1. Everything 2.0: The impact of social media on business and society
Gerald C (Jerry) Kane
Assistant Professor of Information Systems
Carroll School of Management
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA

2. The move to Web 2.0 (O’Reilly)
Content Management
Publishing
Websites
MP3
Directories
Ofoto/ Snapfish
Chatrooms
Britannica Online IM
Web 2.0
Collaboration (Wiki)
Participation
Blogs
Facebook
Podcast
Folksonomies
Flickr/ YouTube
Second Life
Wikipedia
Twitter
Web 1.0
Web 2.0
DoubleClick
Google AdSense
Ofoto
Flickr
Akamai
BitTorrent
mp3.com
Napster
Britannica Online
Wikipedia
personal websites
Blogging
evite
upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation
search engine optimization
page views
cost per click
screen scraping
web services
publishing
participation
content management systems
Wikis
directories (taxonomy)
tagging ("folksonomy")
stickiness
syndication

3. Source: Charlene Li’s SXSW 2009 Presentation

4. 10 things I’ve learned about social media…
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

5. 1) Social media is social….
A lot of what we know about “real world” networks/groups applies to online communities.
History of social network analysis dates back 75 years.
Moreno’s Runaways (1932)
“Six Degrees of Separation.” (1967)
Kevin Bacon Game.
Applies to online networks, too.
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

6. Figure 1: Two-mode network of articles and editors
The Social Structure of Wikipedia
Squares = editors
Circles = articles
Red = Featured Articles
Orange = A-quality Articles
Yellow = Good Articles
Light Blue = B-quality Articles
Dark Blue = Start-quality articles
Figure 1: Two-mode network of articles and editors
Squares = editors
Circles = articles
Red = Featured Articles
Orange = A-quality Articles
Yellow = Good Articles
Light Blue = B-quality Articles
Dark Blue = Start-quality articles

7. 2) Social media is not magic
Good social media environments don’t just “happen.”
“Wikipedia works in practice, not in theory.”
It’s a competency that can be learned and taught.
It’s not mainly about the tools, but the collaborative processes that they enable.
Example: Others attempting to replicate wikis in classroom.
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

8. 3) New Media Literacy (Jenkins 2008).
There are skills that we can learn that enable us to be better creators and consumers of social media information.
“Wikipedia works in practice, not in theory.”
Understand particularities of social media information so can make better use of it.
Errors of omission, not commission.
“The crowd creates mostly crap.” (Howe)
Quality does not equal relevance.
Most contributions quick and easy.
Example: NML Assignments
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

9. 4) Social Media is a double-edged sword?
It enables information to move more quickly.
Good information: DC Earthquake
Bad information: Anthony Weiner’s pictures.
It “enhances” relationships
Good: Connect with long-lost/ distant friends.
Bad: Can’t escape bullies
Customer Relationships
Gain new information and feedback
Can’t shut them up if discontented.
“Unintended Consequences”
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

10. 5) Even if you build it, they may not come…
Despite the hype, people don’t want to work for “free.”
“Web 2.0…where you do all the work and they keep all the money.”
Incentives, even non monetary ones, are key.
Example: Grading Policies, WP Barnstars, Threadless
Sticks: mandate participation
Minimum Requirements
Increases quantity of activity
Carrots: reward desired behavior
Offer rewards/ recognition for best work
Increases quality of activity
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

11. 6) Social media is changing…
The tools change
SocialText “Wiki”
Second Life?
Google = 12. Facebook = 6. Twitter = 3.
The collaboration changes over time.
Lifecycle of a Wikipedia article
Brainstorming, Shaping, Defense
The tools often change without your involvement, presenting new IS management challenges
Facebook Newsfeed/Beacon/Etc..
SocialText upgrade during exams
Real Options management style
Portfolio of small “experiments” best
Keep what works, move on when doesn’t
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

12. 7) Is Social Media a Fad? Of course. (Gartner Hype Cycle)
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

13. 8) Like it or not, it’s happening.
What’s different: People can adopt IT and organize without permission/ awareness by organizations or managers.
Ignore it at your own risk
like KP, Comcast, Domino’s, Amazon, Ingersoll-Rand...
Recommend Social Media Team
Use tools to monitor trends
In house: RSS, Google Alerts, Facebook Lexicon
Professional firms (Reputation Monitoring, Communispace?)
Deputize individuals
Lots happens outside the reach of ‘bots.
Social Media policies

14. 9) Halfway might not work.
Difficult to leverage the crowd for some things but not for others.
Example: Crowdsourcing Exams
“We’ll have to rethink some things.”
Like Managerial Control, Heirarchy, Expertise, Privacy.
“Enterprise 2.0”
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane

15. 10) Face-to-face is social media, too.
Social media does not replace F2F interactions, it augments them.
Example: Class Introduction
Sends message:
Social media is important, transparent, and part of classroom/ workplace)
Recognize desired activity
Constructively handle undesired
What’s Next? Electronically enhanced F2F relationships
© 2009 Gerald C. Kane