Sysomos Blog

What The Social World Is Saying About PRISM

2013-06-18T12:55:40Z

As long as the internet has been in the mainstream there has been talk about what information people have on it can be seen by others. About 11 days ago this talk hit a new high as a United States NSA (National Security Agency) intelligence program, PRISM, came to light in the public.

Like many people, the PRISM program intrigued me. More so, I was intrigued by the world was saying about PRISM. Using MAP, our social media monitoring and analytics software, I looked into some social media statistics and analytics around the PRISM chatter.

But what exactly is PRISM? According to what we know, it’s a program that the NSA implemented with some of the worlds largest internet companies to gather large amounts of data for security information. The program came into the public light on June 6th when a former NSA contract worker leaked information about PRISM to the press, specifically to The Guardian and The Washington Post. The document sent to these sources named many large companies that we all know and use on a daily basis as sources of the NSA’s information. Since then, many of the companies named to be part of the PRISM program have come out and said that they are not feeding all of their data to the NSA, but rather they take proper legal steps to only hand over data required by them by specific court documents. For more detailed information about PRISM, check out the Wikipedia article which is constantly being updated as new information comes out.

While the United States government has openly admitted that the program exists, but that they cannot and are not using to keep tabs on their own citizens beyond national security issues. However, There is still a lot of people wondering what information is being seen, from where and by whom?

I decided to not add any real commentary on the PRISM chatter, but rather just present you some of the facts that I found doing this search.

Looking for the word “PRISM” mentioned through social media over the past two weeks comes up with a number just under 1 million. In that time 35,121 blog posts, 59,833 online news articles, 37,035 forum postings and 833,190 tweets mentioning PRISM.

Looking at the mentions of PRISM over time, I looked back a month so we could see when the news broke. As you can see, before June 5th there was almost no mentions of the word PRISM (however there were a few as a prism is an actual thing). Then the information came out to The Guardian and Washington Post and you can see on June 6th the initial reports start to hit, but the real spike in mentions comes on June 7th as every one else became aware the next day when daily publications also helped to spread the news.

I then looked up who around the world was talking about PRISM. Because PRISM has to do with the United States government and companies which operate there, it’s no surprise that they accounted for exactly half of the conversation. The second most chatter about PRISM came from the UK (7.4%) followed by Germany (6.7%), France (3%) and Australia (2.8%).

For a more visual representation of all the people around the world who are talking about PRISM, see the heat map of Twitter mentions below.

I was also curious as to who was talking about PRISM. I started by looking at top sources coming from Twitter (users with a high authority rank who are mentioning PRISM the most). The results here are quite interesting. The top three Twitter sources are all ones that have been known to publicly fight for privacy, especially from the government, online; Anonymous (hacker activist network), Kim Dotcom (founder of Mega Upload which was taken down by the government a few years ago) and Netz4ktivisten (a privacy advocate group from Denmark).

I then looked into which online news sources around the world are talking about PRISM the most. The leader of the pack here was Yahoo, but likely because they aggregate news from all over the web. The only two American based news organizations I see on this list are Reuters and The Washington Post.

Lastly, I pulled up some text analytics to show you just what everyone is talking about in relation to PRISM. Below you will find a buzzgraph and word cloud around PRISM. In them we can see a lot of the key things that the public already knows about PRISM. We can see words like “NSA,” “privacy,” “data,” “surveillance,” “security” and “intelligence.” There are also many of the companies and government officials that were named as being part of PRISM present.

One interesting thing I found was the correlation of mentions of the NSA with those of PRISM. I actually thought there would be a lot more chatter about PRISM, but it may just be that people don’t know the name of the program, but they are aware of what’s been going on. When I looked up mentions of the NSA over the same period fo time I found over double the amount of mentions than PRISM. There was 2.4 million mentions of the NSA. However, if you look at the popularity graph of when talk about the NSA spiked, you can see that it looks very similar to the popularity graph around PRISM.

