tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/pinterest-2620/articlesPinterest – The Conversation2021-07-12T12:45:50Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1640272021-07-12T12:45:50Z2021-07-12T12:45:50ZPinterest weight loss ban shows brands are beginning to listen to consumers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410595/original/file-20210709-15-h5ekc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C5%2C980%2C651&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-browsing-photos-online-on-tablet-1955490766">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pinterest, the online pin-board with more than <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/463353/pinterest-global-mau/">478 million</a> users, has taken a bold step in becoming the first major social media network to ban weight loss adverts. While the company said the decision <a href="https://newsroom.pinterest.com/en/post/pinterest-embraces-body-acceptance-with-new-ad-policy">was to promote body acceptance</a>, it reflects a wider trend of the changing, more socially-conscious relationship between advertising platforms, brands and consumers.</p>
<p>Being highly visual, social media can be pernicious for body image because it exacerbates social comparisons, especially regarding <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02650487.2019.1658428?casa_token=EsMlCQCH6K0AAAAA:AJFKSWh_rcUoMWqJfuaKjE7SqJkrDwaP7MTRGlJ4pHwG-8UCbJPd3blid2t7Rn2XSnm-NetnJRo">attractiveness</a> and fitness. Imagery of so-called “perfect” bodies is pervasive on social media, and encourages people to over-scrutinise their bodies and faces. The more time people spend “living” in social media, the more likely they are to believe that it represents reality.</p>
<p>The issue of weight loss advertising is indeed of grave concern for all members of society, especially for women and girls, at a time when child eating disorders have <a href="https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/paediatricians-warn-parents-be-alert-signs-eating-disorders-over-holidays">beein increasing</a>. As well as having alarming effects for women’s self-esteem and body image, objectified and stereotyped portrayals of women contribute to their <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EJM-09-2014-0597/full/html?skipTracking=true">devaluation in society</a>. </p>
<p>Since 2019, new UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules have <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/news/ban-on-harmful-gender-stereotypes-in-ads-comes-into-force.html">prohibited advertising</a> that includes “gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence”. However, “perfect” body imagery can be harmful to both men and women, so it does not fall directly under these standards. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, change is happening in the advertising industry, with more advertising that shows realistic body images, for example the Sport England “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BKwk8q4H0Y">This Girl Can</a>” campaign. </p>
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<p>My ongoing research indicates that advertising practitioners are becoming more aware that the imagery they use can have an effect on society. </p>
<h2>Responsible advertising</h2>
<p>Pinterest’s ban on weight loss ads is groundbreaking because it shows a consumer platform taking action to protect its reputation among consumers, despite being reliant on advertising revenues. Pinterest clearly understands that consumers, more then ever before, have <a href="https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/the-power-of-inclusion-and-diversity-in-advertising">greater expectations from brands</a> to use advertising to shape social conversations.</p>
<p>This is one of the most public responses to the increasing pressure that brands are facing to become more socially responsible. The combination of consumer demand for socially-conscious behaviour, and the viral attention to controversy, means consumers have more power than ever to demand changes from brands.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the luxury exercise equipment brand Peloton. After an ad critics deemed sexist attracted negative attention on YouTube, the company was reported to have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/dec/04/peloton-backlash-sexist-dystopian-exercise-bike-christmas-advert">US$1.5 billion wiped</a> from share value. The ad, viewed 2 million times, showed a woman using her exercise bike, a gift from her partner, to “give a gift back” to him (her “improved” body).</p>
<p>In early 2020, Kentucky Fried Chicken was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/21/kfc-apologises-for-sexist-ad-that-shows-young-boys-staring-at-womans-breasts">forced to apologise to consumers</a> for running an ad in Australia <a href="https://www.collectiveshout.org/kfc_serves_up_buckets_of_sexism">that was criticised as objectifying women</a>, after it attracted fierce social media debate. When social media controversies are reported in the wider media, more consumers are exposed to negative perceptions, heightening the debate even further. </p>
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<h2>Consumer power</h2>
<p>Research is now beginning to show the ways in which consumers subvert marketing messages online, drawing attention to some of the negative impacts of marketing and advertising. Research on consumer subversion describes how creative consumers threaten brands by generating their own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAxHTvi6pjE">spoofs of ads</a>, for example, which may then be shared on social media. This is exactly what happened in the case of Peloton. </p>
<p>This happens not just with gender issues, but also with race and ethnicity, disability and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/mar.21420?casa_token=bsyUl6phB64AAAAA:PO-7fuKB4CQwN8qYSboxHF9YtLqJSR5FLIi_-u-BEBPuwUtLFTRIX6pq5hHndbe_eGrxBAP0PJu2-w">ecological sustainability</a>. When consumers turn promotions against firms, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/mar.20066?casa_token=gKMW24-wnqUAAAAA:R5h1zGLd-7ge9B8sWRBPZ5MLM7Z4ZGszN-JChE7NYuuHidOaJVDzr3IHsnl5aRW2CtQ9Vi3VKFXFYw">finding subversive meaning in ads</a>, it can generate negative word of mouth, leading to adversarial relationships with consumers and ultimately damaging brand equity. </p>
<p>In our ongoing research at the University of Portsmouth, we are finding that consumers are increasingly voicing outrage online about advertising that offends their social consciousness. They use rhetoric to argue for change in the marketplace and ultimately society. The wider media are often keen to report these social media debates, and when they do it has has an accelerated effect on change. </p>
<p>In this shrewd decision, Pinterest is heading off future controversy. In order to mitigate negative effects and protect their own reputations, we advise that all brands and social media companies consider similar action. Advertisers can begin to understand the issues that consumers see as irresponsible by scanning traditional media coverage of controversial advertising, like the Peloton and KFC examples. </p>
<p>The threat of consumer subversion of advertising means that other social media platforms could eventually follow Pinterest’s example. However, this often depends on the commitment of those in senior levels in these organisations to such issues. </p>
<p>Banning advertisements that promote weight loss, or other products that can be harmful to body image, self worth and mental health, would be beneficial for media companies across the board. Such an approach would prevent short-term negative word of mouth outcomes, and in the longer-term protect brand equity. More importantly it would pave the way for advertising that is responsible as well as profitable. </p>
<p>Hopefully this will lead to a future in which companies are more aware of growing social consciousness and the power consumers have online to make a difference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164027/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Middleton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pinterest is the first social media brand to ban weight loss advertisements. Should other companies follow suit?Karen Middleton, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Advertising, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1135072020-12-01T19:48:20Z2020-12-01T19:48:20ZSocialism is a trigger word on social media – but real discussion is going on amid the screaming<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371807/original/file-20201128-13-1u67y0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Tug-of-words' posts debating the merits of socialism versus capitalism are all over social media platforms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-xssmf">pxfuel</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The word “socialism” has become a trigger word in U.S. politics, with both <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/10/07/in-their-own-words-behind-americans-views-of-socialism-and-capitalism/">positive and negative perceptions of it</a> split along party lines. </p>
