When Narcissism Becomes Pathological: Awesome Read in FT Weekend
Perhaps my favorite read, so far, in the Saturday-Sunday papers has come from the FT Weekend (no surprise, right?). Journalist Adrian Tempany explores NDP--Narcissistic Personality Disorder--for which there is no cure. Narcissism is more like a fever than an outright illness. Everyone has it, and only when it reaches a certain (arbitrary?) degree do we say it is a problem. However, this condition of NDP is relatively new and not yet fully understood.
You can read the article here. Most interesting is the revelation that some recruiting firms specifically target narcissists because they do so well in certain professionals. The finance sector, for example, is filled with professionally successful narcissists if this report is to be believed. Considering the finger point and claims of narcissism aimed at some social media types, I should think readers of this blog will also enjoy the read.
Chronicle of Higher Ed Reports from SMU: Should SG Students Feel Reluctant to Edit a Peer's Work?
Yesterday was a fine day spent discussing Web 2.0 with Timothy from Channel News Asia and then College 2.0 with Jeff Young from the Chronicle of Higher Education. I wanted to share Jeff's most recent blog post examining student perspectives on collaborative technology--the wiki, in this case--and publicly engaging in learning, online collaboration, and editing or otherwise changing the work of your peers. Our panel discussed whether some disciplines are more suitable for public conversation and learning while others deserve more privacy, and also we discussed the need for a safe space to learn. Many good ideas.
For me, the big question was how can I best manage the traditional portion of my course design and delivery while creating space for technology-enhanced learning. Learning online can be a lot of work, and I think I have some things to learn in this department. Do check out Jeff's blog as he continues to report from Singapore for a couple more days. Hopefully the video from yesterday's panel discussion will be available soon.What is the Face of College 2.0 in Asia? Excellent Chronicle of Higher Ed Blog Asks the Question
Nielsen partners with SMWF Asia covering social media usage in Asia | Social Media Forum Blogs
Nielsen partners with SMWF Asia covering social media usage in Asia
Más noticias sobre: Asia | | Trackback
Social media usage has seen unprecedented growth in Asia Pacific in the past year and is now one of the most critical trends in the online sector, according to Nielsen’s recent Asia Pacific Social Media Report.
Some of the Reports facts & highlights include;
- Seven biggest global online brands are social media sites (Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube)
- Almost three quarters of the world’s Internet population (74%) have visited a social networking/blogging site.
- Internet users are spending an average of almost six hours per month on social media sites.
- Across Asia Pacific, the most common access location for engaging with Social Media is in the workplace
- Online product reviews are the third most trusted source when making a purchase decision
- Japan is second to none with blogs
- Social Media trends in India
- Australian Social Media trends
- Social media is having an increasing impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions – in Asia Pacific, online product reviews are the third most trusted source of information when making purchase decisions, behind family and friends.
For a more in-depth look into some of the latest researching and findings from Nielsen you can watch Kerry Brown, Commercial Director from Nielsen sharing some of their findings at the Social Media World Forum Singapore later next month.
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Facebook Captures Top Spot among Social Networking Sites in India - comScore, Inc
Facebook Captures Top Spot among Social Networking Sites in India
Indian Social Networking Audience Soars 43 Percent in Past Year
Mumbai, India, August 25, 2010 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on traffic to Social Networking sites in India, revealing that Facebook.com grabbed the number one ranking in the category for the first time in July with 20.9 million visitors, up 179 percent versus year ago.
“The social networking phenomenon continues to gain steam worldwide, and India represents one of the fastest growing markets at the moment,” said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. “Though Facebook has tripled its audience in the past year to pace the growth for the category, several other social networking sites have posted their own sizeable gains.”
More than 33 million Internet users age 15 and older in India visited social networking sites in July, representing 84 percent of the total Internet audience. India now ranks as the seventh largest market worldwide for social networking, after the U.S., China, Germany, Russian Federation, Brazil and the U.K. The total Indian social networking audience grew 43 percent in the past year, more than tripling the rate of growth of the total Internet audience in India.