What do you think about these stats? What do they say to you about the world’s knowledge about PRISM? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

The Mystery of Google+

2013-06-15T19:26:48Z

How is Google+ doing?

It’s difficult to tell whether Google+ is oozing with untapped potential or whether it’s a social bust.

Many digital marketers are grappling with what to do with Google+.

On one hand, it would be easy to dismiss Google+ from the mix because it doesn’t appear to have much real momentum (and we’re talking about people and companies leveraging Google+ on a regular basis.)

But on the other hand, digital marketers also know it would be a mistake to ignore Google+ because it is, after all, owned by Google, the world’s leading search engine. To not use Google+ potentially means not have being part of the Google search empire.

Given the uncertainty about Google+, what’s a digital marketer to do?

The simple is answer is to establish a brand presence. It doesn’t have to be the most engaged or active presence but a brand should be on Google+.

When you think about it, it’s important to have social ground cover to be part of the Google empire, maintain a competitive edge, and have a head-start just in case Google+ takes off.

The challenge for many brands is trying to determine how much time to devote to Google+ when other social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn offer better results and engagement.

At the same time, there are also questions about how much a profile that a brand needs to give Google+ when it might not be popular with its customers.

For now, I would recommend brands allocate some attention to Google+ but not enough to take away from other social networks.

If and when Google+ starts to emerge as a way for brands to engage with consumers, then more time and investment can happen.

But, for now, Google+ is interesting but not compelling.

For insight into how marketers can take advantage of Google+, check out Kissmetrics’ 2013 marketing guide.

Define Social Media for Yourself

2013-06-12T11:02:56Z

Whatever your role – digital marketer, PR practitioner or even just an enthusiastic user – you not only need to get social media but understand what it means to you.

Social media is a chameleon. It can be different things to different people and you can get easily get lost in it.

If you’re a digital marketer, you need to see social media as much more than the average user would.

For you, social media needs to have multiple dimensions, including a way to learn about how to market to target audiences.

If you work in communications, social media is where you communicate relevant information and material to stakeholders. It might be the most important tool at your disposal. It is your newswire and soapbox.

Now, let’s say you are just the average user. Social media is where you tell your story. It is where you share your opinions, and where you are a member of different demographic groups that marketers and PR professionals are seeking.

It’s important to recognize that even if you are a digital marketer or PR person, you have to grasp the medium as an user as well. The more well rounded you are, the better off you will be.

So what does this all mean?

It means that whatever your persona and role in social media, the first thing to do is define what it specifically means to you.

Who Will Go Home With The Cup?

2013-06-13T13:14:40Z

There’s been a tough fought battle over the past few weeks, but we’ve almost reached the end. Last night the first game of the final round for the Stanley Cup kicked off between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins.

A few weeks ago we looked the social media chatter surrounding all 16 teams that started in the NHL playoffs and asked who you thought was going to make it to the finals based on that data. Would you have guessed that it was going to be the Bruins and Blackhawks?

Now that we know who’s officially playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup, we decided to see if we could use social media data from the playoffs to determine who will win this final round of hockey for the season. Using MAP, our social media monitoring and analytics software, we looked at mentions of the team’s names over the course of the playoffs (April 30 – June 11).

We started by looking at the number of overall social mentions received for each team. Here we found that the Boston Bruins seemed to be talked about a lot more than the Chicago Blackhawks. Out of all the conversations about both teams, the Bruins accounted for 64% of the mentions. More specifically, the Bruins received almost 1 million more mentions over the playoffs than the Blackhawks. Chicago amassed 1,343,542 mentions while Boston racked up an astounding 2,342,177.

Next we broke those mentions down by channel to see if it made a difference where these teams were being talked about. When we looked at blogs, forums, online news and Twitter, we found that the Boston Bruins were consistently talked about more across each of these social channels. Only in online news were the two teams even close in mentions.

