around 15 years younger than the average NPR radio listener. This lines up with data we recently found about other traditional news media; the average Facebook user reading and “liking” content on a news website is two decades younger than the average print newspaper subscriber.
Not to put too fine a point on it, the future of news media lies in successful integration of social media to get the attention (and click-throughs) of a younger generation — a generation whose news needs are vastly different than those of the generations that preceded it. (My emphasis)
Of NPR’s Twitter followers, the majority (67%) still do listen to NPR on the radio. But the other ways they access NPR’s content are indicative of a growing trend:
Of survey respondents, 59% said they use NPR.org, 39% listen to NPR’s podcasts, around half use an NPR mobile app and 28% say they access NPR via Facebook. All told, 77% of NPR’s Twitter followers said they get all or most of their news online.
And Twitter followers are more likely to expect breaking news, too, likely because of the real-time nature of the medium.
At KETC we found the same thing when we ran out project to help people find a safer more trustworthy route to help in the Mortgage Crisis. KETC helped many people who never watch our programming and who never will. They got connected to KETC because they found what they needed on the web. It was how we connected that was the key.
When NPR hosted the New Realities Project back in 2006/6 – the intent was to imagine our value in 2009 and beyond. We did this. Most saw that one of the things we had to do was to do a Burger King and offer our content up “Your Way”
The guys even wrote a song – but while some – mainly at NPR really got this – of course as we know today about adoption – most did not and have not and still hope that all of this will go away.
Want a larger and more committed “audience” – let them find you “Their Way” – Integrate the web into what you do fully.
by Joe McKendrick
September 27, 2010 at 5:49 pm · Filed under
2.0 Design Thinking, Enterprise 2.0, FASTforward'09, Social Computing, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0
An analysis issued earlier in the year looked at social network usage of employees at the largest corporations, resulting in what’s considered the first comprehensive look at social media activity among 100,000+ employees of these corporations.
The resulting NetProspex Social Report provides a “Social 50 Ranking” of the top 50 most social corporations in America, as well as “The Twitter 20″ of companies with the most employees on Twitter. In addition, a network breakdown looks at what social networks are most used by employees at the largest corporations, and even gender differences are discussed.
The top 10 social enterprises include 1) Microsoft; 2) eBay; 3) Amazon.com; 4) Walt Disney; 5) Google; 5) Electronic Arts; 7) Intuit; 8 ) Raytheon; 9) Best Buy; and 10) Apple.
The most popular social networking service was LinkedIn, used by 43 percent of employees of companies, followed by Facebook at 11 percent.
Reed Smith, however, made an interesting observation about the types of companies not appearing on this list. Namely, healthcare-related organizations. At a time when the entire country is in an upheaval over spiraling healthcare costs and concerns about quality of care, wouldn’t this be a good time for hospitals to be more socially networked?
This is not to say there is no social networking of any kind taking place in healthcare settings. Smith points to numbers compiled by Ed Bennett that at least 825 hospitals have active social network efforts underway, including 634 Twitter accounts, 631 Facebook pages, and 391 YouTube channels. Of course, this is only about 14 percent of the 5,815 functioning hospitals in the United States, as tracked by the American Hospital Association.
Low numbers, but at least a start. How could hospitals benefit from social media? A big, big area where social would make a difference right away is in nursing and allied health recruiting. Many healthcare establishments are struggling to find qualified, certified professionals to round out their patient care teams. Nursing shortages are legend, but there are far too few respiratory techs, radiology techs, cytotechnologists, and physical therapists. Being able to build and participate in online networks where HR and staffing specialists could engage with skilled professionals could go a long way in alleviating these critical shortages.
by Rob Paterson
September 27, 2010 at 10:34 am · Filed under
2.0 Business Model, 2.0 Design Thinking, Adoption, Barriers, Community, Connected Enterprise, Customer Service, Disney, Energy, Interaction, Interviews, Management Theory, Marketing, Network Effect, Organizational Design, Platforms, Relationships, Robin Dunbar, Social Contact, Social Media, Social Networking, Social Objects, Socialprise, Trust, Trusted Space, Twitter, User Revolution, Web 2.0, Wisdom of Crowds, Work 2.0, Workplace
What would it be like if your business had a sales, marketing and support force that was 1.3 million strong that you did not have to pay for? What if you could source this leverage with a tiny central force? Sounds impossible? Do you have any idea of how this could work?
Now that everyone is using Social Media – what I am seeing mainly are people who using the new tool in the old way – trying to shout above the noise – “Look at ME!” “Aren’t I cool!” “Aren’t we good!”. I am seeing a Dilbert approach – “Let’s have a Facebook site” “Let’s get on Twitter”.
Most do what most do when a new technology arrives – they apply it in the old way and so get nothing in response.
So what then is the power and leverage that you can harness by using social media well?
Boingo are on their way to finding out how to do this. Oh yes and I am one of the people that are part of this and oh yes I am not being paid and nor do I in any way work for them. I am living the theory.