Growth of Top 10 Social Networking Markets Worldwide
July 2010 vs. July 2009
Total Worldwide – Age 15+, Home & Work Locations*
Source: comScore Media MetrixSocial Networking Unique Visitors (000) Jul-2009 Jul-2010 % Change Worldwide 770,092 945,040 23% United States 131,088 174,429 33% China N/A 97,151 N/A Germany 25,743 37,938 47% Russian Federation 20,245 35,306 74% Brazil 23,966 35,221 47% United Kingdom 30,587 35,153 15% India 23,255 33,158 43% France 25,121 32,744 30% Japan 23,691 31,957 35% South Korea 15,910 24,962 57% *Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Facebook Takes Top Spot among Social Networking Sites in India
Facebook.com posted an especially strong month in July, growing 12 percent versus June, to capture the top spot in the category with 20.9 million visitors. Orkut ranked second with 19.9 million visitors (up 16 percent vs. year ago), followed by BharatStudent.com with 4.4 million visitors (up 3 percent). Twitter.com had the highest rate of growth among the top five social networking sites, increasing 239 percent to 3.3 million visitors. Yahoo! owned two of the top ten social networking sites: Yahoo! Pulse (3.5 million visitors) and Yahoo! Buzz (1.8 million visitors).
Top Social Networking Sites in India
July 2010 vs. July 2009
Total India – Age 15+, Home & Work Locations*
Source: comScore Media MetrixIndia Total Unique Visitors (000) Jul-2009 Jul-2010 % Change Total Internet : Total Audience 35,028 39,562 13 Social Networking 23,255 33,158 43 Facebook.com 7,472 20,873 179 Orkut 17,069 19,871 16 Bharatstudent.com 4,292 4,432 3 Yahoo! Pulse N/A 3,507 N/A Twitter.com 984 3,341 239 LinkedIn.com N/A 3,267 N/A Zedge.net 1,767 3,206 81 Ibibo.com 1,562 2,960 89 Yahoo! Buzz 542 1,807 233 Shtyle.fm 407 1,550 281 *Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Contact:
Sarah Radwanick
Senior Analyst
comScore, Inc.
+1 312 775 6538
press@comscore.com
Social Media Energizes Political Campaigns Down Under: Lessons from Australia (Reblog)
Article By:
Mark Higginson, Director of Analytics, Nielsen Online Australia
John Pabon, Analyst, NM Incite
With the ousting of Kevin Rudd on June 24th, Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister of Australia. To solidify her mandate, she called for formal elections to be held on August 21. The contest would pit her against the rival Liberal Party, under the leadership of Tony Abbott. As of an August 14 pre-election poll produced by Nielsen for the Sydney Morning Herald, Gillard continues to increase her lead. The poll cited 53 per cent of voters supporting Gillard’s Labor Party, with 47 per cent throwing their vote to Abbott’s coalition Liberal/National Party. Australia’s poll of polls confirms this with Labor leading Liberal 51 to 48 per cent, respectively.
Australian Election Buzz Spikes
When looking at the conversation surrounding the election, spikes in buzz correlate directly to major political events. These buzz spikes, however, only tell part of the story. With the race running neck-and-neck, what is driving the real conversation? What is influencing the swing of voters from one day to the next? The swing of the electorate is a result of happenings in the social media space. Where Gillard is using social media to her advantage, Abbott’s lack of social media savvy is solidifying a public image of him being out of touch with the electorate. Recent gaffs by Abbott, including what some consider misogynistic comments, are also contributing to this negative image. Below, we will examine how the candidate’s use of Twitter, YouTube and Facebook is impacting their results in the polls and how clients can apply these lessons to their own use of social media.
(Note: all measurements of viewers, followers and fans taken on August 13, 2010).
Round 1: Twitter
Gillard: Gillard tweets every few hours on various subjects, including her political stance, campaign promises and donations to charity. She also uses Twitter to respond to concerns from the electorate. Gillard uses hashtags when she tweets, increasing the reach of her messages. This helps to build support and enables her to respond to public concerns in a timely manner.
Abbott: While he does have a Twitter handle, Abbott has not produced a single tweet since July 17th, the day the formal election was called. Abbott does not use hashtags in his tweets, thus limiting their overall reach.
