A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Engagement, Impact, Value: Measuring & Maximising Impact Using the Social Web Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath, UK UKOLN is supported by: This work is licensed under a Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat) Acceptable Use Policy Recording this talk, taking photos, discussing the content using Twitter, blogs, etc. is permitted providing distractions to others is minimised. Acceptable Use Policy Recording this talk, taking photos, discussing the content using Twitter, blogs, etc. is permitted providing distractions to others is minimised. Twitter: Blog: Twitter: #iwmw10 #b6

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 2 About Me Brian Kelly: JISC-funded Web adviser to UK HE/FE sector Based at UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management Involved in Web since Jan 1993 Over 300 presentations given since 1997 ~750 blog posts since Nov 2006 Current areas of interest include Web 2.0, Web standards & Web accessibility User of various Web 2.0 services: blogs, micro- blogs, social sharing services, social networking services, …

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk About This Session The Social Web (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,..) is now widely accepted as playing an important role in supporting institutional activities. There’s a need to identify emerging best practices in use of such services. This session will review approaches to use of Social Web services. Participants will explore reasons for using the services and discuss concerns and dangers in such usage. This session will explore ways in which usage of such services can be measured in order to provide evidence of their value & effectiveness. Ways in which such metrics can be used in order to enhance the impact of institutional activities will also be explored. 3

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Draft Timetable TimeContentNotes 16.00IntroductionTalk 16.10The Social Web: Benefits and ConcernsGroup exercise 16.20Report back 16.35Exploiting Opportunities; Addressing Concerns Talk 16:45Making a Business CaseGroup exercise 17:00Presentation of the Business Cases 17:15Measuring Impact & Value; Maximising Engagement: Next Steps Talk & feedback 17:25Conclusions 4

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Social Web: Benefits & Concerns In small groups identify a reported and discuss Key benefits which the Social Web can provide for your institution Concerns you (or your institution) has over use of Social Web services 5 E

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 6 Why the Social Web? Key approaches for SEO: Apply various techniques to Web resources to make resources easier to find in Google, … Resources may include organisational Web suites, third party Web sites, databases, … Resources may also include real world objects and ideas (i.e. your museum, your research ideas, …) Based on understanding of importance of Google to end users Key approaches for SEO: Apply various techniques to Web resources to make resources easier to find in Google, … Resources may include organisational Web suites, third party Web sites, databases, … Resources may also include real world objects and ideas (i.e. your museum, your research ideas, …) Based on understanding of importance of Google to end users Databases Web sites Real world Directories Google (Bing, …)

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 7 Beyond SEO Summary of key approaches: Make use of social networking services which people may use of discuss your services Services may include Facebook, MySpace, Slideshare, Twitter, … No need to touch your Web sites (so useful if you can’t!) Based on understanding of popularity of SNs and people’s interests in chatting and sharing Summary of key approaches: Make use of social networking services which people may use of discuss your services Services may include Facebook, MySpace, Slideshare, Twitter, … No need to touch your Web sites (so useful if you can’t!) Based on understanding of popularity of SNs and people’s interests in chatting and sharing Databases Web sites Directories Social Web (Blogs, Facebook, Slideshare, Twitter, …) Real world “Recommendation is the new SEO!”

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 8 The Paper In The Repository The paper in the repository can fail to engage with potential interested parties (especially if the paper is embargoed) Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Facilitating The Discussion The blog post about the paper can engage a wider audience … 9 and encourage discussion and debate.. and provide links to discussions taking place elsewhere Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk The Evidence Statistics for the University of Bath Opus Repository 10 Blog post SEO ??? Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk The Evidence Second most downloaded resource in Opus had been linked to from UK Web Focus blog views total Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk A Comparison Does a blog post generate a ten-fold increase in the number of downloads? 12 Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 13 What Can Twitter Offer? Twitter Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Evidence of the importance of Twitter for driving traffic to blogs The Evidence 14 Evidence UK Web Focus Blog: Total of 250,00+ views. Average 250/day over 3.5 years But how do they arrive at the blog? UK Web Focus Blog: Total of 250,00+ views. Average 250/day over 3.5 years But how do they arrive at the blog? Evidence

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 15 “The Power Of Passed Links” The Value Of Twitter Is In “The Power Of Passed Links” Wilson predicts that at current growth rates, Twitter “will surpass Google for many websites in the next year.” And that just as nearly every site on the Web has become addicted to Google juice, they will increasingly try to find ways to get more links from Twitter. Because Twitter equals traffic. … Moreover, he asserts that these Twitter links “convert better” than search links because they are often pre- filtered and come in the form of a recommendation from someone you are following. TechCrunch, June 2009

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk The Evidence To conclude: Social Web is working Predictions are coming true But concerns over: Sustainability Interoperability Accessibility “It’s not for me” 16