<p>But what does socialism actually mean to Americans? Although surveys can ask individuals for responses to questions, they don’t reveal what people are saying when they talk among themselves. </p>
<p>As a social media scholar, I study conversations “in the wild” in order to find out what people are actually saying to one another. The method I developed is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netnography">netnography</a> and it treats online posts as discourse – a continuing dialogue between real people – rather than as quantifiable data. </p>
<p>As part of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296319300219">an ongoing study on technology and utopia</a>, I read through more than 14,000 social media comments posted on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and YouTube in 2018 and 2019. They came from 9,155 uniquely named posters.</p>
<p>What I found was both shocking and heartening.</p>
<h2>Loyalty and fear</h2>
<p>Both support for socialism and attacks on it appear to be on the rise. </p>
<p>Socialism can <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/243362/meaning-socialism-americans-today.aspx">mean different things to people</a>. Some see it as a system that institutionalizes fairness and citizen rights, bringing higher levels of social solidarity; others focus on heavy-handed government control of free markets that work more effectively when left alone. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, emphasized the right to quality health care, education, a good job with a living wage, affordable housing and a clean environment <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/opinion/bernie-sanders-socialism.html">in a 2019 speech</a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/268295/support-government-inches-not-socialism.aspx">2019 Gallup Poll</a> found that 39% of Americans have a favorable opinion of socialism – up from about <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/socialism-rising-plurality-of-democrats-think-it-would-be-good-for-us-to-move-toward-socialism-according-to-fox-news-poll">20% in 2010</a>; 57% view it negatively. </p>
<p>Prominent elected “<a href="https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/">democratic socialist</a>” officials include six <a href="http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2019/How-Socialism-Permeated-City-Council/">Chicago City Council members</a>, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2020/03/bernie-sanders-socialist-or-social-democrat">Sanders</a>. </p>
<p>These and other advocates <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/783700/democratic-socialism-bad-why-norway-great">point to</a> a version of socialism called the “Nordic model,” seen in countries like Denmark, which provide <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/10/16/9544007/denmark-nordic-model">high-quality social services</a> such as health care and education while fostering a strong economy. </p>
<p>Critics call socialism anti-American and charge that it undermines free enterprise and leads to disaster, often using <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-collapse-exposes-the-fake-socialism-debated-in-u-s-11549465200">the unrealistically extreme example of Venezuela</a>.</p>
<p>President Trump has portrayed socialists as radical, lazy, America-hating communists. His son, Donald Trump Jr., has posted <a href="https://twitter.com/donaldjtrumpjr/status/925495970032443392?lang=en">tweets ridiculing socialism</a>.</p>
<p>During the 2020 election season, Republican Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell advised that his party could win by being a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/12/mitch-mcconnells-strategy-is-run-against-socialism-it-wont-be-enough/?utm_term=.6c9d5393693f">firewall against socialism</a>. He was on point: Fear of socialism may have been a <a href="https://reason.com/2020/11/06/socialism-2020-trump-biden-rebuke-left/">reason</a> why the Republicans gained seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. </p>
<h2>A ‘tug of words’</h2>
<p>Although I wasn’t initially looking for posts on socialism or capitalism, I found plenty of them in my online investigation. Many were what I call a “tug of words” in which people asserted which system was better. People from opposite ends of the political spectrum made pithy observations, posted one-liners or launched strong, emotionally worded broadsides. There was often little dialogue – those who posted were shouting at each other as if using a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/40/1/136/1792230">megaphone</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371389/original/file-20201125-15-31vgbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A YouTube commenter uses a megaphone-like approach to preach about the perils of socialism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screen shot by Robert Kozinets</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I also found a large number of short, nonconversational, megaphone-like posts on visual social media like Instagram and Pinterest.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370936/original/file-20201124-17-2rbbm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some commentary on socialism on Pinterest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screen shot by Robert Kozinets</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But some people were more circumspect. While they were often reactive or one-sided, they raised questions. For example, people questioned whether business bailouts, grants, lobbying or special tax treatment showed that capitalism’s “free markets” weren’t actually all that free. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372172/original/file-20201201-13-1421u0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making a historical economic argument against socialism and its slippery slope to totalitarianism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert Kozinets' data collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And some considered what “socialism” actually means to people, linking that meaning to race, nationality and class.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370935/original/file-20201124-15-imys5h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The meaning of socialism discussed on Twitter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screen shot by Robert Kozinets</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Overcoming primitive ‘isms’</h2>
<p>Amid all the sound and fury of people shouting from their virtual soapboxes, there were also the calmer voices of those engaging in deeper discussions. These people debated socialism, capitalism and free markets in relation to health care, child care, minimum wage and other issues that affected their lives. </p>
<p>One YouTube discussion explored the notion that we should stop viewing everything “through the primitive lens of the nonsensical ‘isms’ – capitalism, socialism, communism – which have no relevance in a sustainable or socially just and peaceful world.” </p>
<p>Other discussions united both left and right by asserting that the real problem was corruption in the system, not the system itself. Some used social media to try to overcome the ideological blinders of partisan politics. For example, they argued that raising the minimum wage or improving education might be sensible management strategies that could help the economy and working Americans at the same time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370938/original/file-20201124-17-pw4wwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This Reddit post explores the benefits of changes that some might label as socialist.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screen shot by Robert Kozinets.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New forum for discussions</h2>
<p>As America’s divisions fester, my work gives me reason for hope. It shows that some Americans – still a small minority, mind you – are thoughtfully using popular social media platforms to have meaningful discussions. What I have provided here is just a small sample of the many thoughtful conversations I encountered.</p>
<p>My analysis of social media doesn’t deny that many people are angry and polarized over social systems. But it has revealed that a significant number of people recognize that labels like socialism, free markets and capitalism have become emotional triggers, used by some journalists and politicians to manipulate, incite and divide.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>To unify and move forward together, we may need to better understand the sites and discussion formats that facilitate this kind of thoughtful discourse. If partisans retreat to echo chamber platforms like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/technology/parler-rumble-newsmax.html">Parler and Rumble</a>, will these kinds of intelligent conversations between people with diverse viewpoints cease?</p>