WINNER: GILLARD
Gillard’s use of Twitter keeps her top of mind in the conversation and allows her to quickly put out fires in real time. It also gives her a more personal linkage to the general public, who ultimately influence the election.
Round 2: YouTube
Gillard and the Labor Party: The Labor Party’s dedicated YouTube channel not only includes campaign advertisements, but also personal video with Prime Minister Gillard. One particularly popular video features her speaking from the backseat of a car while on the campaign trail. Looking directly into the camera, she highlights recent accomplishments in the realm of broadband connectivity.
Video uploads are made at least once a day.
A cartoon parody of Liberal Party leaders, set to the tune of “Let’s Do the Time Warp Again”, also appears on the channel. The video received 47,065 views within four days of being uploaded.
Channel stats: 208,473 views; 1,870 subscribers; #2 most viewed YouTube site in Australia.
Abbott and the Liberal Party: The Liberal Party’s dedicated YouTube channel features only negative campaign television advertisements against Gillard and the Labor Party. New uploads to the site are rare; most are from the initial creation of the channel. Channel stats: 40,167 views; 715 subscribers; #91 most viewed YouTube site in Australia.
Other videos: The production of viral videos by the general public and political action groups is where the real action happens.
Two videos by GetUp!, an Australian political organization, receive large viewership:
The Election 2010 Spoof Trailer features politician’s heads superimposed on famous actor’s bodies. The four minute parody is done in the style of a big Hollywood action movie. (359,788 views)
Tony Abbott’s Archaic Views features women quoting some of the controversial sexist remarks made by Tony Abbott during his career. (49,035 views)
With 90,787 views, Tony Abbott: The Man Your PM Should Be, parodies the recent set of Old Spice Man commercials and lampoons Abbott’s campaign promises.
A video by Yes We Canberra!, an Australian satire program, features a Tony Abbott lookalike singing to the tune of Justin Bieber’s Baby. (30,294 views)
WINNER: GILLARD
Gillard makes her campaign personal and timely, resulting in high viewership and popularity for her videos. The Abbott camp should seek to refute parodies from the general public, especially as such videos tarnish his image. The Liberal Party, however, lets them run wild on the Internet and grow exponentially in popularity and reach.
Round 3: Facebook
Gillard: Official Julia Gillard page has 62,938 fans. The page is updated daily and includes links to her YouTube videos and tweets. Anti-Gillard pages focus on her usurpation of power from Prime Minister Rudd, but not on the current election.
Abbott: Official Tony Abbott page has 11,471 fans. The page has not been updated since June 30th, and includes more personal family pictures than political appearances. Links on the page to the official Liberal Party website are corrupted.
Anti-Abbott sites are far more prolific in their membership than the official Tony Abbott page:
Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote for Tony Abbott has 87,012 fans;
Can this sanitary napkin get more fans than Tony Abbott? has 10,552 fans;
Every time you vote for Tony Abbott god kills a kitten has 5,857 fans.
WINNER: GILLARD
Gillard’s page cross-references her other usages of social media in a highly efficient manner. Her videos, comments and links are timely and support her campaign initiatives. Tony Abbott’s page is stagnant and does not focus on the campaign. The numerous anti-Abbott sites on Facebook are also problematic, especially as some are more popular than the candidate’s official page.
Conclusions
What, then, can clients do to ensure they use social media to their advantage during a major campaign?
Know your reputation, because everyone else will: Acknowledge your past, highlight your present plans and quickly put out fires that can easily get out of control.
Be approachable: Personalize your campaign so that the public can approach you with their concerns, instead of feeling the need to demonize you or your brand
Update, update, update!!! A stagnant website, Twitter account or social networking page shows a lack of interest and a loss of momentum. Keep posts timely, relevant and attach them to each other to increase your campaign’s popularity and reach.
Indonesia, Brazil and Venezuela Lead Global Surge in Twitter Usage - comScore, Inc (Reblog)
Indonesia, Brazil and Venezuela Lead Global Surge in Twitter Usage
Global Audience to Twitter.com Doubles in Past Year, as Latin American Audience Grows Fourfold
Reston, VA, August 11, 2010 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on Twitter.com growth worldwide. The study found that in June, nearly 93 million Internet users visited Twitter.com, an increase of 109 percent from the previous year, as the social networking site achieved strong gains across all global regions. Indonesia reported the highest penetration, with 20.8 percent of Internet users in the country visiting Twitter.com that month, followed by Brazil and Venezuela, with Venezuela’s growth fueled in large part by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s decision to join Twitter in late April.
