Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Mashable Social Good Summit. I wanted to share the video with you as many people had requested the slides and hearing the dialogue may help you use them most effectively. My topic was ‘Building a Private Sector Pillar of Social Change,’ and if you don’t have the slides but would like to download them, click here. Each case study is hyperlinked so you can explore them further.
I also wanted to share two more presentations that were very inspiring. One is by Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water (@scottharrison) who gave a dramatic example of how social media can be used to generate community fundraising and support for a non-profit. The third video features by Alec Ross, senior Advisor for Innovation at the State Department (@alecjross), who explained how emerging technologies are being used to address global crises and international diplomacy. Seen together, the three videos give some idea of how for profit, non-profit and government agencies are using social media to build a better world.
Finally, thanks to Mashable for creating an inspiring day and generating amazing online buzz around critical social change.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Sep 29th, 2011. 
Two news stories were brought to my attention today and both kinda irked me. In one case, it was the actual story that annoyed me, and in the other, it was how the story was reported.
So, while I’m busy at the moment, I figured I’d bang out a bonus post for this Friday afternoon, and see what you folks think about it.
ESPN Gets it Wrong
My friend Amanda messaged me asking me if I had seen the story about ESPN. I hadn’t so she sent me the link to this story about the sports network banning it’s reporters from breaking news on Twitter. In short, ESPN’s new social media policy says:
Do not break news on Twitter. We want to serve fans in the social sphere, but the first priority is to ESPN news and information efforts. Public news (i.e. announced in news conferences) can be distributed without vetting. However, sourced or proprietary news must be vetted by the TV or Digital news desks. Once reported on an ESPN platform, that news can (and should) be distributed on Twitter and other social sites.
Like the folks on the Zombie Journalism site where I found the story, I believe this is backwards. Basically what they are saying is, if it isn’t reported on our TV network or our web site, it hasn’t happened. I’ve worked in radio and know a lot about the news process, including the vetting and editorial process. It takes time. Granted, ESPN pretty much has a monopoly when it comes to sports on television, but on the Internet there are plenty of well-known and respected sports bloggers. By not allowing your reporters to break stories on Twitter, which is perhaps the best and fastest way to break news these days, you run the risk of letting others break the story before you, and getting scooped. An independent sports blogger who happens to be on Twitter doesn’t have to wait for approval. If they feel confident in their sources, they will break the news fast.
Additionally, since ESPN reporters have been breaking news via Twitter, the audience expects it. This is now the name of the game, and traditional journalism better step up to the plate. What I find amazing about this is that ESPN is among the most forward thinking networks out there when it comes to reporting and Social Media.
If your reporter breaks a story on Twitter before it hits the air or your website, you can still take credit for breaking it. They work for you. They are an extension of your sports reporting juggernaut. And, I would bet that some sources like tipping off your reporters to major stories because they want it out there fast. If you tie your reporters hands, those sources might tip others off first.
Bad decision ESPN.
Mashable Gets it Wrong
For those of you who don’t work in the Social Media realm, Mashable is one of the largest SM blogs that covers the latest in SM news. Today in my RSS feed I saw their latest post that Only 50% of U.S. Adults use Social Media. The article was reporting on the latest study out of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Pew is one of the top organizations doing serious, ongoing research into how we use the Internet.
I read Mashable’s report, and the way it was written, I was ticked at Pew for this study and their interpretation. But when I read the study, I found a very different picture. Turns out, the folks at Pew did a great job of interpreting the stats, but Mashable took those stats, and painted a very different picture, just by their selection of words.
Mashable’s title is:
Only 50% of U.S. Adults Use Social Media
The Pew title, and the gist of the article, is:
65% of Online Adults use Social Networking Sites
Both stats are correct. While only half of all American adults use Social Media, two-thirds of those who are online use Social Media. With those numbers, as Scott Stratten pointed out on his Facebook page, we’re talking about 117-million people in the U.S. using Social Media. That’s a lot of people. Why downplay it? And the numbers continue to grow!
Mashable even goes further in their interpretation of a word cloud that Pew included in their report. This word cloud was created by asking those who use social networking sites to describe their experiences using those sites:
OK, so what stands out to you? I see “good” first, followed by other positive words like: great, interesting, convenient, fun, Okay, excellent, awesome, and easy. To find the really negative assessments, you have to squint your eyes.
Pew interprets this, accurately, I think, by saying:
most describe their experiences in positive terms
How does Mashable interpret this?
they’re less than ecstatic about it. In a word cloud that the study made to show responses to the question “What is one word that describes your experience using social networking sites?” The most common answer was a standard “good.” It’s easy for the quick growth of social media use to give the impression that everybody uses it enthusiastically.
Paints a very different picture, right? I’m not sure about you, but “good” is a rather subjective term that tends to lean much more on the positive side than the “less than enthusiastic” side. I mean, did they say, “oh, it’s good (sigh)” or, “It’s GOOD!!!!”.
Why the negative spin on this, Mashable? I see good news. As a marketer, I see a very large, and growing, number of people using Social Media. I can’t hang my head and say, “Gee whiz, ONLY 50% of American adults are on Social Media”.
As Scott Stratten pointed out on Facebook, “This is why stats are dangerous”
OK, I”m done. Those are my Friday afternoon rants.
What’s your take on these two stories? Am I wrong? Am I missing something?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 26th, 2011.
Business Insider has overtaken Mashable in unique visitors according to Compete. It seemed noteworthy when competing blog Mashable overtook TechCrunch as the more popular tech blog, and now Business Insider (whose tech section is technically Silicon Alley Insider) appears to …
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jun 20th, 2011.
