Strategically Communicating

Have you ever liked a friend in person, but find when you follow them on social media they are, how do we say this politely, different? They’re so different online that you wonder which is the real person, the electronic version or the human version? How about the friend who practically shouts  online how much they can’t wait for the day to be over while they are standing right next to you. What about the humble bragger that exclaims that they are being hit on all of the time and it’s #soannoying! Even though the elections are over, we can all probably recall at least one person on Social Media who vehemently opposed or supported one candidate, but in real life you wouldn’t hear a peep about it.

These and other twists of Social Media social encounters are featured on a video aptly named “I like you in real life (but not on the internet)” probably strikes a chord with anyone who knows someone whose Social Media life and their real life don’t quite match up.

Unfriending doesn’t always work, it’s likely they will notice and bring it up. Blocking doesn’t work because they’ll ask you if you saw their status update. You’re kinda stuck.

When  research catches up with the ever-changing Social Media platforms, it would be an interesting study to understand why people act so different online from the people they encounter on a regular basis.

Until then, enjoy the fifth “selfie” portrait of your co-worker today!

This is awesome! A car powered by social media!

Minddrive is non-profit organization that provides an afterschool program for at-risk youth that teaches kids about math, science, and engineering through hands-on projects. This year’s project was the restoration and electrification of a 1967 Karmann Ghia. Kids and volunteers worked to completely restore the tired old car and convert the drivetrain to battery power. The car’s most interesting feature is a system that energizes the battery via social media. Each new Twitter follower gives the car five watts of juice; a like on Facebook, one watt; and shares, retweets, or mentions on Twitter net an additional three. Minddrive’s goal with the Karmann Ghia project was to drive from Kansas City to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness for the organization and the benefits of hands-on projects for at-risk youth. In a Kansas City test run, the car received enough social media fuel to make it far beyond Washington. Just today the car finished the more than 1,000-mile trek to D.C. What a fascinating way to drive social media forward!

A lingering thought of mine is how theory transfers into practice and the academic translates into the professional. The lines blur, undoubtedly, but it can get messy when the definition of “research” is turned into pulp on the open market. 

If everyone with an iPhone is potentially a “citizen journalist,” many also purport to conduct qualitative research without the rigor and transparency routinely found in academia. Conversely, academic research is often too arcane to resonate on a broader scale.

As we’ve made our way through the qualitative research methods course, I’ve been looking for a hybrid that pulls together the substance of qualitative and quantitative research with the compelling style of real-world strategic communication that bridges between classroom and conference room. 

I’m not sure that I’ve found it. But what I did come across was an intriguing example of how those elements can come together: A hot-off-the-presses “The State of Men” report from JWT, the self-regarded “world’s best-known marketing communications brand” (which I’d never heard of). While the validity of the methodology could be questioned, there is a methodology (quantitative survey and qualitative interviewing). The result is a confluence of data, analysis and stylistic flair that lands somewhere between research, marketing and checkout stand grist (the word “mancession” is used). Nevertheless, it provides fodder for communication inquiry, brand insight, cultural analysis and a kind of pop ethnography.

Even with its faults, I think it shows that academic-style research and professional application can coexist in a compelling manner.  

For my last blog of this term, I thought I would share with you this TED talk by qualitative researcher and self-proclaimed story-teller Brené Brown. Brown has this beautiful way of connecting stories with information saying, “Maybe stories are just data with a soul.” What really struck me about this talk was Brown’s passion for her research. I thought this was a great example of what it means to be a qualitative researcher and how, even as researchers we can get consumed and changed by our research and sometimes, it takes a lot of control to let go of our expectations and biases.

After watching Brown, I saw a glimpse into our futures as researchers and communication professionals. The data we uncover truly has the power to transforms companies, policies, and lives. Not only is Brown a passionate and determined researcher, her findings are pretty incredible too.

Enjoy!

Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability

“I’ll bring back a Gusset, a Gherkin, a Gasket

And also a Gootch from the wilds of Nantasket.

And eight Persian Princesses will carry the basket,

But what their names are, I don’t know so I don’t ask it.”

With apologies to Dr. Seuss, in this age of unlimited data, I sometimes wonder whose running this zoo — even as I marvel at it. “Oh the places you’ll go,” he promised.

In this Sunday’s New York Times, Jenn Wortham talks about a family shouting match her sister and mother got into, not with each other, but with the IPhone’s navigation system. My friends forbade me from talking to Siri recently because of the vitriol I direct at her when she mishears me.  

Work is underway at the MIT Media Lab, says Wortham, on software that recognizes human emotions through patterns of speech and tone of voice to determine qualities like arrogance or annoyance. If big brother is watching each click already, imagine how invasive it will be when it’s reading our emotions.

This of course brings up enormous ethical and privacy concerns, which we need to navigate. So in the words of Dr. Seuss, “Your off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”