“Twitter.com has experienced an explosion in global traffic over the past year, establishing itself as one of the most-visited social networking sites across each of the five worldwide regions,” said Graham Mudd, comScore vice president, search & media. “Today nearly 3 out of 4 global Internet users access social networking sites each month, making it one of the most ubiquitous activities across the web. As more users around the world have become acquainted with connecting and expressing themselves through social media, it has created an environment where new media like Twitter can emerge globally in a relatively short period of time.”
Triple-Digit Visitation Growth Witnessed Across Most Global Regions
In June 2010, nearly 93 million unique global users age 15 and older visited Twitter.com from a home or work location, an increase of 109 percent from the previous year. This excludes usage of Twitter-based applications such as TweetDeck. An analysis of the five major global regions revealed that Latin America experienced the strongest audience growth, surging 305 percent to 15.4 million users. Asia Pacific ranked as the second-fastest growing region, climbing 243 percent to 25.1 million visitors. The Middle-East Africa jumped 142 percent to 5 million visitors, while Europe soared 106 percent to 22.5 million visitors. North America, where Twitter has reached a higher maturity level than other regions, saw a growth of 22 percent to nearly 25 million visitors in June.
Visitation to Twitter.com by Global Regions
June 2010 vs. June 2009
Total Audience, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations*
Source: comScore Media MetrixUnique Visitors (000) Jun-09 Jun-10 % Change Worldwide 44,520 92,874 109 Latin America 3,792 15,377 305 Asia Pacific 7,324 25,121 243 Middle East - Africa 2,058 4,987 142 Europe 10,956 22,519 106 North America 20,390 24,870 22 *Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Indonesia, Brazil and Venezuela Boast Highest Twitter Penetration in the World
Across the 41 individual countries currently reported by comScore, Indonesia at 20.8 percent had the highest proportion of its home and work Internet audience visiting Twitter.com. Brazil ranked second with 20.5 percent penetration, followed by Venezuela at 19.0 percent. With Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez joining Twitter in late April, Twitter.com penetration in the country spiked 4.8 percentage points in a few short months. The Netherlands (17.7 percent) and Japan (16.8 percent) rounded out the top five, while countries in Latin America and Asia Pacific represented many of the remaining top markets, including the Philippines (14.8 percent), Mexico (13.4 percent) and Singapore (13.3 percent).
Top 20 Markets by Twitter Penetration
June 2010
Total Audience, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations*
Source: comScore Media MetrixLocation % Reach Worldwide 7.4 Indonesia 20.8 Brazil 20.5 Venezuela 19.0 Netherlands 17.7 Japan 16.8 Philippines 14.8 Canada 13.5 Mexico 13.4 Singapore 13.3 Chile 13.2 United States 11.9 Turkey 11.0 United Kingdom 10.9 Argentina 10.5 Colombia 9.6 South Korea 9.3 Ireland 8.4 India 8.0 Malaysia 7.7 New Zealand 7.5 *Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Smartphones Drive Mobile Twitter Adoption in U.S. and Europe
An analysis of Twitter usage via mobile for the six mobile markets currently reported by comScore (U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy) revealed that Twitter is gaining adoption among smartphone users. In the U.S., 8.3 percent of smartphone users (4.2 million people) accessed Twitter.com in a month via the browser on their mobile devices, outpacing each of the European markets. In Europe, 2.8 percent of smartphone users overall accessed Twitter.com (1.7 million users), with the U.K. experiencing the strongest penetration in the region at 5.8 percent, followed by Germany with 3.1 percent and France with 2.1 percent.