<p>As Americans confront the financial challenges of a pandemic, automation, precarious employment and globalization, providing forums where we can discuss divergent ideas in an open-minded rather than an ideological way may make a critical difference to the solutions we choose. Many Americans are already using digital platforms to discuss options, rather than being frightened away by – or attacking – the tired old socialist bogeyman.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113507/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Kozinets does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An analysis of social media commentary about socialism versus capitalism shows that people are talking past each other, but some are engaging in more nuanced discussions as well.Robert Kozinets, Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair in Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and JournalismLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1234302019-09-18T12:59:16Z2019-09-18T12:59:16ZMalicious bots and trolls spread vaccine misinformation – now social media companies are fighting back<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292866/original/file-20190917-19059-12esxxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1495%2C322%2C5681%2C4465&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">At least half of parents of young children report having encountered negative messages about vaccines on social media.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UH-xs-FizTk">Alexander Dummer/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social media have become one of the preeminent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-1117">ways of disseminating accurate information about vaccines</a>. However, a lot of the vaccine information propagated across social media in the United States has been <a href="https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/topics/prevention/social-medicine-the-effect-of-social-media-on-the-anti-vaccine-movement/">inaccurate</a> or <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/stopping-scourge-social-media-misinformation-vaccines">misleading</a>. At a time when <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-019-0354-3">vaccine-preventable diseases</a> are <a href="https://www.ibms.org/resources/news/vaccine-preventable-diseases-on-the-rise/">on the rise</a>, vaccine misinformation has become a <a href="https://www.aappublications.org/news/2019/06/06/measles060619">cause of concern</a> to public health officials.</p>
<p>A 2018 study showed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567">a lot of anti-vaccine information</a> is generated by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/as-if-bots-werent-bad-enough-already-now-theyre-anti-vaccine/2018/08/28/a945efa0-aa2d-11e8-b1da-ff7faa680710_story.html?noredirect=on">malicious automated programs</a> – known as bots – and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/23/health/russian-trolls-vaccines.html">online trolls</a>. In a striking parallel with the <a href="https://www.cyberscoop.com/russian-twitter-bots-laid-dormant-for-months-before-impersonating-activists/">2016 presidential campaign</a> and the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/twitter-bots-were-more-active-than-previously-known-during-2018-midterms-study.html">2018 midterm elections</a>, some <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ecpe/vaccines-social-media-spread-misinformation/">vaccine misinformation</a> on American social media has been <a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/anti-vaccine-russian-trolls">traced back to Russia</a>.</p>
<p>At Saint Louis University’s <a href="https://www.slu.edu/law/health/index.php">Center for Health Law Studies</a>, I monitor <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2667484">legal and policy responses to vaccine misinformation</a>. Now platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest are developing strategies to address anti-vaccine bots and to try to reduce their reach in the United States.</p>
<h2>Vaccine misinformation is all over social media</h2>
<p>“<a href="http://origin.who.int/immunization/research/forums_and_initiatives/1_RButler_VH_Threat_Child_Health_gvirf16.pdf">Vaccine hesitancy</a>” is what public health officials call the “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines” despite their availability. The World Health Organization has classified vaccine hesitancy as one of 10 big <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019">threats to global health</a> in 2019, on the list with air pollution, heart disease, cancer and pandemic outbreaks due to viruses like Ebola.</p>
<p>In recent years, social media platforms have become effective vehicles for conveying <a href="https://www.kff.org/news-summary/false-misleading-information-on-vaccines-must-be-removed-from-social-media-to-prevent-hesitancy-experts-at-wha-side-event-say/">inaccurate information</a> about vaccines, <a href="https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/topics/prevention/social-medicine-the-effect-of-social-media-on-the-anti-vaccine-movement/">amplifying</a> anti-vaccine movements and giving <a href="https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/topics/prevention/social-medicine-the-effect-of-social-media-on-the-anti-vaccine-movement/">greater visibility</a> to scientifically unsound data.</p>
<p>In a 2019 experiment, several journalists searched the term “vaccine” on Facebook. What came back was predominantly <a href="https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/f8cf580a-57b5-41f4-8e21de333af20f32.pdf">anti-vaccine content</a>, even though the vast majority of parents – <a href="https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/f8cf580a-57b5-41f4-8e21de333af20f32.pdf">91% in one survey</a> – are pro-vaccine.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1097335677912522757"}"></div></p>
<p>One study by the Royal Society for Public Health in the U.K. found that 41% of parents using social media reported having encountered <a href="https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/f8cf580a-57b5-41f4-8e21de333af20f32.pdf">“negative messages” related to vaccination</a>. The number increased to 50% among parents of children younger than 5.</p>
<iframe src="https://me.me/embed/i/2204293" width="100%" height="425" frameborder="0" class="meme-embed" style="max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>via <a href="https://me.me">MEME</a></p>
<p>Memes and other eye-catching visuals can also help <a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/anti-vaccine-russian-trolls">propagate the idea</a> that vaccines are unnecessary or harmful, without any reference to scientific or medical data.</p>
<p>Anyone with access to a computer can easily spread inaccurate information about vaccines through social media.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"449525268529815552"}"></div></p>
<p>But bots trolling social media can accomplish this goal at a massive level, as they have been doing in the United States <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567">at least since 2014</a>. </p>
<h2>Malicious bots targeting vaccine info</h2>
<p>Bots account for a large percentage of online activity overall. Calculations suggest that <a href="https://thenextweb.com/security/2019/04/17/bots-drove-nearly-40-of-internet-traffic-last-year-and-the-naughty-ones-are-getting-smarter/">between 40%</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/bots-bots-bots/515043/">52% of all internet traffic</a> is automated. A study analyzing online bot activity in 2018 estimated that <a href="https://thenextweb.com/security/2019/04/17/bots-drove-nearly-40-of-internet-traffic-last-year-and-the-naughty-ones-are-getting-smarter/">20.4% of bots were malicious</a>. Researchers estimate that between 9% and 15% of active Twitter accounts, for instance, are <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1703.03107.pdf">run by bots</a>, instead of people.</p>
<p>A 2018 <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567">study analyzing Twitter data</a> examined the role of <a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/anti-vaccine-russian-trolls">bots and Russian trolls</a> in spreading vaccine misinformation. Researchers looked at over 1.7 million vaccine-related tweets between July 2014 and September 2017. Accounts associated with these two categories tweeted at a higher rate about vaccines than average users. While there are no published studies about other social media, researchers have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/23/health/russia-trolls-vaccine-debate-study/index.html">warned of similar activity</a> on Facebook and YouTube. </p>
<p>In the case of Twitter, there seem to be at least two separate goals behind spreading misleading news about vaccines. Most vaccine-focused bots are deployed with the direct goal of spreading vaccine misinformation, presumably with the purposed of amplifying anti-vaccine views.</p>
