#ssilda

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Big Data and Predictive Analytics

How many of you before purchasing a product made a quick search through social media to view other people’s feedback and opinions about the product? What about before starting a TV show or watching a movie? It’s definitely something I do often and rely on greatly when trying to find or share information.

To begin with Big data according to Webopedia (2013) is “a buzzword, or catch-phrase, used to describe a massive volume of both structured and unstructured data that is so large that it's difficult to process using traditional database and software techniques.”

TV shows like Big Brother and X-factor rely heavily on collecting data from social media platforms. The promotion of tweets and Facebook use, the encouragement to discuss on social media and allowing people to vote, like and share- are all forms of free promotion for the company (Woodford, 2014). The more people share it, the more it will become popular, which in returns allows producers to collect a more accurate lot of data and opinions on their show, for further improvement.

Twitter for example is one of the most popular social media platforms that are used to collect big data because of its ease. The use of hashtags are a way of coordinating discussion around a topic and is relatively easy to capture and analyse (Woodford, 2014).

Business intelligence & ‘data markets’ (including social media and online behavioural data) feed Predictive Analytics (Woodford, 2014). Siegel (2013) discusses the dynamics of Predictive Analytics, and how it is based on big data. Predictive analytics is “technology that learns from experience (data) to predict the future behaviour of individuals in order to drive better decisions.” (Siegel, 2013)

 Walmart is famous for using analytics to maximise the profits of their retailer operations, by knowing their customers buying habits and what they want (Woodford, 2014).

However, the accuracy and efficiency of prediction is questioned, since there is uncertainty in the unknown future (Siegel, 2013). “We can't confidently predict that any one individual customer will respond. Rather, the value is derived from identifying a group of people who-in aggregate- will tend to behave in a certain way… Predicting better than pure guesswork, even if not accurately, delivers real value.”

REFERENCES:

Siegel, Eric. 2013. Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die.Hoboken: Wiley Publishing.

Webopedia. (n.d.). Big Data. Retrieved from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/big_data.html

Woodford, Daryl. 2014. “KCB206: Internet, Self and Beyond – Week 9 Lecture Notes.” Accessed May 10, 2014.https://lecturecapture.qut.edu.au/ess/lti/v1/launch/BLACKBOARD/90e0f566-3969-40ff-8600-e7cac2c2e219

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Empowering or Harmful?

Social media in a political context is used as a tool to create discussion, and to coordinate and organise social movements. From the Arab spring to Occupy Wall Street, we can all agree social media has played a vital role in political movements. Through its frequent use and impact, its effectiveness has been questioned, and a lot of discussions and perspectives have been formed on this topic.

As I was going through the readings, there were two main perspectives that stood out to me. The first perspective states that social media is empowering (Shirky, 2011) and the second states that it is harmful to democratic process (Morozov, 2011). The example I choose to demonstrate these perspectives is through the current political situation and revolution in Syria.

The traditional relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier for the powerless to collaborate, coordinate, and give voice to their concerns. (Gladwell, 2010)

As shown in the video above, social media can empower people and give them the courage to question and expose governmental inconsistencies. It provides anonymity and the place to finally debate, discuss and share opinions freely. However as stated by Gladwell (2010), “social media …produce[s] as much harm to democratization as good, because repressive governments are becoming better at using these tools to suppress dissent.”

The Syrian government retaliated through propaganda on social networking sites. Hundreds of videos of the Syrian army torturing and capturing the opposition began to be released, as a tactic to scare people. Hoax videos of rebels and Syrian Army officials torturing innocent civilians began to be released as well. What started off as a tool to share the truth, has become a social media war between opposing groups in Syria. Both the government and rebel groups have dedicated staff managing social media accounts- promoting their brands around the world, raising funds and influencing the international debate (O'Neill, 2013).

How do you make difficult choices about tactics or strategy or philosophical direction when everyone has an equal say? (Gladwell, 2010)

Networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, so they have real difficulty reaching consensus and setting goals. The revolution has become chaotic and decentralised, and there are too many fractured organisations and agendas- it seems to be going nowhere. While it is empowering, it is also harmful. The government is still in power and people are still suffering and dying.

