Saturday, October 23, 2010

We the People, Social Media, and Qualitative Research


Today a small group of folks pulled together our existing resources and took on the innovative task of tweeting and blogging a local civic engagement event.  Using our laptops and cellphones, we live tweeted/blogged a local civic engagement event sponsored by AmericaSpeaks and the Public Life Foundation of Owensboro.

The event brought together nearly 300 locals to discuss local issues centered around Education and the Economy. (A participant guide from the event can be found here.)  This was the second We the People event held in my hometown of Owensboro, KY, the first one being in 2007.

Our local group consisted of four folks (me, Steve Metzger, Jessie Schartung, and Michelle Montalvo).  I set up an event of Cover it Live at the Owensboro Blog.  The interface was free, very easy to use.  After talking with Mary Lauran Hall with AmericaSpeaks the day before, we set everything up and organized ourselves to pull this off late in the afternoon the day before the event.  This came upon us quite spontaneously.

I'd like to devote the remainder of this blog post to addressing some insights from the process, with its implications on citizen journalism and qualitative research.

Qualitative insights
Social media and social networking tools are disruptive tools in the media-sphere.  Particularly in our local community, social media and social networking tools are still largely viewed as new and for entertainment purposes.  Social media and social networking tools are primarily open, accessible, and can be implemented by anyone with the initiative to learn how to do so.  Pulling together these tools to document and regard an event of this type is not entirely difficult, but it does take some thinking and planning.  I have been working in this fashion in various ways for several years.  We like to think that as a result of our process that we not only documented the event live, but we were able to give lasting insight into the minute-to-minute, stage to stage process of dialogue and deliberation of participants during this event.


Usually during We the People events the first draft of information received is the draft final report handed out at the end of the day.  During our project, we were able to document quotes, feelings, raw ideas and beliefs of participants as they shared those in the moment, in dialogue and discussion with other members at their particular tables.  While this information served as a social media component because it was live, the real benefit is that this information is also archived, giving organizers, staff, researchers of the process particular insight into the emotional give and take often experienced as participants delve deeply into local issues.

The AmericaSpeaks were nothing but extremely supportive of our work during the event.  We obtained a .pdf copy of the initial final reports immediately after they were distributed to participants.  We shared that online and made it publicly available to anyone.  Part one of the document can be found here, part two can be found here.

This is significant as it relates to qualitative assessment and analysis.  We live in a culture (societal and in the academic community) that largely focuses on quantitative information: giving us the overarching view with little attention to detail and the quality of feeling of individuals and small groups.  By organizing qualitative research as we did with this event, we now also have the added dimension that gives depth of context to the results from the day long town meeting.  Therefore, this process can be used not just for documenting a live event for those unable to be physically present, but this process should also been seen as adding another layer of context to the overall town meeting and the results derived by the participants.

In our particular effort we worked to provide rich media, including photos, audio, and video accounts of activities occurring in the moment.  There are variations of intensity that can be conducted in documenting an event live.  Given our very quick turnaround on organizing for this event, we were unable to strategically plan how we would do the live tweeting/blogging.  In future instances, this would be an aspect to have better control.  Some particular options are having members of the team focus on specific activities.  For example, one person document via photos, others via text, others recording and uploading video.  The beauty of the Cover it Live interface is that those moderating the interface can include content from the outside.  In our case we did pull in this rich media as we were able to, including tweets from not just our small staff, but tweets from the AmericaSpeaks and tweets from the few participants that were tweeting from time to time.  We also brought in other content on the web, relevant to the event.  So for example we posted the participant guide so online participants could follow what was being covered in the physical setting.

Reach
The Cover it Live web based software does include stats.  Given our limited time for marketing, we did not expect that our live event would garner a whole lot of outside participation.  But keep in mind we also approached this as an effort of documenting the day, so it will be hard to tell how often the event (which is archived on the Owensboro Blog) will be viewed later.  In fact we do expect that qualitative insight into the day can be had by viewing both the archived Cover it Live instance and the backed up tweets from the day (found here).