One of the most interesting things we found in our search was when we looked at all mentions broken down over time during the playoffs. Here we could actually see when each team hit a high point during their time in the playoffs. Here, the Bruins hit their largest spike in conversation during the first round of the playoffs when they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins were up 3-1 in the series, but the Leafs made an incredible run to tie the series up at 3-3, but lost game 7 to the Bruins even though they were up three goals going into the 3rd period of that game on May 13th. On the other side, the Blackhawks saw their largest spike in conversation during game 7 of their play against the Detroit Redwings. Again, this was another series where the Redwings were up 3-1 in the series, but the Blackhawks came back to win their next 3 games and took the series on May 29th.

As many of you know, our home town is Toronto, so we had a first hand view of that series between Boston and Toronto. This made us wonder if Boston saw more mentions because of the Toronto fans also talking about them. In order to explore tjis, we compared where mentions of these teams were coming from. Because Twitter was the source of the most mentions of both teams, we looked at where tweets were coming from about each team over the playoffs. It turns out that the Bruins got far more mentions coming from Canada than the Blackhawks did. The Blackhawks only received 7% of their playoff mentions from Canada, but the Bruins had 22% of their mentions originate in Canada.

Finally, we compared the sentiment around each team during the playoffs. Here we found that while Boston was talked about more over all during the playoffs, the Blackhawks were talked about more positively. 45% of all mentions of the Blackhawks were positive while only 43% of the Bruins mentions were. As well, only 15% of Blackhawks mentions were negative, but 20% of the Bruins mentions were negative.

With all of this data, we decided to try and make a prediction on who will go home this year with the Stanley Cup. After looking closely at these stats, it looks like the Boston Bruins are poised to win this year. They consistantly had more mentions over the playoffs than the Blackhawks. While the Bruins did also have more negative mentions than the Blackhawks, their percentage of positive mentions was close to the Blackhawks, and with more mentions in total that would mean that they also likely received more positive mentions over all. This makes things look good for the Bruins in the social space.

Who do you think is going to be taking the Stanley Cup home this year? Let us know in the comments.

[Editors note: this was very hard for me to write as I'm a big Blackhawks fan. So while the data shows that the Bruins are more poised to win.... Go Blackhawks!!]

Twitter vs. Traditional Media: Is there a Rivalry?

2013-06-10T23:10:08Z

It was not that long ago that Twitter was seen as the great enemy of traditional media, along with other social networks. Publications and journalists were struggling to break stories in what was now a “real-time” world.

Many media outlets are up in arms in the belief and, arguably fear, that social media will outlive them, and even put them out of business. This is a reality for some, but maybe it doesn’t have to be.

But is Twitter a tool for traditional media – as it is for digital marketers? I’m here to argue it is.

Twitter is the fertile opportunity that struggling news outlets should be craving to capitalize on. This isn’t to say other networks can help them, but Twitter is a direct link to potential success or rejuvenation.

Twitter lets you build their audience; an audience that used to be invisible and somewhat assumed on their part. Now, the media can connect with readers, as well as foster a fan base for their editorial work.

Another reason Twitter may not be a detriment to traditional media is lets the media stay ahead on potential news stories. By following the right people and connecting and engaging honestly, the media can build a network of sources that can easily further their efforts.

The one caveat for the media is getting caught up in the speed of Twitter, which may tempt them to publish a story before it’s ready. Even in a real-time world, the media still needs to move and report on the best facts available, even if it means not moving at the speed of social media.

For traditional media, Twitter can become an ally as opposed to adversary if the right approach is adopted.

Corporate Blogging is Not About You

2013-06-10T10:29:24Z

Why is it that so many corporate blogs only feature content about their products?

What’s the purpose of this approach?

Why do so many companies believe this content is interesting?

Why would anyone read this kind of blog on a regular or even semi-regular basis?

In doing some research recently on several different sector, it was puzzling to see so many corporate blog embrace the me-me-me approach.

If it’s not about their products, it’s about a partner, events attended, awards or media coverage.