Despite this basic truth  – that communicative freedom is good for political freedom  – the instrumental mode of Internet statecraft is still problematic. (Shirky, 2011)

REFERENCES:

1. Gladwell, Malcom. 2010. “Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted.” The New Yorker, October 4. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all

2. Morozov, Evgeny. 2011a “First Thoughts on Tunisia and the Role of the Internet.”Net.Effect Blog, 14 January. Available at: http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/14/first_thoughts_on_tunisia_and_the_role_of_the_internet

3. O’Neill, Patrick. 2013. “Why the Syrian uprising is the first social media war.” The Daily Dot, September 18. Accessed Sunday 27, 2014. http://www.dailydot.com/politics/syria-civil-social-media-war-youtube/

4. Shirky, Clay. 2011 “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change.”In Foreign Affairs 90:1. Available at: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67038/clay-shirky/the-political-power-of-social-media

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Lost in Translation

I thought I would start this blog post with an embarrassing hack I made on my friend’s Facebook the other day.

(Yea I know, it’s pretty lame, but it’s so lame it’s funny. Admit it.) Hacks are usually done in ways that are obvious, because the friends of that person know the natural writing style they usually communicate in (plus hacks are usually dramatic and outrageous). But the funny thing about this whole situation was that her parents did not know it was a hack, and actually became worried for her (ha ha). They genuinely wanted to know why she ‘cries at night and hugs her pillow’.

As stated by Crystal (2006), “net speak has far more properties linking it to writing than to speech.” We each have developed our own style of online written communication, most likely different to the way we would speak face to face. Since our generation has grown up with social media, we are more aware and knowledgeable about the social norms and communication styles that are online.

For example: there’s always that one friend that writes like this. thers that 1 frnd that writes like this theressssssssss that one frienddddd that writes like thissssss!!!!!! :))))))) LOL

There are different ‘styles’ of communication and expression your friends have that you can identify them with- just like style in clothing. Older generations who have relied on face to face interactions most of their life, would find it harder to understand these written styles, because they interpret it for what it is (sort of like my friends’ parents who freaked out).

This loss of translation can also occur in our generation too. How many times have we gotten offended or upset with a friend by what or how they wrote only to find out they meant no harm and you interpreted it differently? I guess this ties back to the traditional idea of face-to-face interaction and how more enriching it seems to be. Since there is no physical interaction through online communication, important nonverbal cues become missing. This includes “facial expression, direction of gaze, posture...” (Baym, 2010) All these are important to communicate and interpret effectively.

However this isn’t to say that texting and online communication cannot be enriching to relationships too. It can serve as a great tool for providing connections and keeping in touch with friends and loved ones far away. Better to have at least some form of connection, then to not hear or see each other in years.

I guess it all comes down to how we use it. It can bridge the gap between friendships and family living far away, but it can also create an illusion to how you perceive and communicate with friends/acquaintances. Communication naturally evolves as society does and we slowly appropriate and shape them in a way most useful for us.

“As people appropriate the possibilities of textural media to convey social cues, create immediacy, entertain and show off… they build identities for themselves, build interpersonal relationships and create social contexts.” (Baym, 2010)

References:

Baron, Naomi, (2008). Chapter 1: Email to Your Brain : Language in an Online and Mobile World. In Baron, Naomi, Always on : language in an online and mobile world, (pp.3 - 10). Oxford: Oxford University Press

Baym, Nancy K, (2010). Chapter 3: Communication in Digital Spaces. In Baym, Nancy K, Personal connections in the digital age, (pp.50 - 71). Cambridge: Polity Press.

