IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Social Networks

  • How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter: Social Physics

    Anthropology, sociology, and psychology are all branches of science that have previously explained human behavior. But the Digital Age has introduced the need for a new way to look at how the new social networks are affecting human behavior and the rate and flow of ideas: social physics.

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    Alex Pentland’s, ‘Social Physics’ is a series of research the MIT scientist has collected through the experiments of both his own and of others’, about how the digital breadcrumbs we are leaving are explaining vast new areas of human behaviors.  Social physics starts with understanding that the way we look at human behavior now; as groups in markets or classes, is OUTDATED. And too broad. Pentland proposes that we create more than enough data to study within our own networks of individual interactions.

    Here is a breakdown of the book in 4 parts:

    Part I: Social Physics- The basic breakdown of Pentland’s idea. The two building blocks of social physics are idea flow and social learning. Idea flow is essentially exploration, the process of finding new ideas, and engagement, creating a behavioral norm from the idea. Social learning is creating human behavior from idea flow.

    • One of Pentland’s most interesting studies called The FunFit study is in this part, and basically, supports the idea that social network incentives can create organizations guided by change (it starts on pg. 67)

    Part II: Idea Machines- Breaks down how social physics is composed of patterns of interactions, and those patterns create intelligence. When a pattern of interaction is created, things like creativity and productivity are affected and increase.

    Part III: Data-Rich Cities- This part is the base of part IV in Pentland’s book, and explains the local effect of social physics. One interesting point in this part is that we essentially create 3 basic patterns that ‘set the rhythm’ of your neighborhood, city, etc. The patterns;

    what you do on your typical school/workday

    what you do on your days or evenings off from pattern #1,

    and lastly, what you do every once in a blue moon, the wild card days

    are exposed by our digital breadcrumbs, and can be seen from something as small as your mobile data usage. These bread crumbs can be used to directly measure human behavior. The population is defined by tribes, all of which have their own 3 patterns where rhythms are predictable every day of the week.  Even disease spread in your neighborhood is affected by social physics.

    Part IV: Data-Rich Societies- Wraps up the whole idea of the book and applies it to society as a whole. Because of the ease of access to all of the data we are leaving, exchanging, and creating, there needs to be a new way to look at privacy. Pentland’s New Deal on Data proposes 3 things:

    you have the right to have data that is about you.

    you have the right to fully control the use of data that is about you.

    you have the right to spread or destroy data that is about you.

    In Greek mythology, Prometheus gave life to his clay figures with fire.

    Social physics is that fire. So what does it all mean? Are we truly progressing? Will we regret it all?

    You are already living social physics-

    you might as well read it , and understand it (

    and understand it.

    (and you might as well buy it for as low as $3.98 on Amazon)

     

    Kayla Millie ’17

     

  • The Importance of Social Media in the 2012 Election

    More and more are the variety of social media through which voters are able to use.  These are convenient and simple tools that are effective ways to express the opinions of voters and influence the course of the electoral campaign. The role that social media has been critical in drawing conclusions about the outcome of the 2012 election. According to various studies, websites like Facebook have caused an increase in voter registration. Ultimately, social media networks are the powerful influencers that are often capable of moving large quantities of votes. It is important to recognize that an electoral campaign that is closer and pays closer attention to real human dynamics has a completely different approach than the traditional campaign. Nowadays, an effective campaign should be based less on the money spent and more on the intelligent use of new technologies to create new bonds with the everyday voter.Ultimately, the roles of social networks, new media as well as the weight of the establishment are all factors that will have a crucial role in deciding the electoral dispute.

    As previously stated, social media has encouraged many young eligible voters to register and vote. For many of the past elections, the young demographic is not properly represented in voting. This year, there are record numbers for college aged students voting.  Much of this can be attributed to social media outlets.  Young people in general use social media more than any other demographic (to date). Also, social media websites such as twitter allow you to follow each candidate and get quick, short, and frequent updates on what they plan to make their policy be if they are to be elected. This is only the second election that we are able to follow Candidates directly on Twitter since it did not exist prior to 2006. Also, Twitter has gained a substantial amount of users since the 2008 election. On Twitter, there are trending topics, and subjects regarding the recent presidential election have been trending at record numbers. Social Media allows people to get quick and easy access to information about the election.

