1: Overview and context

COMP 113
Social Media & Online Communities, Summer School 2012

1: Overview and context

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Why this course?
 The Internet has undergone a seismic shift in the way
people communicate and share information online.
 Social web-based tools coupled with greater access to
higher-speed Internet have enabled user communities
to form worldwide around common interests or goals.
 It is within these communities that users can easily
share, communicate, and participate to foster a
thriving online information sharing space.
 Consequently, an increasingly necessary skill in the 21st
century for both individuals and organisations is the
ability to create and manage community-facing
websites.
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In general we will
 ... gain an understanding of the social and
technological developments underlying the
use of the Internet for the sharing of user-
generated content, the formation of social
networks and other types of community, and
communication within these communities.
 Students will devise, plan and develop (in
groups) a website for an online community to
cement these concepts.
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But more specifically
 Gain a solid grounding in social media
concepts and services
 Practical experience implementing social
media to foster and grow online communities
 Appreciation of wider societal issues resulting
from changes on internet
 Practical experience writing and setting up
blogs and generating other online content
 Opportunity to work collaboratively on an
web technology centred project
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Expectations
 Attend and actively participate in all classes
 Contribute to online discussions on related
social spaces (e.g., wiki) and add content
 Work collaboratively and constructively with
your fellow students
 Create Twitter, Facebook and blogging
accounts and keep active (using your own is
fine)
 Provide feedback by talking, tweeting,
completing online surveys, etc.
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Course will be delivered thus
 3 x classes per week on Tuesday, Wednesday,
& Thursday from 10:00-12:00
 No textbooks or paper
 In this room (COG05/Macgregor lab)

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Assessing your performance
Assessment Weighting Total
Blog assignments 3 x 5% 15%
Group project: 40%
• Report 15%
• Prototype 15%
• Presentation 10%
Final Examination 45%
Total 100%

 Group project with 3 other students
 Presentations to expert panel (cf. Dragon’s Den)
 Final examination to be digital!
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This week (Week 1)
 Tuesday:
– The course
– Introductory material
 Wednesday:
– Set up social media accounts
– Add content to own wiki pages
– Setup blogs
 Thursday:
– Social media services (a closer look)
– Blogging
 Fill out survey (frontpage of wiki)
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The original web (read only)

[Adapted: http://www.sizlopedia.com]

The new web era (read/write)

[Adapted: http://www.sizlopedia.com]

What is social media? (Wikipedia)
“Social media describes the online
technologies and practices that people use to
share opinions, insights, experiences, and
perspectives with each other.”

“Social media can take many different forms,
including text, images, audio, and video.
Popular social mediums [sic] include blogs,
message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs.”

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Broad categories (Wikipedia)

Definitions ???
 People using accessible online technologies to
share insights, information, artefacts,
perspectives, experiences ... with each other
 SM supports social interaction requirements
innate in humans on a global scale
 SM is an emergent, collective, open & evolving
ecosystem
 SM is a part of all our lives

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(Some) uses of social media
 Day-to-day  Entertainment
communication  Recommendations
 Networking  Education
 Political involvement  Mobilisation
 Promotion  Publishing
 Sharing news  Fandom
 Conversation  New business models
 Disaster alert &
recovery

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Typical Characteristics
 Participation:
– Readers/viewers/consumers/producers ...
– User generated content (UGC)
 Accessible:
– Anyone can participate regardless of ability
 Conversational:
– Two-way, interactive as opposed to broadcast
media
– Engagement!

Typical Characteristics (cont’)
 Community:
– Over time communities form around common
interests/purpose
 Serendipitous:
– Unexpected things happen by being involved
 Transparency:
– Actions are public and persistent

Why do people do things online?
 Fun/easy/free  Peer pressure
 Reputation  Efficiency
 Reciprocity  Sharing
 Group identity  Ambient intimacy

Online community
 Common
interests
 Reciprocity
 Emotional
investment
 Time
 Social capital

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Top 10 websites by traffic (Alexa.com)

Some numbers ...
– 3rd most visited website (Alexa.com)
– 135.7 million unique viewers (April)
– 13 billion videos (April)
– 24 hours video uploaded every minute

Futile!
– 2nd most visited website (Alexa.com)
– More than 400 million active users
– More than 25 billion pieces of content per month
– 70% of Facebook users outside the U.S

– 10th most visited website (Alexa.com)
– 105 million registered users
– 300,000 new users signing up every day
– 55 60 70 90 140 155 250 million “tweets” (posts) daily

Support Presidential campaigns

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Business practice
 Dell
 Threadless
 Zappos
 Cisco
 Air New Zealand
 The Wine Vault
 Giapo’s
 ...

Social media & education

Twitter

Disqus Facebook

Wiki
Slideshare Polldaddy

YouTube

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How many of you just click “accept”?

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Other issues
 Authentication
 Privacy & security
 Permanence
 Migration
 Equitable access
 Exhaustion!

How much about you is revealed?

1: Overview and context

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1: Overview and context