<p>But content originating in Russia conveys both pro- and anti-vaccine messages. This is part of a broader strategy aimed at <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/09/in-the-united-states-russian-trolls-are-peddling-measles-disinformation-on-twitter/">sowing discord</a> in the U.S. by stirring up conflict around divisive topics.</p>
<p>Some Russian tweets identified in the study used the Twitter #vaccinateUS hashtag. Of all the #vaccinateUS tweets that had Russian sources, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567">43% were pro-vaccine, 38% were anti-vaccine and 19% were neutral</a>. A pro-vaccine one <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-vaccines-russia-trolls/russian-trolls-fan-flames-in-u-s-vaccine-debate-idUSKCN1LF2C4">asked</a>: “Do you still treat your kids with leaves? No? And why don’t you #vaccinate them? It’s medicine!” An <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-vaccines-russia-trolls/russian-trolls-fan-flames-in-u-s-vaccine-debate-idUSKCN1LF2C4">example</a> of an anti-vaccine one read: “#vaccines are a parents choice. Choice of a color of a little coffin.”</p>
<p>The U.S. is not alone in facing increasing levels of vaccine misinformation on social media. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/elections/false-vaccine-spread-by-bots-trolls-1.5113716">Canada has also reported</a> a rise in the number of online bots spreading vaccine misinformation. Moreover, as content from social media is <a href="https://www.unicef.org/eca/media/1556/file/Tracking%20anti-vaccination%20sentiment%20in%20Eastern%20European%20social%20media%20networks.pdf">consumed across borders</a>, these issues are now turning into a <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-anti-vaccine-movement-man-made-health-crisis.html">global problem</a>.</p>
<h2>Social media platforms clear out misinformation</h2>
<p>A 2015 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.08.064">study analyzing vaccine pins</a> on Pinterest found that the majority were anti-vaccine. By early 2019, the company decided to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/02/21/pinterest-is-blocking-all-vaccine-related-searches-all-or-nothing-approach-policing-health-misinformation/">block all vaccine content</a> from the platform.</p>
<p>Initially, the <a href="https://fortune.com/2019/02/20/how-pinterest-is-going-further-than-facebook-and-google-to-quash-anti-vaccination-misinformation/">ban was absolute</a>, regardless of the accuracy or source of the information. In late August, <a href="https://newsroom.pinterest.com/en/post/bringing-authoritative-vaccine-results-to-pinterest-search">Pinterest announced</a> that it would start allowing content from <a href="https://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/news/20190829/pinterest-limits-sources-of-vaccine-content">public health organizations</a>, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization.</p>
<p>In March 2019, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-anti-vaccine-crack-down/">Facebook announced</a> that it would take steps to diminish anti-vaccine content. The company <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/03/combatting-vaccine-misinformation/">no longer allows anti-vaccine advertising</a> and says it is considering removing fundraising tools from anti-vaccination Facebook pages. It no longer “recommends” anti-vaccine content and reduced the rankings of groups and pages conveying vaccine misinformation. They’re less visible, but not banned – these groups and pages are still present on Facebook.</p>
<p>Also in 2019, YouTube <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolineodonovan/youtube-just-demonetized-anti-vax-channels">prohibited advertising</a> on channels and videos that run anti-vaccination content. Until then, most YouTube searches for “vaccine” served up misinformation at the top of the list results. Afterwards, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VG_s2PCH_c">John Oliver’s HBO episode on vaccines</a> and similar content jumped to the top.</p>
<h2>Plenty of misinformation still online</h2>
<p>As I wrote this article, dozens of new tweets were added to the #vaccine hashtag on Twitter. Several were similar to <a href="https://twitter.com/ViraBurnayeva/status/1173418319157837824">this one</a>, tweeted from an account with over 11,000 followers, that conveys an anti-vaccine message under the guise of scientific information.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1173418319157837824"}"></div></p>
<p>This account, which appears to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-vaxxers-appear-to-be-losing-ground-in-the-online-vaccine-debate-114406">closely related</a> to a previously suspended one, tweeted multiple times per hour. Less than an hour before the tweet above, it had tweeted a <a href="https://twitter.com/ViraBurnayeva/status/1173409976221671424">visually more blunt message</a> asserting the false link between vaccines and autism.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1173409976221671424"}"></div></p>
<p>Like most Twitter users, I have no idea whether this is a personal account or one operated by a bot. But for several hours the vast majority of the tweets on the vaccine hashtag were spreading content that is <a href="http://sites.nationalacademies.org/BasedOnScience/vaccines-are-safe/">not supported by</a> <a href="http://sites.nationalacademies.org/BasedOnScience/vaccines-do-not-cause-autism/">current scientific consensus</a>.</p>
<p>While the latest tweets were predominantly anti-vaccination, when I sorted results by “top tweets,” a <a href="https://twitter.com/HHSGov/status/1123335449249030145">tweet from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</a>, pointing readers toward its own vaccine information page, appeared first.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1123335449249030145"}"></div></p>
<p>But tweets 4, 5 and 9 in the top 10 belonged to the same account with 11,000 followers I encountered repeatedly while monitoring the Twitter vaccine hashtag.</p>
<p>With outbreaks of <a href="https://theconversation.com/measles-why-its-so-deadly-and-why-vaccination-is-so-vital-110779">vaccine-preventable diseases on the rise</a>, public health institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been <a href="http://www.phf.org/programs/immunization/Documents/CDC_Webinar_National_Infant_Immunization_Week_2019Mar_Slides.pdf">increasing their social media presences</a>. Social media platforms can continue to help reduce misinformation that could further increase vaccine hesitancy in the United States and elsewhere. As suggested by Pinterest’s approach, these tech companies can increase the amount and visibility of vaccine content from reliable sources. While it’s virtually impossible to eliminate all inaccurate posts, I believe social media can and should be redesigned to facilitate the promotion of accurate vaccine information.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123430/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ana Santos Rutschman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Anti-vaccine info online might have foreign roots and political aims.Ana Santos Rutschman, Assistant Professor of Law, Saint Louis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/691802016-12-12T14:20:52Z2016-12-12T14:20:52ZHow artificial intelligence is changing our Christmas shop<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149407/original/image-20161209-31383-17iez41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C23%2C1552%2C1041&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/delee928/15833699429/in/photolist-q8aRcK-4bWoqA-9ceu9L-4wJuwh-CpLG4Z-6hk4-5dUGWc-batbFv-vxBDm-batakF-dGEqGi-dGEqgi-dGKR3m-q6qsi9-Ayj9Ds-5Jtrej-dGKRcy-bat7WH-qcKcCm-dGEqxK-vxBRh-pXBm1z-dGEqBR-7gBinL-dGEqcg-8Y4tbs-8Y1rgB-5RHLKJ-4izkMP-7hLQL-5BKPB4-puyw7a-92etMM-q9UjQi-dzrMoc-q9LxQW-q9KFz3-8Y4vgN-iv5e8j-PAFuM2-NuY9ao-vov3T-8ZTmMG-tFsSy-iv5HTe-qr9oAe-qfdUEQ-q9V2jK-qwLKBV-qwAYpe">Danny Lee/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>British consumers are expected to spend <a href="http://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/retail-consumer/insights/christmas-shopping.html">£280 each on gifts</a> over the weeks leading up to Christmas. More than half of these purchases will take place online. Almost <a href="http://www.populus.co.uk/2016/10/real-impact-online-product-reviews-consumer-behaviour/">a third</a> of people will rely on online reviews to make their buying decisions, although recommendations from <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/eu/en/press-room/2015/recommendations-from-friends-remain-most-credible-form-of-advertising.html">friends and family</a> are still the main source of persuasion. </p>