    Both presidential candidates devoted much time and effort to boost the collection of information and social media sharing amongst voters. In the current election, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have predominately utilized Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, which are the top powerhouse tools of social media today. As the election progresses, candidates have concentrated their efforts on “swing voters”. Swing voters are voters who have yet to make up their minds and plan to wait till the very last minute to make a decision about who to vote for. Social media can establish a medium for interchange between our presidential candidates and many of these swing voters, avoiding an influence on votes that have already been established.  This reveals the importance of social media and web video usage in terms of voting. Not only can social media institute this medium that allows a campaign to be specifically modified for particular voters, but it provides value for each candidate, resulting into fewer costs for ads. The cost of advertising through social media is much less than the cost of paying T.V. channels to run advertisements; not to mention the impact of online ads have been reported as just as good or perhaps even better than the ones shows on television. All political parties in the current election have greatly benefited from these recent online updates and social media enhancements.

    –Sasha De Vecchi, Lindsay Gallagher, Jay Reilly, Cary Welborn

  • Learn about Communication Studies at COM Studies Day

    When Communication Studies majors share their idea with others they are often met with a variety of  questions. These questions often range from “what is Communication Studies” to “what on earth are you going to do with that?!,” and can leave the student wondering just why exactly did they pick this major in the first place. Fortunately the UNCW Communication Studies department is hosting its annual Communication Studies Day this Friday and will answer many of these questions.

    The Communication Studies Day  will have panel presentations of UNCW graduates from the major discussing their careers and experiences since college. Students will be able to hear from individuals who are currently doing things with their Communication Studies degree that they are considering doing after graduating, such as marketing, graduate school, broadcasting, and public relations. Many of the panelists graduated recently and will be able to relate to the students attending the presentations as they only recently were in the same point of approaching graduation and having to decide what they wanted to do and how to go about it. There will also be networking sessions for students to speak with faculty, friends and alumni. Another aspect of Communication Studies Day is the Dress for Success fashion show, in which attendants will get to see outfits of business casual and business professional attire. Attire is an important component of a professional image and many students are unsure about how they are expected to dress for a successful career.

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    Communication Studies Day is not just an event that is simply put on by faculty and that students can show up to if they want to. The event is being  coordinated and marketed by UNCW Communication Studies students. Dr. Persuit’s IMC II class will be tweeting, posting photos, and sharing information about the event as it is occurring on this blog. Individuals can learn more about the event by following #DressForSuccess2012 and #COMStudiesDay on twitter.

    ~Molly Jacques, Josh Vester, Ashley Oliver and Hunter Wilson

  • Talk of the town? More like talk of the nation: When Local News Goes National

    As we all know, the phrase “gunman on campus,” is nothing to take lightly.  Since the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, colleges across the country have made it a priority to ensure the safety of their campus.

    UNC Wilmington students were alerted late last night of a gunman on campus, fleeing from the nearby Hardees. The University continued to update students through email, phone calls and text messages in order to ensure all students were aware of the situation and safe.
    It seems as though UNCW took all the proper precautions; what they didn’t take into consideration was how the students were going to react to it. Within a matter of no time, students with Facebook and Twitter accounts were posting: “everyone on campus be safe!” or writing terms of endearment on loved one’s walls. According to Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, the ability of people to share, cooperate, and act together is being improved dramatically by our social tools.With access to these social networking sites, students were able to publicly announce that there was a gunman on campus, which instigated a major concern.  News of the gunman on UNCW’s campus even reached popular media outlets, such as the New York Times and CBS.

    Using these social networking sites has united people all over the country.  Looking again at Shirky’s book, he exclaims, “a story can go from local to global in a heartbeat.” Without today’s social media sites, many news outlets would not have heard about the gunman. From an IMC perspective, we must look at how powerful these sites are and use them with much caution.