During the event it appears we had around 20 people actively engaged in commenting and viewing via the Cover it Live interface.  During this particular event there was not much effort of online participation in the event via our interface.  We were unable to design the interface in such a way this time around, but options are available where such an effort could gain more traction and significance for online participants if established and communicated well in advance of the day of the event.  AmericaSpeaks does have experience in linking several physical locations at the same time, incorporating a collaborative web component to do so (or like service).

Below is the archived event on Cover it Live


In our effort each of the team members tweeted to their followers and posted links to our information on Facebook.  In total we theoretically have a reach of at least 1500 followers; people from all over the world, national, statewide, and not just locally.  So there is some consideration that needs to occur about the impact of such a reach, the impact of the process as it ripples through social media.  How many folks will research this process?  How many will read recommendations on live tweeting/blogging an event and using the data for further qualitative analysis via this particular blog post?  These are very relevant in the face of the reach and impact of social media and its content, and the utilization of data for for research and ultimately procedural and policy implications.

Notes on process
We were mobile with our approach.  We established our "base of operations" on a back table, essentially sitting down and connecting with our laptops.  Although I haven't mentioned, it's hopefully obvious we had a local wifi network established via the technical capacity of the AmericaSpeaks folks.  This was a must for us to do our work.

Jessie, myself, and my mother as volunteer

Because we were pulling in tweets with a certain hashtag, we were able to take our mobile phones out amongst the tables and mobile blog/tweet.  I found it intimate to listen to quotes from tables and directly tweet those; these ended up in the Cover it Live interface and were backed up as previously mentioned.  It still is rewarding to go back and view the quotes that we pulled in from participants in the moment.  This data is from participants in deep conversation with others, considering ideas and sharing those perhaps in a very rare safe and inviting environment.

These are some initial thoughts that seem to be bubbling up as I continue to reflect on this process.  Below was the initial debrief that our local tweet/blog team shared.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

New Groups function on Facebook

Purpose of Groups
I'd recommend using groups for a close network of friends, family, or for a trusted network of colleagues or those with similar interests.  There needs to be a dimension of trust and dependability of members to get use out of this function.

When Group participation starts to become active it does become apparent that information needs to be better aggregated for easier access.  There still is not much structure for aggregating information via the Group.  This however can be achieved by using outside services such as Google Apps and then linking that content back into the Group.

Currently you can add Posts, Links, Photos, Videos, Events, and Docs to Group members.  You can also conduct Group chat.


Privacy
Multiple administrators can be added to a Group.  The administrator(s) can decide to make the Group one of the following:
  • Open: members and content is public
  • Closed: members public and content is private
  • Secret: members and content are private

Notifications
This is a very important function to gain control of as soon as you join a Group. When you are in the Group, you'll see the "Edit Notifications" icon towards the top right. You can choose your notification options there. Note: if you do not want email notifications make sure you uncheck the box at the bottom. If there is a lot of activity in the group you will receive a large number of notifications both in your Facebook notification feed and your designated email inbox if you have not deselected the appropriate boxes.

  • Facebook notification:  when you perform activity in the Group and someone replies or interacts with that activity, you will receive a notification via the traditional Facebook notifications tab on your main Facebook page

Group chat
The group chat allows you to chat with members in the Group that are currently online. At this stage note that all conversations held in Group chat are available for all members to see.

Therefore, Group chat should be relegated to casual conversation, with more specific interaction taken to individual chat or email.

Wall Posts
At current wall posts are the only way to develop interaction in a thread like manner. However, there are no threads in this new version of Groups. In order to get collaborative use out of this Groups function I'd recommend that people begin with the Wall posts function: post something. This helps to get interaction, exchange, and collaboration started.

I'd recommend that after a wall post develops much interaction with value added content, that perhaps it then is copied and pasted in to a Document so it can be better referenced over time.
As activity in the Group increases it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with general information that flows in and out of the Group through wall posts.  This information needs to be better managed.  As previously mentioned, this may better be addressed by using outside services such as Google Apps and then linking into the Group.  The Group can also use the Docs function, highlighted below.


Docs
The docs function allows members of the Group to create standing, editable documents.  This function has a very easy to use interface.  Docs are also available and can be accessed on the right hand side of the Group page.