So how might this work and so how might you do this too?
Boingo have a class of people that are deeply committed to the enterprise that Baochi calls her “Super fans”. They and why they are connected to Boingo and each other is the core of the leverage potential. We will meet 4 of them in this post who agreed enthusiastically to be interviewed by me. As you will see, these Super Fans are attracted first of all to Boingo by the obvious:
- The service – easy one stop access to Wifi in Airports and Hotels – is now no longer a nice to have for travellers but an essential
- The support for the service is outstanding – got a problem – you get instant personal help
But a great product is not enough. Nor is good service. What is the differentiator for Boingo is the human nature of the relationship that Boingo has with its customers. Most organizations do not allow their people to be human. Service people are often ciphers working from a script. Boingo have set up an environment where their key point of contact is a real person who is allowed to be herself.
She has a name and a face and we are all in awe and a bit in love with her. We all feel her presence watching over us. It is way more than getting her help when we can’t sign on. She watches out for us. Have a problem – A quick tweet. In minutes she is there. She is like the guy who runs the old corner store who holds your keys when you go away, keeps an eye on your kids in the street, helps you find a new roommate.
As Nuno Montegro, a customer in Portugal says – It is not what she says but how she says things that is the difference.
Nuno is like me, a customer who actively refers others to the service.
Most of Social media is all about Weak Ties – They are very useful but Weak Ties don’t get people to do much – or risk much – or commit much – that is why they are Weak – they are easy.
If you want to do something – Civil Rights in the US – you need Strong Ties. (Nice new piece by Malcolm Gladwell that explores Weak and Strong Ties in depth)
The key to attracting Strong Ties is being human. It is NOT PIMPING your product. It is instead to show that you really do care about ME. It is instead to show that you can indeed be trusted.
How do you show this? Nuno makes the point that every service and product fails at times. The key is to offer the best possible response to the inevitability of a problem. The best possible response is to know from experience that if there is a problem, you can reach a real person quickly and that they will go the distance to help you get it fixed. “I felt as if I was the only customer in the entire world when she was helping me” Nuno told me. I had the same experience.
Attracting Strong Ties is all about “Giving”.
Aaron Strout is the CMO at social media agency, Powered Inc. and is also Super Fan. “Boingo is proactive and they don’t expect a direct return – they are not selling all day – so if they want an inch, I go the mile back. It’s Karmic! I know if I have a problem that they will look after me. If people are good and do good, then good comes back. Not necessarily directly but good gets attracted back. We talk about a wide range of things that affect me not just the product – which is great too – have to have that – they listen.”
What Aaron is talking about here is a very old model for an economy that was the centre of all tribal economies – the Gift Economy. In the Gift Economy, the Big Guy is not the man who has the most stuff but the person who gives the most.
This is the power in networks – this is how Open Source Works too.
Cliff Bremmer is a programmer who works for a company called Carley Corporation that bids on government contracts to develop instructional CD base/computer based training for the US military. ”In my spare time I help companies understand and navigate the social media spectrum in a professional yet interactive way. The company I’m currently helping is the one my father works for called the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel“.
The Gift?
Not only is he a fan but in interacting with Boingo he has learned a lot about how to use SM media well. “If there is anything I’m proud of lately it’s that I helped the Pegasus Hotel promote their brand with the help and support of @Boingo and other companies to become one of the most popular brands in Jamaica.” Boingo is not only helping him with his travel and Wifi but is talking with him and helping him help his dad in his business with advice and Tweet Up prizes such as free access and bag tags. The Gift in action!
He can see the flaws of how most use SM – “They are stuck in self promotion versus communication. I can see through it all – it’s all about them.”
In the Gift Economy that drives Trust and so Strong Ties, the starting point is YOU. In the non network economy the starting point is ME. No small difference!
Shelby Rogers is a flight attendant, a serving soldier (in the active reserve) and the wife of a serving soldier. Travel is her life. When she is not working, she travels. Access to Wifi has made her travel better – “I now know more than the Gate Agent does about my flights!” and it has taken away much of the loneliness that travel brings with it. Who has not been alone eating room service and watching TV in our room? “I can stay in touch with my husband on Skype and every city seems to have a friend in it.”
For Shelby, Boingo is a service that truly meets her needs. But it is how Boingo is connected to her that has transformed a pleased customer into a Super fan.
How often has your service provider taken you out to dinner? “We have even had dinner recently. I am now a walking billboard for Boingo with winking bag tags!”
So what does this mean? What are the lesson for both Boingo and for you?
- Baochi is no accident – the Boingo senior leadership have created the role and given it the space to enable someone who is naturally humane to be herself inside it. This new way of using Strong Ties to be the centre of a network is all about culture. In most cases senior leadership is too scared to let go. But if you do let go and create this safe place then the power of the network effect can be yours
- A really powerful network has to have an inner core bound by Strong Ties. This is where the leverage is. One staff person like Baochi can without too much trouble have close ties with 34 people. That gives her an outer network of 1.3 million. If she can handle the Dunbar limit of 144 that creates an opportunity of 400 million! You can see that with the right person, you can have a vast reach – provided you realize that your goal is not to have thousands of relationships but a few Strong Ones
- The secret is the math of social leverage. Many of you know about the “Dunbar Number”. Some of you know about “Magic numbers – the hierarchy of trust in human groups. If you don’t here is a quick primer.