    -Stephanie Bakolia, Claire Outlaw, David Glaubach

  • Wow WE made it!

    As my final days at UNCW come to an end I start to remember how it all began. When I came to the university I was young and clueless, not only about my college career but life in general. With the guidance of great faculty and an excellent student body I found my way to where I am now. A few finals away from Graduation day….

    I am nervous and excited, yet scared of not knowing what my future holds. There is one thing that I am certain of, and that is I know UNCW has prepared me for the next step in my life no matter what that step is. I say this to all the seniors graduating now, and to those that will graduate in the future. You might not know what exactly your next step is, but you can be certain that your college experience has prepared you for it.

    My advice to anyone that will graduate later on down the road is to make the most of your college experience. Take the classes that interest you, talk to your teachers and meet your peers. I know it sounds “old” and kind of “cheesy”, but when you step foot on campus do everything to the best of your ability. Don’t hold back anything because one day your college career will near the end and you want to feel how I feel now. You want to feel prepared for the future, and you want to know that you tried as hard as you could in school and did everything you wanted. Take advantage of the opportunity you have to attend college and make the most of it.

    -Drew Mayer

    To the graduating class of 2011, WE made it! This is our moment to say all the research papers, presentations, nights in the library, our stress because we procrastinated in finishing a project, we did it and all our hard work has finally paid off. This is the moment our parents have been waiting for when they can say their “little” boy or girl graduated from University. All of us have come so far, gone through the good and the bad, and we can finally say we did it, were graduating. Most of us have been going to school non-stop basically our whole lives and some of us will continue our education in Graduate School. But what we most importantly need to understand is we never gave up, even when at times it seemed as we would never reach the end. I was a transfer student to UNCW in the fall of 2009 and attended this University not knowing a single person. Let’s just say how blessed I feel that I chose to be a Communication Studies major transferring in. You’re forced into groups, your forced to stand up and talk about your self the first day of class, but most importantly your forced to learn how to COMMUNICATE and NETWORK with others.

    These past two years at UNCW have been the most rewarding experience I could have imagined. Not only is it a great school, but also the Communication Studies faculty and students make it enjoyable to go to school each day. When Professors still greet you in the hallway by your first name even though they haven’t taught you in over a year and ask about your future plans, which to me is the best feeling. To those of you not graduating embrace your time left here. It comes sooner than you think and as excited I am to be graduating, I will miss it more than I thought I would. Not only should you embrace your education but embrace your life outside of school. Soon we grow up, we graduate, we get jobs, start families and as amazing as that is going to be, your time at school is a part of your life that comes and goes fast. Never stop having fun and enjoying life and always remember to network as much as you can. Cheers!

    -Lindsey Baggett

  • What I Learned in Corporate Communication

    I cannot believe the semester is coming to an end. As I reflect on the Corporate Communication course, there are several things that I have learned. Thinking back to our first day of class and the definition of corporate communication we formulated, we selected several terms; brand, consistent, reputation, identity, narrative, integration, persuasion, symbolic, building/maintaining. These terms only started the process of discovering what corporate communication is about. From class discussions, our mid-term project and our readings there are more that I would add; discipline, alignment, values, vision, mission, responsibility, customer service, diversity and the list could go on!

    One concept that struck me the most from our readings was the Hedgehog concept. The story is about a fox and a hedgehog. The fox is cunning and always trying to get at the hedgehog in various ways. The hedgehog follows his daily routine and whenever the fox tries to pounce, he consistently rolls into a ball with his spikes protruding. The point of the story is the hedgehog has a simple plan and he wins every time. The underlying message of the hedgehog concept is to align your strengths with your passions and what drives you economically. As I reflect on the key terms from our definition of corporate communication and the Hedgehog concept, they are not solely meant for a corporation as a whole, but for each individual that breathes the life into a corporation as well.                                               -Jocelyn Beam-Walson