<p>Online shopping is estimated to <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketer-Forecast-2016/2001849">rise by 24%</a> by the end of this year. However, as consumers are looking for more <a href="https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/03/04/what-does-shopping-in-a-real-time-future-look-like/">sensory and immersive shopping experiences</a>, the pressure is on for online retailers to find new ways to excite customers and keep them satisfied – and artificial intelligence (AI) is the new technology they will use. It is allowing businesses to analyse customer behaviour, predict consumer wants and offer tailored customer experiences. In short, AI is expected to make online experiences altogether more personal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149409/original/image-20161209-31385-c4qsd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Binary baubles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/incandopolis/8257974703/in/photolist-dzJhbc-5HSh7y-b2aTC6-5ARzhA-doFcae-PzyFH-dE5Jrn-doFhDs-7A6xH-iz9gjb-iv5hjF-8Wpi8V-jBrnuA-8XpBcW-6US1KC-5HZwxe-7nyWRz-4fMaBc-pt3NWj-5Fsmge-b8Efzr-doFhjs-dD7edp-doFaqK-MJ4s-hVr2sN-4fp5ps-iv5ro1-u7FvD-8R1sFD-b2Ehnv-vEbhG-wqBE5-8AxHm-91APeP-7tX4Ut-5M1oPm-dDeEbi-dDeDzK-8YD9LB-yf1dB-aP9xdH-pUK7tT-7ircso-dKBrRd-vLTR2-vSwUo-5KAmt8-urS8r-8L9pMR">Daniel Incandela/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Getting personal</h2>
<p>There are already many ways that retailers use AI to interact with their customers. This type of AI is primarily based on learning customer preferences, behaviours and providing tailored recommendations at a mass scale – also referred to as a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/542951/business-models-information-technology-and-the-company-of-the-future/">mass customisation</a>. </p>
<p>The online fashion retailer <a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/">Stitch Fix</a> gives customers five curated pieces of clothing each month and the customer then decides which pieces to keep. The selection of items is based on customer surveys, Pinterest boards, weather patterns and personal notes to the stylist. From this data, algorithms help the personal stylists to pick out the items the customer is predicted to like the most.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149653/original/image-20161212-26080-1tsfixn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/simac/9849114334/in/photolist-g1khy7-iYpTEb-oMGmPX-dRCprd-8eDmLL-cJtwWW-JS9cJ-qHShbc-8vkep4-4L8uDm-HX5rR-n4zX2p-raBL5-cmcum-nA45NP-nQDsGG-7QghHU-oVyC3Y-rbQc1G-9yPcCL-7NAyzw-59cJsE-9VAqRa-7dYmXv-7tByCz-7vWuSD-98j4Cu-5ZYwYR-9KWzry-51gQ3q-4qHmLx-4ctsUw-94QicX-8qcd6h-6yEfDE-6G7XbR-ey1zqU-dNQ4Gc-6kbQxC-9VAoaM-pSSPre-8cLSE3-8inPZZ-detWVg-6PRN2s-3aQ3rm-anLFMb-iZdJnX-gffqv6-mCMSqX">Mac McCreery/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>With extensive choice online, retailers try to simplify the buying process. If you are in a shop you are familiar with, browsing is easier. You can glance at a jumper on your way to the toy section; or spot a tea towel down one aisle while spontaneously examining a Star Wars figurine in another.</p>
<p>That dynamic doesn’t work on the internet and so one of the key objectives of using AI in online retail is to assist consumers find what they are looking for and narrow down their potential choice. A <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/are-consumers-turned-too-many-choices-not-yet">new study</a> showed that once consumers have made a decision to purchase within a product category, having a smaller range of potential products to choose from reduces choice overload.</p>
<p>If you are more of a visual shopper, you may like to get your inspiration from <a href="https://www.snapfashion.co.uk/women/browse#/?h=24&s=0.9450980392156862&v=1&colourzone=inner">Snap Fashion</a>. Using a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/snap-fashion-digital-business-revolutionising-the-way-we-shop">visual search engine</a>, items from more than 16,000 brands are presented to the consumer based on photos found online or taken on their smart phone. From August 2017, this experience – Snap Fashion InStore – is expected to come to a high street changing room near you. </p>
<h2>Chat bots</h2>
<p>The next phase of AI in retail will go beyond personalised recommendations to having conversations with customers. </p>
<p>The term “conversational commerce” was coined in 2015 by <a href="https://medium.com/chris-messina/2016-will-be-the-year-of-conversational-commerce-1586e85e3991#.qsxrdv805">Chris Messina</a> who leads the development and expansion of Uber’s partner ecosystem. Conversational commerce arises from the <a href="https://blog.intercom.com/podcast-chris-messina-on-conversational-commerce/">convergence of messaging apps, natural language interfaces and brands</a> allowing consumers to chat, message and talk with brands and services with the help of chat bots. </p>
<p>At peer-to-peer online insurance company, <a href="https://lemonade.com/">Lemonade</a>, customers use the AI bot, Maya, to design their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flSLI2JmWVE">individualised insurance policy</a>. Completed in minutes via the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flSLI2JmWVE">Lemonade conversational app</a>. Customers can also talk to Maya to submit a claim using the in-app video recording feature to describe the incident.</p>
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<p>Conversational commerce may move us from being helpless recipients of the work of AI – say, being presented with products we didn’t know we needed – to having direct conversations with AI and becoming active partners in the process. In fact, we may not even be able to tell if we are talking with an AI bot or a human.</p>
<p>Now, few people will buy their mum a Lemonade insurance policy for Christmas, but if you want to get her a new winter jacket, then the outdoor clothing company, <a href="https://www.thenorthface.co.uk/">The North Face</a> may have the answer. It offers direct interaction between customers and IBM’s Watson-supported <a href="https://www.thenorthface.com/xps">natural language questions-and-answers</a> to help identify the most suitable item. Customers respond to a series of questions about how, when and where they expect to use the jacket and particular features that are important to them, for example a pocket that fits the size of your new mobile phone. Based on this information, weather forecasts and delivery requirements, a ranked selection of options is presented. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149655/original/image-20161212-26070-x2nnwf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For running in Snowdonia during December …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.thenorthface.com/xps">The North Face/screenshot</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This kind of AI-driven personalised shopping is capable of challenging, possibly even replacing, the guidance provided by human in-store sales assistants. It is knowledgeable, fast and able to draw on multiple data points to provide personalised guidance to customers quickly and efficiently. It also goes without saying that AI assistants are less likely to be hungover, bored or tut loudly at your insane questions about a toaster’s bagel feature.</p>
<h2>Mass customisation</h2>
<p>The use of AI in retail offers opportunities for mass customisation and helps customers to narrow down their choices faster. That has clear benefits for those struggling to grind through the Christmas shopping list. And for companies, it can provide a consistency of service which creates more “sticky” customer experiences online. This is crucial in the face of hyper-competition across all retail sectors. </p>
<p>The trouble is that it also reduces the element of discovery and exploration, which consumers enjoy about the shopping experience, especially during the festive season. It is a streamlining of the buying process, using machine learning and predictive analytics to nudge consumers towards a particular purchase decision. </p>