Adding members
Once you are at the Group page the web address can be copied and emailed, tweeted, etc.. to anyone and they can click that link and request an invite to be added to the Group (the user has to have a Facebook account).  The administrator will have to approve.

All members of a Group can invite other members.  Therefore, you really should have a clear understanding of the purpose of your Group and who you want to invite.  That fact alone means you should have a handle on your trust, dependability, and willingness to collaborate with potential Group members before they are invited.    To repeat, all members of a Group can invite new members.  You do not have to be an administrator to invite new users.  Pick your members wisely.



Leaving the Group
You may find that you have randomly been added to a Group.  You can easily opt out of the Group by choosing "Leave Group" on the right hand side of the Group page.  However, once you leave you have to be reinvited to be added to the Group.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Hurricane Katrina: 5 years later

Thanks to @jmmeij for sharing!

Bicycling into the heart of the flood: A Hurricane Katrina remembrance

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Pizza Preacher Returns

on the heels of Dr. Laura's racist rant:




--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Facebook is everywhere

Facebook is everywhere


--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Ole Miss flash mob

another reason why flash mobs are so cool--and--why college is so cool

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Perceptions of discrimination

Some interesting polling data on perceptions of discrimination.


http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=943

Friday, January 29, 2010

Saturday, January 16, 2010

A Call for Immediate Disaster Response

The events of the past week in Haiti have been unbelievable. The complete destruction wrought by the earthquake has made an underdeveloped nation rely on far less than nothing.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I watched in agony the incredibly slow response of national and international assistance to a human population in need. Many of us throughout the world are witnessing and reliving the agony of a slow response to a human population that is desparate and strugglng to survive.

There are two projections that I'd like to call to our attention: 1) the global population is expected to rise from 6.5 billion to near 11 billion in the next 100 years; and, 2) global warming is expected to result in a highe number of catastophic events and with greater intensity and impact.

Our state, national, and international responses need significant attention and investment, a new strategic focus is in order to meet the needs of an evergrowing global population that will continue to fall victim to an increasing number of powerful disasters.

A legitimate reponse time of 7 days is unacceptable. The international community, while it's ciizens and institutions come to help in times of desperate need, has to get immediate response organized, distributed, effective: now. We must start thinking about waves of response. Emergency medical care, water, and food must arrive within 36 hours of the event. Necessary equipment and so on arrives 48 hours after, 3 days, etc. We do not seem to be prepared for what will become more and more common: natural disasters.

The work of groups such as the Red Cross and others is not in question. It is time for both the public and the private to step up and better organize a response strategy to address what the future holds for people and the planet: an increasing number of disasters which will require more resources, quicker response, in the efforts to adequately meet the coming tidal wide of human need during times of crisis.

The global population is expanding, and our planet is sick and getting sicker. How will we plan and respond?

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Planet Slum

I came across this very intriguing photo essay entitled "Planet Slum" today via Sociological Images on Twitter, found on the Foreign Policy website.

This is reminisicent of the work of Jacob Riis.

http://is.gd/5KOFv

Saturday, January 02, 2010

New Year, new opportunities

Greetings with a New Year to colleagues, friends, students, and followers!

I was really pleased to look back on 2009 and see that I had indeed increased the amount of blogging for the year. There is no doubt that my Twitter use greatly influenced that change, along with the purchase and robust use of my iPhone.

This year, particularly over the course of the next six months, my blogging will continue to increase as I add blogs to six sections of sociology, in addition to a partnership that I have with Pearson Education to blog at The Social Lens.

I also am looking at expanding the topics that I cover, and developing a range of content. The content will range in quality as well, as my dive into Twitter has impressed upon me the possibilities with content. Some posts will be more developed, some won't.

I continue to work to integrate a variety of services which house my content, and am currently developing a local project which will exhibit that same type of integration. I hope to speak and post more about that within the next few months.

So let's welcome the New Year, keep our sociology eyes open and aware, and further the introduction to sociology and our perspective on the world in which we live.

Chad

Friday, January 01, 2010

Corporate, retail driven society

Today is New Year's Day. Christmas was just a week ago.

By the way, Happy Valentine's Day!!!




--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com