Crystal, David, (2006). Chapter 2 : The Medium of Netspeak. In Crystal, David, Language and the internet, (pp.26 - 65). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Advertising and Exploitation

When you are surfing the internet, how many times have you seen advertisements of certain products you were searching a few hours ago? Take a look at your advertisements on your Facebook homepage or Youtube account; they most likely contain content that relate to you. How do you feel about it? Does it make you feel creeped out? At first I couldn’t help but get the feeling I was being watched and exploited, but now that I’m used to the sight of them, I don’t pay much attention anymore. At the end of the day it’s just an ad and I don’t have to click on it. However as I was reading Christian Fuchs’ (2013) chapter on Power and Political Economy of Social Media, I was surprised by the finer details of how online advertising works. I wasn’t fully aware that my data was being collected and recorded and used to the advantage of advertising companies. As stated by Fuchs (2013):

When watching TV, the same advertisements are broadcasted to the viewers watching at the time, regardless of their personal interests and backgrounds. Internet advertisements however have transformed into a more tactical approach. Different advertisements are targeted to match the user’s interests, which in return increases the chance of users recognising the advertisements and clicking on them. This explains why advertisements relate so much to our interests. As stated by Fuchs (2013), “Many corporate social media platforms accumulate capital with the help of targeted advertising that is tailored to individual user data and behaviour.”

 This doesn’t bother me personally, because A. I see it as a (very) small price I have to pay to use social media, and B. I don’t have to click on them. If social networking websites don’t charge a fee to user to use their platforms, then how else would they make profit? Whilst corporations dominate social media and ‘benefit’ from us users/prosumers, we also use social media for our own benefits.

Fuchs (2013) suggests that an alternative, non-corporate Internet is needed. Which leads me to this question: What would social media be like without advertisements and corporations? It wouldn’t be free anymore, and a huge amount of people would not be able to afford it, creating a change in dynamics and a greater divide between classes.

 So in conclusion, maybe advertisements aren’t so bad (well except for advertisements at the beginning of YouTube videos- those are incredibly annoying). As stated by Fuchs (2013), “The majority of social media users realise that their information is accessible to advertisers, and accept this ‘exploitation’ as a by-product of using a service they enjoy.” Without us users, social media would have absolutely no value and would become bankrupt. As users/prosumers, we do have the power to make our own decisions and use social media in a way that benefits us best.

REFERENCES:

Fuchs, Christian. 2014. “The Power and Political Economy of Social Media.” In Social Media: An Introduction, 97 – 125. London: Sage Publications.

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A Participatory Culture

At the beginning of last year I participated in a student exchange program in Turkey. A few days into my stay, a cousin of mine who lived in Sydney had shared a viral video of the Harlem shake on her Facebook. But it wasn’t just any Harlem shake video. It was a Turkish version of it, and it was filmed right in the stadium of the University I was staying in! It was literally filmed a few days ago, a few metres away from my dorm, and the only way I found out about it was through a Facebook share from a person who lived on the other side of the world (who mind you, didn’t even know I was at that university)! That ladies and gentlemen, is what you call spreadability in the big web 2.0!

Social networking sites have now produced a ‘participatory culture’. Networks such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter make it so much easier for us to produce and share content. We now have a new form of power that was almost non-existent during the early days of media, where producers would ‘inject’ their intended message and users would readily accept it (Rosen, 2006). People now have a say and an influence on a producers content.

A great example of this is of a famous Lebanese pop singer called Nancy Ajram. She had released a new song and asked her fans on twitter for ideas for her next music clip. She created a competition and thousands of her fans had participated. The winner’s idea (which was voted by the fans) was a perfect example of the influence users now have on a producers work. In the music clip (shown below), Nancy goes through relationship problems and asks her fans on twitter for advice.

Social networking is now “enabling the mute to speak and the invisible to be seen.” (Jenkins et al. 2011). Even those that do not want to be seen or heard are still participating in some sense. By liking, sharing and viewing, users are engaging in different forms, allowing content to spread. A perfect quote to end with from Green and Jenkin (2011):

“Nothing spreads widely in the new digital economy unless it engages and serves the interests of both audiences and producers.”

REFERENCES:

Green, J., & Jenkins, H. (2011). The handbook of media audiences. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

Rosen, Jay. 2006. “The People Formerly Known as the Audience.” Accessed March 22, 2014. http://archive.pressthink.org/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html