    Corporate Communication has certainly taught me a great deal over the course of this semester.  I have expanded my knowledge on all of the things Jocelyn touched on above, but I think the most important concept I am walking away from the class with comes from a book we read called Good to Great, by Jim Collins.  In the book, Collins talks about getting the right people “on the bus”.  This essentially means that if you want to succeed, you need to surround yourself with people that also want to succeed and who are driven and motivated to do so.  Although I’ve been doing group projects for most of my college career, this thought never occurred to me.  Obviously I never intentionally agreed to work with bad group members, it just seemed to happen.  After reading about the importance of getting the right people on the bus and the bad ones off, no matter what.  From now on I will always remember this concept and make sure that I get on the right bus with the right people!                                                                                                                                                         -Eliza Wadson

    Corporate Communication has given me a surprising amount of information and provided me with helpful experiences as well. I found the content of Good to Great very insightful. I was surprised by the attributes that forge the path to greatness. Rather than there being a miraculous transition or advances in technology, greatness is obtained through a collection of factors that synergistically interact, specifically having the right solidarity between indomitable perseverance, winning people, and valuing actual results over flashy appearances. The information gathered from this textbook helped me to view successful companies in a different light. This course also gave me some good experience with group work. I have had some unpleasant experiences with groups in the past; however, this semester I have been part of a group that displays efficiency, a desire to get things done, and putting forth equal effort in completing objectives. Corporate Communication has taught me new facts and ideas and I feel these will be useful in my future career aspirations.                              -Sean O’Connell

    This class was set up unlike any other class I have taken at UNCW.  It was structured to mimic a real work environment by allowing us as students to formulate class discussions.  Each class, we took topics from the reading and generated them into issues that were relevant to us.  When we presented our midterm papers, we arranged the class like a boardroom and fostered a conversation on our findings, rather than standing up in front of the class and lecturing.  Another helpful tool that we used in this class was the blog.  Having something that we are responsible for that reaches a large audience is empowering as students.  It also made us a part of the current transition in corporate communication towards social networking. This skill will prove useful to us in our future careers.  Overall, this class gave me a new perspective on corporate communication and what it means to work in the industry.  It made me excited to enter the work force and start putting these skills I have learned to action.                                                                                                                  -Sarah McIntosh

  • Campaigning 2.0

    Social networking is the biggest thing to happen to political campaigns since television, and this medium is rapidly changing the way candidates reach voters.  We first saw heavy use of social media tactics with the 2008 presidential election.  You could “friend” the candidate you planed to vote for on Facebook or “follow” them on Twitter.  If you chose to do so, you were given access to immediate updates from the campaign trail and information on platforms in quick, bite-sized pieces of information that were easily digestible.  The trend of using social media in political campaigns has only strengthened since 2008; now almost all candidates have Facebook pages and a presence on other sights such as Twitter, Linkedin and Gist.

    Political campaigns are benefiting greatly from the use of social networking.  The sights help to lend transparency and credibility to political campaigns by eliminating a middleman.  Voters can go straight to a candidate’s Facebook page and read facts straight from the candidate, rather than receiving biased information from a third party.  Michigan House of Representatives member, Justin Amash, began posting his votes, along with a short explanation from the House floor as his Facebook statuses.  He immediately received feedback from his “friends”, both good and bad.  Since starting this, Amash has gained popularity and even announced his candidacy for the US Senate through his fan page.

    Social networking sites also offer the ability for candidates to access a wide variety of voters inexpensively.  Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and various other social networking sites also allow people to be the voice for candidates, which could either make or break them.  If a candidate has supporters touting their name all over their profile, then they are likely to receive more attention.  If people are constantly talking about how great somebody is then other people are going to think that candidate is a good choice.  Refer back to the last presidential election and this is seen clearly.

    All in all, social networking has evolved the way political campaigns are carried out.  No longer can candidates rely on traditional tactics, rather they have to continuously keep their publics informed through status updates, tweets, etc.

    Sarah McIntosh, Eliza Wadson, Jocelyn Walson, Sean O’Connell