Social Media and Information Strategy Bob Boiko President, Metatorial Services Senior Lecturer U. Washington iSchool 1

Bob Boiko  Consultant  Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, Honeywell  UN World Food Program, Edgerton Foundation  Author  CM Bible  Laughing at the CIO  IM Best Practices  Teacher  iSchool, University of Washington  The iSchool CMS Curriculum  MSIM Program  Business Man  CM Pros  Metatorial Services  Programmer  Database and XML systems

What will we talk about?  Why do you care about information?  What is information strategy?  What is social media?

Why do you care about information? 1.Make you understand 2.Entertain you 3.Make you feel 4.Make you act Information can: - George Campbell mrsvesseymathematicians.wikispaces.com cicero.missouristate.edu

Is Information Strategic? Is this the information age? Is information a key asset? Is information power?

Information strategy is like any other strategy How do we use best use our key resources to reach our goals?

Information Strategy If we deliver the right information to the right people in the right way, it will help us meet our goals.

An Aside: Information Strategy vs. Content Strategy Content Strategy is a lot like Content Management (all about the web) Information Strategy is about the entire organization

What is Social Media? Or social networking Or social apps Or web 2.0 Or …

A Short list of Social Media Technologies  Wikis  Blogs  YouTube  Facebook  MySpace  Twitter  Delicious  Yelp  LinkedIn  IM/SMS  Digg Second Life Flickr Epinions Picassa FriendFeed eBay Craig’s list Discussion lists Recommenders Ning Pandora

Social media is ELECTRONIC CONVERSATIONS Information is exchanged Social media is how it is exchanged blonde2dot0.com

So, what happens in conversations?  There are people “speaking” (creating information)  There are people “listening” (consuming information)  There may be people responding  There may be people repeating

What kinds of conversations are there?

How Communication Happens Two speak, listen, and respond One speaks, many listen, few respond pg Many speak, listen, and respond (Sync) Many speak, listen, and respond (Asynch)

What kinds of users do you have? Do they speak? Would they speak? Do they respond? Would they respond? Do they repeat? Would they repeat?

Your user is a listener It’s all about your information Credibility  Authority  Expertise Relevance  Logic  Passion And how you speak  Broadcast – the expert speaks to the world  Narrow cast – the expert speaks to you

Your user is a responder It’s about your information … Credibility  Authority  Expertise Relevance  Logic  Passion And their desire to talk back  Can they easily respond  Is someone listening?  Are they rewarded?

Your user is a speaker It’s about promotion.  Facilitation  Recognition  Status And engagement  Peers  Excitement And about emergence  Can ideas spread and morph?  Do good ideas out?

Your user is a repeater It’s all about interest  New  Exciting  Promotes their goals too And packaging  Short  Memorable  Linked

Inform listeners Facilitate responders Promote speakers Supply repeaters

What conversations does it favor? To understand a social technology, find its conversations

What conversations does it favor? 1.Many speak, listen, and respond (Asynch) 2.Many speak, listen, and respond (Sync) 3.One speaks, many listen, few respond 4.Two speak, listen, and respond Like = Repeat

What conversations does it favor? 1.One speaks, many listen, few respond 2.Many speak, listen, and respond (Sync) 3.Many speak, listen, and respond (Asynch) 4.Two speak, listen, and respond Retweet= Repeat

What conversations does it favor? 1.Many speak, listen, and respond (Asynch) 2.One speaks, many listen, few respond 3.Many speak, listen, and respond (Sync) 4.Two speak, listen, and respond Link = Repeat

Information Strategy and Social Media Strategy

Social Media adds conversation If we deliver the right information to the right people in the right way, it will help us meet our goals. Deliver = publish Deliver = facilitate conversations Deliver = publish Deliver = facilitate conversations 1.Many speak, listen, and respond (Asynch) 2.One speaks, many listen, few respond 3.Many speak, listen, and respond (Sync) 4.Two speak, listen, and respond 1.Many speak, listen, and respond (Asynch) 2.One speaks, many listen, few respond 3.Many speak, listen, and respond (Sync) 4.Two speak, listen, and respond

Strategy is still Strategy  Strategy is how information gets you what you want  The old paradigm of publication still holds  It just is not the only game in town  It is widely used in social media  The new paradigm of social media adds conversation to publication  Know what kind of conversations are possible  Know what kind of conversations are useful  Know what technologies promote which conversations

Let’s do information/social media strategy 28

Our Sample Org: Atlas Financial Services (AFS) Business: Financial Advisors Competitive Advantage: Personal Service Unique Products

Goals

Audiences Internal  Old Guard Analysts  Young Turk Analysts  Marketing Product Managers  Front Line Sales Staff External Young Investors Prime Earners Late Investors

Audience: Key Questions  What kind of communicators are your users now?  What kinds could they be?  What kinds do they want to be?  What kinds do want them to be?  What is the cost of changing them?

Information Industry Trends. Short abstracts of pertinent articles, audio or video bites of significant industry events with a reference or link to the original. Market Data. Current data, historical trends and market analysis from a range of respected experts. Personal Communication. Access to opinion leaders in AFS and beyond for timely advice and consulting.

Information: Key Questions  What do they want to talk about?  Who should originate?  You originate?  They originate?  Third parties originate?  What channel (app) suits the conversation?

Information Strategy If we deliver the right information to the right people in the right way, it will help us meet our goals.

Strategy Statements By delivering Industry Trends to analysts, we will help them generate more and better supported new product ideas. Trends will spark ideas and tie the analysts into the wider financial world By delivering Market Data to analysts, we will help them generate more and better supported new product ideas. They need to validate their ideas against this reality By delivering Personal Communications to analysts, we will help them generate more and better supported new product ideas. They need to fire test their ideas before presenting them to marketing. By creating a conversation on Industry Trends between analysts, we will help them generate more and better supported new product ideas. Trends will spark ideas and tie the analysts into the wider financial world

Another Example: Young Investors Another Example: Young Investors Goal: Go National Sub goal: Establish reputation in new markets Audience: Young Investors Info: What do I do now? (targeted use it now advice for investment needs that arise early in your career By creating a conversation on What do I do now? with Young Investors, we will Establish reputation in new markets. We will become known as the go-to people for questions and when their investment needs becomes serious we will be top of mind. By creating a conversation on What do I do now? with Young Investors, we will Establish reputation in new markets. We will become known as the go-to people for questions and when their investment needs becomes serious we will be top of mind.

Audience Analysis: Young Investors  What kind of communicators are your users now?  Not even listeners!  What kinds could they be?  Listeners  Responders  What kinds do they want to be?  None (in general)  Question askers (when an issue comes up)  What kinds do want them to be?  Responders  What is the cost of changing them?  Staff time for questions  Dev time and cost for collecting and routing questions

Info Analysis: Young Investors  What do they want to talk about?  What do I do now?  Who originates information  You originate?  The answers to the questions  They originate?  They simply have to acknowledge that they have the question  Third parties originate?  Respected people who young investors will respond to  Spread the word that AFS has the answers  What channel suits the conversation?  Mobile apps  IM  Social network sites

Want More?  Metatorial.com  CM Bible/ Laughing at the CIO  White papers, Presentations  Recorded Lectures and Courses  CM Design Tools  Workshop: Taming the Content Beast  iSchool.washington.edu  Distance learning  Research  Summer IA Institute

Class: Social Networking Technologies 41

Class: Info Structure using XML  Self paced course  How to structure information for management and delivery  Focus on XML  Mail me if you are interested   Try it at   Login with the guest code: hhhggg