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NASW WORKSHOPSOctober 17, 2009 Session C3: 4:15 to 5:45 p.m."The Secret Life of Social Media: New Rules for Science Writers"source: Slate

GOALS OF SOCIAL MEDIACreate social interaction using highly accessible Web-based technologies.

Shift how people discover, read, and share news, information and opinion.

Transform media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many).

Democratize information, changing content consumers into content producers.--WikipediaSource: Slate

EXPLOSION OF SOCIAL MEDIACommunication Blogs: Blogger, LiveJournal, Open Diary, TypePad, WordPress, Vox, ExpressionEngine, Xanga Micro-blogging / Presence applications: Twitter, Plurk, Tumblr, Jaiku, fmylife Social networking: Bebo, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Orkut, Skyrock, Hi5, Ning, Elgg��Social network aggregation: NutshellMail, FriendFeed�� Events: Upcoming, Eventful, Meetup.comCollaboration��Wikis: Wikipedia, PBwiki, wetpaint Social bookmarking (or social tagging): Delicious, StumbleUpon, Google Reader, CiteULike��Social news: Digg, Mixx, Reddit, NowPublicSource: Wikipedia/Tag Cloud

ROBIN LLOYD Freelance Science Writer & Online Editor, Scientific AmericanSource: Scientific America

DAVID HARRISEditor-in-chief, Symmetry Magazine & Deputy Communications Director, SLACSource: Symmetry Magazine

ALEXIS MADRIGAL Staff writer, Wired.com& Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley Office for the History of Science and Technology Source: Wired

LIVE STREAMING from New Horizons, AustinSunday, 10/18 to Tuesday, 10/20Check times www.CASW.org

The Social Media Firehose:Some Ways to Drink SafelyNASW 2009 #sciwri09

NASW Workshop: The Secret Life of Social Media

NASW Annual MeetingOctober 17, 2009Austin, TexasDavid HarrisSymmetry magazine,SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryThe Secret Life of Social Media

OutlinePrinciples of social mediaWhy understand how social media works?New ways people get/share informationHow we can use this knowledgeHow social media really worksExamples of social sharing sites

Why understand social media?As science writers, our trade is informationInformation is increasingly flowing in new waysWe all need to really know how these mechanisms work if we are to take advantage of them (whether journalists, writers, or PIOs) It gives us new ways to think about what we do

Getting information: the old wayRead/watch the standard sources (local/national newspaper/TV news/magazines)Discuss those topics with friends and colleagues, relying on commonality of sources (Water cooler conversations, pub conversations)Repeat

Getting information: the new way“If the news is that important, it will find me.” – Anonymous college student in a focus groupNew York Times, March 27, 2008http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/us/politics/27voters.html“This micro-knowledge of others has been termed ‘ambient awareness’ by sociologists, a new kind of social proprioception or ethereal limb, and I learned to flex it with ease.” (Referring to the world of Facebook status updates)New York Magazine, April 5, 2009 http://nymag.com/news/features/55878/

Getting information: the new wayConverse with your friends and colleagues, A LOT!(in person, phone, email, txt msg, Facebook status, FriendFeed, tweet, LinkedIn update, etc.)Let your trust of others guide youPick up on some of it and surf/search it furtherContribute to public discussionsRepeatThis is not an ideal, but an observation.

How we can use this knowledgeChanging information ecosystem Old: Authority relationships New: Trust relationshipsJournalists: We can’t rely solely on the authoritativeness of our publications. Now we need to develop trust relationships with readers. How?PIOs: We no longer just want to rely on the news media to reach audiences for us, but need to be active in developing relationships with other audiences ourselves. How?

Examples of social sharing sitesMany user-vote-driven sites seem to present the “best” stories, which rise to the top as people vote for them.For digg, slashdot, reddit, stumbleupon, and facebookWhat the site looks likeHow stories really get to the top of the chartsA typical story’s trafficAn analogy

digg is like…a gangStrong but organic hierarchyDominance of an idea depends on who it comes fromLeaders cultivate support from underlings by offering links and help up rankingsLoyalty to the leader is keyIdentity is defined by the role in the groupFor success: Be in with the leaders, don’t cross the leaders

slashdot is like…organized crimeSmall tight group controls the flow of informationOutsiders are treated with some suspicionOnce you’re part of the family and know the people behind the curtain, you can get things done/.’s “karma” system compared with OC statusLeaders still have absolute powerFor success: Post good stuff to gain positive attention of the admins, cultivate their good graces

reddit is like…an ADHD direct democracyAny idea can get to the top BUT...Many people need to respond positively to an idea rapidly or it will be forgottenFor success: Post things lots of people will like and can easily see the appeal of from the headline

stumbleupon is like…a book clubIdeas don’t need to be freshTopics keep coming back for attention/discussionDemographic trends older and femalePeople rate quality after reflection on the workFor success: High quality content

facebook trafficOccurs too rapidly to show day by dayMost in the first few minutes/hours, some residual over following daysAdds a steady amount of traffic to our siteTwitter is similarFacebook+twitter send about 15% of traffic

facebook is like…a cliqueInformation circulates within peer groupsInformation can spread to other groups through overlap, and ideas can revive and seem new againFor success: Have lots of friends and know what they like

ConclusionSocial media both drives and reflects a changing information ecosystem—it has new rulesThings are not always what they seem, so dig(g) a little deeper and never trust what anybody says about social media (not even me)If you’re not playing the game enough to know the rules, you’re not going win in the future

Robot Sharks with Lasers and the Magic Traffic MachineWe like Reddit bites (they’re better than Delicious), because they max out the wiki snarls of RSS feeds, which means less jamming at the Google scaffold. Then just Digg your uploads in a viral spiral to your social networks via an FB/MS interlink torrent.“Our Marketing Plan”Ellis Weiner in the The New Yorker

Learn the Norms, Get the Traffic“Twitter is not a community, but it's an ecology in which communities can emerge. That's where the banal chit-chat comes in: idle talk about news, weather, and sports is a kind of social glue that can adhere the networks of trust and norms of reciprocity from which community and social capital can grow.”— Howard Rheingold

How It Works for Wired Science

TwitterUsers: Shaq, etc.In a word: (A)liveBait: “Eclipse of the Century Live Online Tonight” Tip: Get a desktop app.

DiggUsers: Young, male.In a word: SpikyBait: “Holes in the Earth: Open Pit Mines Seen from Space”Tip: Make friends in high places.

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NASW Workshop: The Secret Life of Social Media

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NASW Workshop: The Secret Life of Social Media