Frankly, these kind of blogs are uninspiring.

Sure, they might be easy to write, “safe” and generate a little search engine juice but they’re more corporate brochures than offering value-added content.

For corporate blogs to thrive, they need to be educational, entertaining or engaging. They need to offer a variety of content that offers information, inspiration and insight.

Most important, it can’t be all about the brand all the time.

Corporate blogs thrive when they feature a healthy content mix. It’s alright to talk about corporate developments but it needs to be balanced by non-corporate content.

This approach serves the company’s needs but, as important, the needs and interest of readers, including potential customers.

Truth be told, these kind of blogs are more challenging and consume more resources because they’re not just marketing and sales collateral being regurgitated.

The upside is these blogs are more interesting and user-friendly.

Customer Service’s Greatest Innovation

2013-06-06T00:22:54Z

Social media might be the greatest innovation the world of customer service has ever experienced.

As a digital marketer, you have experienced the impact of social service professionally and personally.

Customer service can be viewed as the greatest measure of a company’s success, both in the offline and online worlds. It positively affects the top and bottom lines in many ways.

The important thing to remember is that regardless of how amazing your product and/or services are, there will be problems. Some customers will not be pleased, and frankly, it’s their right.

Social media is where this complaint will most likely live and be seen and read by others.

You have to constantly monitor social networks to see who’s happy and unhappy with your brand. Most importantly, you need to act fast and directly.

For some reason, negative opinions travel fast in social media. A bad experience with your brand can cause a tidal wave of opinion in social media. As well, brands of all sizes have dealt with this in the digital arena.

It is also your responsibility to foster and help spread the good opinions and experiences that get shared on social media.

Never have brands been given such an opportunity and, at the same time, had to shoulder such responsibility. Take it seriously and make it count.

Subway Banks on Social Currency

2013-06-04T10:20:15Z

For people who have not heard of the term “social currency”, it can be defined as the degree to which users share a brand or information about the brand within their networks.

Essentially, it’s a measure of how much a brand connects, engages and builds awareness with digital audiences. It includes many of the leading social media priorities for brands.

Social currency also extends beyond the popular platforms; it’s about an overall presence and the virality of your digital activity.

Now that you know about social currency, here’s an example of a a brand doing a great job of embracing it: Subway.

By doing a quick audit of its digital presence, Subway has a huge social presence, including 22.5 million Facebook fans and 1.2 million Twitter followers).

As important, Subway is also blessed with a vibrant and active community who likes to talk about the brand.

So why is Subway so successful?

A key element may be how it does to engage its vast audience. It creates fun games and offers a lot of interactive that encourages people to get deeper into digital experience. It is an approach that every brand should explore and, ideally, emulate.

The big lesson that Subway can teach digital marketers is the importance of being creative and active.

It is also essential to have content that is interesting and engaging, which will go a long way to get people to help drive brand awareness.

What brands do you think have a high amount of social currency?

Is Social Media Just About Sharing Food?

2013-06-04T13:01:05Z

Do you ever notice how much people talk about or share pictures of what they’re eating in social media? Is it true that “social media is just people sharing what they had for breakfast”?

Last week in my home town of Toronto I had the pleasure of “celebrating” Toronto Burger Week. The celebration consisted of over 50 burger joints throughout the city who each offered their own specialty hamburger for only $5. It was the most delicious week of 2013 so far. But I also noticed something during Burger Week; my Twitter feed, especially the lists I use to follow Toronto locals, was filling up with pictures of amazing looking burgers.

When you start to notice things like this and have access to something like MAP, our social media monitoring and analytics software, you can get very curious. I decided to look at just how much people talk about hamburgers around the world through social media.

It turns out that people using social media really love hamburgers. In the past six months I found hamburgers being talked about in over 15.9 million conversations. Hamburgers were mentioned in 397,567 blog posts, 497,049 online new articles, 728,168 forum postings and an incredible 14,338,487 tweets.