<p>Consumers’ interactions with brands will become highly personalised when conversational commerce gains traction. These AI systems can be of great help for people looking to solve simple and specific tasks, like buying insurance or gaining technical advice. But for more complex, emotive and subjective buying decisions – like buying gifts for our loved ones – we may still seek that special human touch and personal opinion from friends, family, or even (hungover) sales assistants.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stores are engaged in an arms race to make online shopping less of an impersonal chore.Rikke Duus, Senior Teaching Fellow in Marketing, UCLMike Cooray, Professor of Practice, Hult International Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/553312016-03-23T11:12:34Z2016-03-23T11:12:34ZDesigners are seizing Wall Street – but can they improve your life?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115325/original/image-20160316-30247-1idifj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much mightier than any sword</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=OmwFcCe1ZicL1NYIQSRfGw&searchterm=pencil%20weapon&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=264283169">vexworldwide</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From unreasonably cool open-plan offices in San Francisco and New York, they are orchestrating an international business revolution. Casually dressed and armed with MacBooks, a new generation of design executives have emerged from their studios to cross into the corporate mainstream. They are aiming to undercut, outperform and ultimately overthrow incumbents across the business world. And they want to improve your life.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.designdisruptors.com">upcoming documentary</a>, Design Disruptors: How Design Became the New Language of Business, promises to tell the story of how designers were integral to the success of new-media giants like Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Dropbox, Airbnb, Netflix and Twitter. In recent years, they have also become the darlings of the wider business elite. With executive titles like “vice president, design” “VP of product” and “director of design”, their brief has been to integrate design philosophy into the biggest multinationals from the boardroom down. Such is their confidence that many believe there is nothing their designs cannot fix. But, as we will see, there is a lot they have to prove first. </p>
<p>The rise of these designers is a tale of two buzzphrases – “design thinking” and “disruptive innovation”. Disruptive innovation is a <a href="http://www.claytonchristensen.com/key-concepts/">concept from</a> Harvard Business School, characterising small businesses that often begin in obscure corners of markets. They don’t initially appear a threat, but begin to offer more mainstream services which are better and cheaper than those offered by incumbents. By the time the incumbents respond, often by mimicking the innovation, the disruptors have already taken over.</p>
<p>Design thinking, meanwhile, is the idea that non-designers can learn to think more creatively using methods based on how designers work – rapidly and repeatedly prototyping ideas and celebrating and embracing failures. A few years ago this began to be adopted by start-ups in Silicon Valley. According to the documentary, the key to their runaway success was combining this philosophy with disruptive innovation, plus the secret ingredient of excellent designs that focused on the experience of the user. </p>
<p>Take Airbnb, which disrupted the holiday-lettings industry by providing a cheaper service that was more enjoyable for users. Founded by two designers, the company has always had design thinking at its core. The success of the website and app is in small design details which allow sceptical travellers to see strangers not as risks but as welcoming hosts. Subtle hints like the size of text boxes for communications between users and prospective hosts encourage messages with just the right level of detail that come across as friendly rather than secretive or over-familiar. This is not simply web design: <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/joe_gebbia_how_airbnb_designs_for_trust">this is</a> design for human relationships.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115331/original/image-20160316-30247-sekntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Duly disrupted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=oCfG7GDEOcMKKCoxPRYYBA&searchterm=airbnb&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=387129184">AmsStudio</a></span>
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<p>Many other big businesses watched these successes with great interest. They started buying into the idea that any individual or organisation that learns to think like designers can transform not only their products and services but also their processes, corporate strategies and underlying institutional structures. Through design thinking, went the argument, they would become more creative and more able to become disruptive innovators themselves. </p>
<p>Whether design thinking actually lives up to these promises is contentious, but many heavyweight corporations have been turning themselves into “design-led businesses” with integrated “design cultures” – often backed by serious investment. IBM is a good example. Under Phil Gilbert, the head of design, it has opened a string of design studios worldwide in the past three years. It hired over 1,100 designers and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/business/ibms-design-centered-strategy-to-set-free-the-squares.html?_r=1">aims to reach 1,500</a>. Apple’s success is often attributed to Steve Jobs’ belief in the power of design and trust in lead designer <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3042524/fast-feed/22-things-you-need-to-know-about-apples-jony-ive">Jonathan Ive</a>. But recently, less obviously design-oriented businesses such as 3M, Philips, Pepsico, Barclays and Johnson & Johnson have all hired a “chief design officer” too. Where once design was just a service that provided style and functionality to products, now it is a core business value. </p>
<h2>Bow down?</h2>
<p>Design at its best can significantly improve how we interact with the world. When the Design Disruptors film goes live in the coming weeks, it should be commended if it brings this story of the positive impact of design to a broader public. Yet there is a danger in getting slightly carried away, like some of the design executives towards the end of the <a href="http://www.designdisruptors.com">trailer</a>. </p>
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<p>As music swells to an uplifting crescendo, Braden Kowitz, design partner at Google Ventures, states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The questions now aren’t, can we build it? Cause more and more the answer’s yes, we can build anything. The question is, what is the future that we want to build together? For me that’s the power of design.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is indeed a good question: if everything really is possible, what should designers do with this power? Companies like Google, Spotify and Airbnb certainly make our daily lives easier, more efficient and more pleasant by disruptively improving on old designs. But the list of problems facing human society is as long as ever. Injustice, poverty, prejudice, displacement, corruption, conflict, fear, disease – take your pick. Why aren’t the design disruptors tackling some of these issues? </p>
<p>To give just one example of how disruptive design can make a truly meaningful impact, <a href="https://www.mfarm.co.ke">M-Farm</a> is a text-based service for farmers across Africa. It allows them to access accurate real-time information on market prices and weather; share and connect with previously inaccessible experts and the wider farming community; and sell their products at the best price. In an era where mobile-phone ownership has exploded in Africa, the service <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6RLvnLyZ9g">has been</a> very successful in helping farmers that were previously isolated and exploited. M-Farm has been designed to meet an important need, but it has had no significant input from high-flying designers.</p>
<p>Design should be about more than just making comfortable lives more comfortable. If this is a story of how designers won great power and ultimately squandered it, what a pity that would be. Utopian optimism from the likes of Kowitz is one thing, but actions speak louder than words. Design can make a difference in the world, but designers must choose what this difference will be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Buwert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The generation of designers broke out of their studios and took the business world by storm. Their skills could also be turned to bigger world problems.Peter Buwert, Lecturer, Graphic Design, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/550092016-03-08T11:10:37Z2016-03-08T11:10:37ZCan you sue if someone posts an unflattering photo of you on social media?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114120/original/image-20160307-31281-1ea4lld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How could they post that of me?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=349497452">Woman image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Open your Twitter or Instagram account and chances are good somewhere in there you may see an unflattering photo of a stranger. It’s become increasingly common to share pictures of people we don’t know online.</p>
<p>And it could happen to you. Imagine, for example, rolling out of bed and heading to the store to pick up a much-needed item. Your hair is unkempt and you’re wearing last night’s pajamas, but you’re unconcerned because certainly no one will notice you. Unbeknownst to you, someone you don’t know takes your photo and posts it on social media, perhaps including cruel language or tagging an account like <a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/people/2014/02/jarvis-derrell-she-has-had-it/photos/">She Has Had It</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/PeopleofWalmart">People of Walmart</a> which feature and mock unappealing pictures of strangers. </p>