So what now?
I think that the next stage would be this:
- At the moment all the Super Fans have a strong relationship with Baochi – I think that the best next step might be to find a way to connect them to each other
- At the moment most of the dialogue is still about the obvious and excellent service that Boingo provides – I think that some of the work that the Super Fans could do might be to deepen the conversation – Shelby touched on this in her interview with me – What is it that being easily connected while travelling does? In her case it helped her deal with isolation and loneliness – it helped her do her job better – it kept her in touch with her husband – these are deep issues that I think connect all of us who travel a lot
As I think about networks, I think about the laws of physics. All systems have order and attractors. Some force is needed to keep systems coherent.
Think of the Sun in our own local system. It has mass that provides a gravity that holds all the planets and asteroids and stuff in a pattern. It has energy that creates life in the system. I think that any healthy human social system has to have gravity and light.
At the very centre is the “Right Space” a Trusted Space created by the leadership. In this Space, the Right Person – Right being a person who as part of her natural persona truly cares about others. Connected to her is the fuel and the mass that makes up the Sun – the Super Fans. The closer they are to the centre and the closer they are to each other – the more mass and the more energy. The more mass and energy, the larger and more healthy the network of Weak Ties that form up around the Sun.
What gets in the way is our fear about losing control.
At Disney the surface of the Brand Icon never changes but inside the mask is a person who changes all the time and so is never allowed to speak.
But in the new world we have to take off the costume and let the person inside have conversations with the public – HARD to do.
by Bill Ives
September 27, 2010 at 3:59 am · Filed under
FASTforward'09
A lot has been a lot written about Twitter and its rapid growth. Here are some interesting visualizations of this growth in the US. In the nine months after the creation of the service in March 2006, Twitter only had a few thousand users. A year later there were an estimated 150,000 people using the service. Now there are over 93 million global unique users according to Social Media Today on August 15, 2010.
As they point out that does not mean the same as 93 million regular users. They mention the research from RJ Metrics showing that 83% of Twitter accounts are dormant every month. There is a base of committed users who are often active in other social media channels that make up for the majority of activity. I do not see an issue with this as that is the case wit most media.
Pete Warden looked at the early days and Twitter provides data on new users by day. You can see spikes and flat areas of growth. With a single influential blog post adding 250 new users in one day when there were only 600 users. However, the continuous growth shows a service that users loved and shared with their friends, instead of one where traffic was simply driven by high-profile articles and hype.
In March 2007 Twitter won the top award at South-by-Southwest, and Pete wrote that this was when the service really started getting attention. He looked at several cites in this time period. “Austin had a massive growth spurt, from 61 to 402 users in three months, but what’s interesting is that almost every other town also went through a similar rise, with Los Angeles going from 88 to 474 twitterers, and Boise jumping from 6 to 30. That roughly five-fold increase over the 3 months was remarkably evenly spread.” What surprised Pete was how little geography mattered for adoption.
I would not be surprised by this lack of the impact on location but it does perhaps shows the power of spreading news through the Web. It is not based on physical proximity but perhaps the relative number of those closely following what is happening on the Web. This likely explains the greater acceleration in Los Angeles than in Boise.
by Bill Ives
September 22, 2010 at 3:48 am · Filed under
FASTforward'09
Retrevo does some interesting surveys that I have covered before. Their new Gadget Census study pits the following U.S. cities against each other to see who has the most consumer electronics per capita. This census was conducted online from March, 2010 through July, 2010 and received over 7,500 individual responses from Retrevo users distributed across gender, age, and location.
1. San Francisco vs. New York
San Francisco has more Online TVs (12% more)
San Francisco has more Mac OS computers (94% more)
San Francisco has more iPhones (23% more)
New York has 56% more BlackBerries than San Francisco
New York has 30% more iPads than San Francisco
New York has 34% more e-Readers than San Francisco
2. Boston vs. L.A.
Boston: 44% more BlackBerries
Boston: 43% more e-Readers
L.A.: 11% more iPhones
L.A.: 54% more Mac OS computers
L.A.: 24% more game consoles
L.A.: 16% more Blu-ray players
3. Washington D.C. vs. Chicago
Washington D.C.: 53% more Blackberries
Washington D.C.: 50% more e-Readers
Chicago: 23% more Macs
Chicago.: 45% more people streaming music
Chicago.: 66% more people with more than 3 TVs
So the East coast seems the winner in BlackBerries and e-Readers. The West coast has more Macs and iPhones. LA plays a lot of games and Chicago watches a lot of TV. Now I am counter culture as I live in Boston and have a Mac and an iPhone.