Some people, thanks to the rise of fast food, picture the hamburger as being an American food. However, when I looked at where all these mentions of burgers were coming from, they spanned the globe. The United States did mention hamburgers the most, owning 34.9% of the conversation. Surprising though, is that the next two countries with the most conversations about hamburgers are Germany (20.3%) and China (13.5%).

While I always knew that people do like to share and talk about food though social media, I was actually surprised at how much. So, I decided to take my curiosity a little further.

I next decided to look up and compare how six “popular” foods are talked about through social media channels. This time, I ran a comparison to see how much people were talking about hamburgers, bacon, cupcakes, donuts, tacos and pizza. The results were actually kind of surprising.

Having spent some time on the internet myself, I assumed that bacon would for sure be the most talked about of these foods. However, it turns out that in the past six months bacon has only been mentioned in social media 15,924,671 times. Out of all the food I looked up pizza is actually talked about the most in social media around the world with 50,575,297 mentions. The second most talked food in social media was tacos, which had 22,785,371 social mentions. That’s less than half of the mentions pizza got. Hamburgers came in third place, followed by bacon, cupcakes and finally donuts.

When I looked at the mentions of these foods over time, we an see just how much pizza dominates the social media conversations. Each food seems to have it’s own spikes in popularity at certain times, like tacos large spike in conversation around the beginning of February, but none ever seem to be talked about more than pizza.

I then tried to find if some of these foods appealed more to certain demographics. I started by looking at conversations of these foods by age groups. Not surprisingly, each food was mentioned most by people who are aged 21-35. People aged 36-50 always came in second for mentions of all types of food as well. One interesting thing I noticed though was that people aged 51 or over weren’t very in to cupcakes or donuts, but they did seem to love talking about hamburgers. I also found it interesting that those 20 or under talked the least about bacon. Maybe they just need some time to mature into it.

The most interesting thing I found though during this exercise came when I looked at the gender breakdown of food talk. While everyone likes food, it turns out that women talk significantly more about food in social media than men. Especially cupcakes.

Do you ever notice your social media world being taken over by food? Do you think it’s true that “social media is only good for sharing what you had for breakfast”? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.

Leveraging Employees for Social Success

2013-06-03T10:05:47Z

When it comes to driving more social media followers and engagement, most brands take an outward looking approach.

They spent a lot of time, effort and energy trying to come up with ways to drive engagement, conversations and relations using a variety of social media platforms. It’s all about trying to win over potential and existing customers.

Lost in the social shuffle is an important stakeholder group: employees, who have a vested interest in helping a company be more successful – whether it’s more sales and profits or a bigger social media community.

Many companies seem to overlook their employees as a way to build a larger and more vibrant social media presence.

For whatever reason, employees are not seen as top-of-mind social ambassadors. Some employees may not think employees will leverage their personal networks to promote a brand’s social media activities.

In many cases, this is a false assumption because employees are interested in becoming social advocates or champions. If any stakeholder group is motivated to make a brand more successful, employees rank right up there, particularly given the volatile economic conditions.

In a recent blog post, Forrester Research’s Tracy Stokes said leveraging employees is a powerful way for companies to do branding building.

“Make brand building part of how employees do their job and guide them by the light of a clear brand North Star so that your powerful new army marches to the same drumbeat,” she wrote.

One of the keys in using employees as social champions is making it easier for them to get involved.

It not means educating them on best practices but giving them tips and instructions on the type of content you want them to share, as well as how they can and should get engaged with potential and existing customers.

This may involve something as simple as sending content to employees, and then asking them to share it on their social networks.

A good example of a company that makes it easier for brands to share content with employees is Elevate, which lets a brand use their best social content, and send it with employees via a newsletter that features a variety of options to quickly share content on social media.

The bottom line is employees are happy to help a company do better socially. It’s just a matter bringing them into the fold, and giving them ways to quickly and easily get involved.