<p>Hundreds of people like, share and comment on this photo of you – do you have any legal recourse against anyone? Having taught and researched Internet law, I believe the evolving online legal landscape may answer yes.</p>
<p>Lawsuits about these kinds of photos tend to turn on a person’s right of publicity, which limits the commercial use of one’s name, image, likeness and/or identity. The outcome of <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3423835/DWTS-Val-Chmerkovskiy-sued-6M-Syndrome-girl-controversial-internet-meme-posted-Facebook.html">current cases</a> could rein in this common posting practice.</p>
<h2>An online Shaq attack</h2>
<p>In April 2014, sports commentator and former star athlete Shaquille O’Neal posted a Photoshopped image on his Twitter and Instagram accounts of himself side-by-side with Jahmel Binion. He captioned the picture “SMILE PEOPLE.”</p>
<p>Binion, who was 23 years old at the time, suffers from ectodermal dysplasia, which has left him with a disfigured appearance. In the photo, O’Neal contorted his facial features in an attempt to make a face similar to Binion’s. The social media post received more than 17,000 “likes” and more than 700 comments (many of which were rude or offensive) on Twitter alone.</p>
<p>Based on this activity, <a href="http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2138&context=historical">Binion sued O’Neal in a Florida federal court</a> for, among other things, something called “appropriation,” which is essentially a right of publicity claim. The basic idea is that you can stop others from using your name, likeness or identity for commercial gain. The Florida court recently denied O’Neal’s motion to dismiss the claim, which means that Binion can continue with the case against O’Neal.</p>
<h2>Right of publicity, in the social media universe</h2>
<p>So does this right of publicity protect you from having someone post a harmful image of you on social media?</p>
<p>Because the right of publicity is based on state law, the parameters of the right vary significantly by jurisdiction. Roughly 30 states recognize claims based on the right of publicity through statute, common law or both. Most of these states extend the right of publicity to all people, not just celebrities or other famous individuals.</p>
<p>Though there is a lack of uniformity regarding its application, the most common requirements include a person:</p>
<p>1) using another’s name, identity, likeness or persona without consent in a way that causes harm; and</p>
<p>2) receiving some kind of benefit or advantage based on that use.</p>
<p>In the social media universe, it probably won’t be hard to show that a person is harmed when their image is used without permission, especially where cruel or offensive language is used.</p>
<p>The question of the benefit or advantage obtained, however, will be more difficult to prove and has historically thwarted Internet suits of this kind.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114122/original/image-20160307-31263-10j7wua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How do all those eyeballs on your image benefit the social media account owner?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=283722398">Man image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s in it for the poster?</h2>
<p>With the rapid rise in ubiquity of social media platforms, attorneys have grappled with applying traditional right of publicity law to new frontiers like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Twitter.</p>
<p>Everyone’s still trying to figure out the benefit received from using a stranger’s photo online. In one recent case, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2449132774919250154&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Fraley v. Facebook, Inc.</a>, Facebook found itself in a right of publicity lawsuit based on its use of the Sponsored Stories advertising feature. </p>
<p>These are paid ads featuring the names and pictures of Facebook users based on their past Facebook activities and “likes.” Though the suit against Facebook ultimately settled, the right of publicity claims survived – the plaintiffs could show a clear connection between the value of their unauthorized endorsements to their Facebook friends and the benefit Facebook gained by using their photos.</p>
<p>While the commercial advantage may be clear in a case like Fraley, where Facebook received money for their ads with people’s pictures and likes, the Binion scenario is more challenging. O’Neal’s post, though widely shared and liked, did not provide a direct commercial benefit to him. Most states require that the defendant received some commercial or monetary benefit. </p>
<p>Some legal authorities, however, state that the right of publicity is <a href="https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/privacy/Privacy_R2d_Torts_Sections.htm">not limited to purely commercial benefits</a>. The victim’s right of publicity claim may survive even if the offending party does not receive money or other benefit. </p>
<p>In fact, in Binion, the court suggested that the fact that O’Neal’s post generated significant social media interest and was widely viewed and shared could meet the benefit standard. All those “likes” and “favorites” are a currency all their own. Social media users, therefore, could be exposed to legal liability for posting pictures of strangers under such a theory. </p>
<p>With no uniform body of law to reference, social media users remain susceptible to right of publicity claims. Individuals and companies who use social media to connect with others must be mindful of such uncharted territory and create social media strategies that <a href="http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/marlon-wayans-wins-dismissal-of-actors-lawsuit-over-cleveland-brown-tweet-1201393049/">mitigate their risk of liability</a>. Otherwise, posting photos – particularly unflattering ones – of strangers will continue to expose users to such risks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shontavia Johnson is the founder and owner of Jackson Johnson LLC law firm, an innovative online law firm for entrepreneurs, and Johnson International Group, an entrepreneurial consulting firm.</span></em></p>The legal system is working out how much of an exclusive right you have to commercial use of your own name, image, likeness or identity – and online that doesn’t just mean in an ad.Shontavia Johnson, Associate Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Drake UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/532742016-02-02T11:07:33Z2016-02-02T11:07:33ZSo long social media: the kids are opting out of the online public square<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109862/original/image-20160201-32244-rry1ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Phones out, but today's students are less likely to have Facebook or Twitter open.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=345889130">Phones image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When my digital media students are sitting, waiting for class to start and staring at their phones, they are not checking Facebook. They’re not checking Instagram, or Pinterest or Twitter. No, they’re catching up on the news of the day by checking out their friends’ Stories on Snapchat, chatting in Facebook Messenger or checking in with their friends in a group text. If the time drags, they might switch to Instagram to see what the brands they love are posting, or check in with Twitter for a laugh at some celebrity tweets. But, they tell me, most of the time they eschew the public square of social media for more intimate options. </p>
<h2>The times, they are a-changing</h2>
<p>For a few years now, alarms have been sounded in various quarters about Facebook’s teen problem. In 2013, one author explored <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/why-teens-are-tiring-of-facebook/">why teens are tiring of Facebook</a>, and according to Time, <a href="http://business.time.com/2014/01/15/more-than-11-million-young-people-have-fled-facebook-since-2011/">more than 11 million young people have fled Facebook since 2011</a>. But many of these articles theorized that teens were moving instead to Instagram (a Facebook-owned property) and other social media platforms. In other words, teen flight was a Facebook problem, not a social media problem.</p>