Twitter Penetration Among Mobile Smartphone Users*
3 Month Avg. Ending June 2010
Total Audience Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLensTwitter Audience (000) % Reach of Smartphone Users United States 4,246 8.3 Europe 1,681 2.8 United Kingdom 793 5.8 Germany 322 3.1 France 173 2.1 Spain 165 1.5 Italy 227 1.4 *Includes only mobile browser access to Twitter and does not include other Twitter-based mobile applications
“For applications such as Twitter that function as an instantaneous broadcast medium, the mobile device represents the ideal platform to engage with this content anytime and anyplace,” added Mr. Mudd. “The advanced web browsing features of smartphones enable this behavior, making it likely to accelerate as these devices gain continued adoption. While desktop-based Internet usage is still king, mobile web usage is surging on a global scale placing applications like Twitter at the forefront of that paradigm shift.”
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Contact:
Sarah Radwanick
Senior Analyst
comScore, Inc.
+1 312 775 6538
press@comscore.com
More interesting data from ComScore.
Google and Verizon Offer Very Questionable Policy on Net Neutrality: How Can Wireless be Used to Neuter the Internet?
My disappointment with Google is nearly palpable. After generating considerable goodwill in the wake of its China services, the joint policy statement from Google and Verizon regarding net neutrality erases all that goodwill...and then some. In an age when media are rapidly converging, traditional communications are moving online (i.e., my new phone system is entirely Internet based with no land line and seamlessly integrated with my mobile phone), and the traditional distinctions between fixed line and wireless blurring as businesses seek advantage from new technology and innovative business models, the joint policy statement between Google and Verizon is a tremendous disappointment.
You can find the entire blog post here, and below I am quoting the most relevant portion where Google and Verizon dream if differentiating fixed line from wireless technology. This policy proposal is for USA only. "Fifth, we want the broadband infrastructure to be a platform for innovation. Therefore, our proposal would allow broadband providers to offer additional, differentiated online services, in addition to the Internet access and video services (such as Verizon's FIOS TV) offered today. This means that broadband providers can work with other players to develop new services. It is too soon to predict how these new services will develop, but examples might include health care monitoring, the smart grid, advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options. Our proposal also includes safeguards to ensure that such online services must be distinguishable from traditional broadband Internet access services and are not designed to circumvent the rules. The FCC would also monitor the development of these services to make sure they don’t interfere with the continued development of Internet access services. Sixth, we both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly. In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline principles to wireless, except for the transparency requirement. In addition, the Government Accountability Office would be required to report to Congress annually on developments in the wireless broadband marketplace, and whether or not current policies are working to protect consumers." The world is clearly moving toward wireless technology. The fact that my access point does not have a hard wire attached should not be the basis for saying that profit-seeking companies can suddenly prioritize other unnamed services. On the one hand, location-based services operating entirely through wireless could be free of Internet connections and thus I can imagine a situation where this policy makes sense. But then again, as technologies converge we have greater difficulty saying where the Internet begins and ends as businesses seek advantage and profit. Everything is converging. I guess this is why Google agrees that the transparency rules for hard line Internet should not apply to wireless. Android is stunningly popular, the world is moving toward wireless at rapid speed, and it appears to me that Google is agreeing to free itself of the net neutrality burden as the sources of future profits becomes increasingly clear. Like I mentioned above, my new phone system seamlessly integrates the Internet and my wireless telephone, so which policy will apply? Google seems to be relying only increasingly dated distinctions in order to open the door for future profits. I see little in this proposal to promote a more charitable interpretation of Google's and Verizon's motives.Maybe critics have been correct. Does Google simply apply the "Don't be evil" corporate value only when convenient?Three Great Reads from the Saturday Morning RSS Feeds
Here are three great reads I sorted out of 300+ RSS feeds this morning. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
- Moneyball, Policy Wikis, and Government 2.0: SmartMobs takes a look at open government--or government as a platform, if you prefer--and makes some nice connections.
- To Text or not to Text: Gadgetwise at the NYT asks readers to share their thoughts about mobile phone etiquette. Where do we draw the line, leave our mobiles in the pocket, and give our full attention to someone else?
- A Bright Future for Chatroulette: Don't let the title mislead you. The question here is what progress are we making toward effective use of live video?
South Park You Have Zero Friends. If you have not seen the kids at South Park discuss Chatroulette, you will enjoy this episode. Here is a clip.
NYT Invites Your Opinions about Etiquette for Using Mobile: What do Singaporeans Think?