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Sustainability See advice in Guide to Web Preservation: Risk assessment Backup copies Acceptance Risks for in-house services … 17

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 18 You Don’t Need To Blog! Perhaps blogging & twittering (and speaking at conferences) is best left to those with a passion for user engagement? Suggestions: Encourage the enthusiast Lightweight bureaucracy: “Don’t be stupid”, emerging patterns of Twitter usage, … Suggestions: Encourage the enthusiast Lightweight bureaucracy: “Don’t be stupid”, emerging patterns of Twitter usage, … Concerns

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 19 You Might Need a ‘Policy’ Dangers: A policy is bureaucratic, Fails to understand new technologies … Dangers of no policy: Over-the-top reaction A lightweight policy: Mosman Council page describes “who is tweeting on behalf of the Council (the web team based at the Library); why they are doing it; their reply policy and how to stop them following you” Concerns

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Policy For Blogs in the Cloud Policies for UK Web Focus blog 20 Concerns

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 21 Risk Management JISC infoNet Risk Management infoKit: “In education, as in any other environment, you can’t decide not to take risks: that simply isn’t an option in today’s world. All of us take risks and it’s a question of which risks we take” Examples of people who are likely to be adverse stakeholders: People who fear loss of their jobs People who will require re-training People who may be moved to a different department / team People.. required to commit resources to the project People who fear loss of control over a function or resources People who will have to do their job in a different way People who will have to carry out new or additional functions People who will have to use a new technology

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 22 Biases Subjective factors Towards a Framework “Time To Stop Doing and Start Thinking: A Framework For Exploiting Web 2.0 Services”, Museums & the Web 2009 conference Intended Purpose Benefits (various stakeholders Risks (various stakeholders Missed Opps. (various stakeholders Costs (various stakeholders Sharing experiences Learning from successes & failures Tackling biases … Critical friends Application to existing services Application to in-house development … Note also JISC’s Scenario Planning work

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 23 Using The Framework Intended Purpose Benefits (various stakeholders Risks (various stakeholders Missed Opps. (various stakeholders Costs (various stakeholders Community support Rapid feedback Justify ROI Org. brand Community- building Low? Twitter for individuals Organisational Fb Page Marketing events,… Large audiences Ownership, privacy, lock-in Marketing opportunity Low? Critical Friends / Friendly Critics UKOLN blogs list discussions Learning Many blogs Engaging with a Twitter community Conferences Papers … Note personal biases! Use of approach in two scenarios: Use of Twitter & Facebook

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Making A Business Case In groups you will now: Prepare a case for funding (or approval) for implementation of a promotional strategy Note that you will provide a summary to a panel(ist) who will approve best submissions The panel(ist) comprises: An enthusiast: a user of social media A sceptic: it’s full of trivia A neutral: who is open to persuading 24 E

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Scenarios 1Institutional / Departmental Challenges Wolves are at the door. Will Poppleton Uni survive? What about the IT Services department? What will you do? 2Opportunities for your Service You’ve launched a great new service. How do you promote it? You’ve an established (old media) marketing team 3Opportunities for your Project You’ve received project funding for 1 year – and no marketing budget. 4An Event (IWMW?) You run a successful event – but will people come next year? 5Your Choice Select your own scenario 25 Scenarios

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Your Proposal You should prepare your case and make a brief (2-3 mins) presentation. Your presentation should address the following issues: The key messages you wish to communicate The user benefits The resource requirements The staff responsible for the work Approaches to sustainability The tools you will use The evidence to demonstrate value The risks & approaches to managing such risks Ethical considerations 26

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Possible Additional Concerns Legal Concerns: Tweets may be copyrightable – what are implications of Digital Economy Act? Accessibility Concerns: Multimedia resources which are not fully accessible may infringe accessibility legislation. How do you respond? Sustainability Concerns (Services): Ning changes its T&Cs. How do you respond? Sustainability Concerns (People): A key member of your team, who was an early adopter of Social Web, is leaving 27

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk You Presentations 28

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Addressing Concerns Legal: Don’t fret! NB Oppenheim formula Accessibility: Doing nothing could be unreasonable. NB holistic & innovative approaches (e.g. use of Twitter for captioning videos ) Sustainability (Services): Risk assessment. Plans for data migration. In- house concerns (AHDS, …) Sustainability (People): Policies on ownership of content. Mechanisms for migration of content 29

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk What Next? We’ve Explored opportunities Considered ways of addressing concerns Looked at approaches for gathering evidence What next? UKOLN work on evidence, value, … Want to participate? Want to host meeting? Want to suggest areas for discussion? 30

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 31 Conclusions The Social Web: Can be used to enhance access to digital resources, real world resources and ideas and concepts Ignoring the potential may mean you lose out to your peers, competitors or rivals Can form part of your organisation’s mission and not just an added extra for dissemination But there are risks

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Questions Any questions? 32