Andrew Davis' Blog
We are not defined by where we click any more
(August 2010)
To understand a social media audience, you will notice that you can apply many of the principles used to understand a traditional media audience: demography, age, sex. However, it is important to understand what makes social media so 'social', and that is the principle of sharing.
Five or six years ago, we were defined by where we clicked ('I went to this website today'), but now we are defined by what we share ('Have you seen this? I’ll send it to you via Facebook').
Once you can understand this simple shift in the way users behave, it can be easier to understand your audience.
People like to share content. I’m sure you have been sent a video link via email or a social networking site. Traditionally, you may have had to text, talk or phone, or send a DVD in the post. Now, you have these social tools to communicate more easily and, in most cases, more quickly. The same principles apply; we just have to understand the new equipment.
As sharing is becoming an important part of understanding your audience, it may be helpful to understand what percentage of influencers is doing most of the sharing. The information technology research company, Gartner, stated that in a community or audience there are four major behaviours:
- Creators (0-3%) – Create shareable content, communities, upload videos; “I want to own this”
- Contributors (3-10%) – Review, comment, contribute; “I want to be a part of this”
- Opportunists (10-20%) – Vote, forward/retweet, share with others – “Since I’m here”
- Lurkers (80%) – Click, read, share occasionally, talk; “I’ll reap the rewards.”
These behaviours may strike you as being similar to the level of engagement shown by pupils contributing in class. With this in mind, you may look at explaining the principles of sharing and contributing and ask the students which of the behaviours most fits them when they use digital communications. The key here is to remember that these are just tools and, to master tools, you need education and practice.
I would love to hear your results from this survey. How many of your students were creators, contributors, opportunists or lurkers? Were you surprised? Could the creators show you any of their work? Could we encourage the lurkers to become slightly more active? What type of content does your class most share?
Andrew Davis