<p>Today, however, the newest data increasingly support the idea that young people are actually transitioning out of using what we might term broadcast social media – like Facebook and Twitter – and switching instead to using narrowcast tools – like Messenger or Snapchat. Instead of posting generic and sanitized updates for all to see, they are sharing their transient goofy selfies and blow-by-blow descriptions of class with only their closest friends.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03/"><img width="424" height="521" src="http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?w=424" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Mobile Messaging Apps Particularly Popular Among Young Adults" srcset="http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png 424w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=244,300 244w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=160,197 160w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=330,405 330w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=200,246 200w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=260,319 260w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=310,381 310w, http://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/08/2015-08-19_social-media-update_03.png?resize=420,516 420w" sizes="(max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px"></a></p>
<p>For example, in <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/08/Social-Media-Update-2015-FINAL2.pdf">a study</a> published in August last year, the Pew Research Center reported that 49 percent of smartphone owners between 18 and 29 use messaging apps like Kik, Whatsapp or iMessage, and 41 percent use apps that automatically delete sent messages, like Snapchat. For context, note that according to <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/">another Pew study</a>, only 37 percent of people in that age range use Pinterest, only 22 percent use LinkedIn and only 32 percent use Twitter. Messaging clearly trumps these more publicly accessible forms of social media.</p>
<p>Admittedly, 82 percent of people aged 18 to 29 said that they do use Facebook. However, that 82 percent affirmatively answered the question, “Do you <em>ever</em> use the Internet or a mobile app to use Facebook?” (emphasis added). Having a Facebook account and actually <em>using</em> Facebook are two different things. While Pew does have data on how frequently people report using Facebook (<a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/08/Social-Media-Update-2015-FINAL2.pdf">70 percent said at least once a day</a>), those data are not broken down by age. And anecdotal evidence such as what I’ve gathered from class discussions and assignments suggests that many younger people are logging in to Facebook simply to see what others are posting, rather than creating content of their own. Their photos, updates, likes and dislikes are increasingly shared only in closed gardens like group chat and Snapchat.</p>
<h2>Why would they leave?</h2>
<p>Although there is not a great deal of published research on the phenomenon, there seem to be several reasons why younger people are opting for messaging over social media. Based on my discussions with around 80 American college students, there appear to be three reasons for choosing something like Snapchat over Facebook.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109861/original/image-20160201-32251-1yofn4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Granny did not need to see what you got up to last weekend.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-283931414/stock-photo-senior-woman-shocked-with-something-on-laptop-screen.html">Woman image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>My gran likes my profile picture</strong> As Facebook has wormed its way into our lives, its <a href="https://theconversation.com/thank-an-aging-audience-for-facebooks-proposed-dislike-button-47676">demographics have shifted dramatically</a>. According to Pew, 48 percent of Internet users <a href="http://example.comhttp://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/">over the age of 65</a> use Facebook. As social media usage has spread beyond the young, social media have become less attractive to young people. Few college students want their parents to see their Friday night photos.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Permanence and ephemerality</strong> Many of the students I’ve spoken with avoid posting on sites like Facebook because, to quote one student, “Those pics are there <em>forever!</em>” Having grown up with these platforms, college students are well aware that nothing posted on Facebook is ever truly forgotten, and they are increasingly wary of the implications. Teens engage in <a href="http://info.ils.indiana.edu/%7Eherring/teens.gender.pdf">complex management of their self-presentation</a> in online spaces; for many college students, platforms like Snapchat, that promise ephemerality, are a welcome break from the need to police their online image. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>The professional and the personal</strong> Increasingly, young people are being warned that future employers, college admissions departments and <a href="http://www.psmag.com/nature-and-technology/mo-friends-mo-problems-might-have-to-defriend-joey-with-the-jet-ski-bankruptcy">even banks</a> will use their social media profiles to form assessments. In response, many of them seem to be using social media more strategically. For example, a number of my students create multiple profiles on sites like Twitter, under various names. They carefully curate the content they post on their public profiles on Facebook or LinkedIn, and save their real, private selves for other platforms. </p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Is this a problem?</h2>
<p>We may be seeing the next evolution in digital media. Just as young people were the first to migrate on to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, they may now be the first to leave and move on to something new.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109885/original/image-20160201-32231-x1227v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young adults still are the most likely to use social media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/">Pew Research Center</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This exodus of young people from publicly accessible social media to messaging that is restricted to smaller groups has a number of implications, both for the big businesses behind social media and for the public sphere more generally. </p>
<p>From a corporate perspective, the shift is potentially troubling. If young people are becoming less likely to provide personal details about themselves to online sites, the digital advertising machine that runs on such data (described in detail by Joe Turow in his book “<a href="http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300188011/daily-you">The Daily You</a>”) may face some major headwinds. </p>
<p>For example, if young people are no longer <a href="http://www.phillyvoice.com/facebook-plans-use-likes-targeted-ads/">“liking” things on Facebook</a>, the platform’s long-term value to advertisers may erode. Currently, Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-and-privacy/a-new-way-to-control-the-ads-you-see-on-facebook/926372204079329">uses data it gathers</a> about users’ “likes” and “shares” to target advertising at particular individuals. So, hypothetically, if you “like” an animal rescue, you may see advertisements for PetSmart on Facebook. This type of precision targeting has made Facebook into a formidable advertising platform; in 2015, the <a href="http://investor.fb.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1326801-16-43">company earned almost US$18 billion</a>, virtually all of it from advertising. If young people stop feeding the Facebook algorithm by clicking “like,” this revenue could be in jeopardy.</p>
<p>From the perspective of parents and older social media users, this shift can also seem troubling. Parents who may be accustomed to monitoring at least some proportion of their children’s online lives may find themselves increasingly shut out. On the other hand, for the growing number of adults who use these platforms to stay in touch with their own peer networks, exchange news and information, and network, this change may go virtually unnoticed. And, indeed, for the many older people who have never understood the attraction of airing one’s laundry on social media, the shift may even seem like a positive maturation among younger users.</p>
<p>From a social or academic perspective, the shift is both encouraging, in that it is supportive of <a href="https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy-technology/internet-privacy">calls for more reticence online</a>, and also troubling. </p>
<p>As more and more political activity migrates online, and <a href="http://politybooks.com/book.asp?ref=9780745695754">social media play a role</a> in a number of important social movement activities, the exodus of the young could mean that they become less exposed to important social justice issues and political ideas. If college students spend most of their media time on group text and Snapchat, there is less opportunity for new ideas to enter their social networks. Emerging research is documenting the ways in which our use of social media for news monitoring can lead us to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1160">consume only narrow, partisan news</a>. If young people opt to use open messaging services even less, they may further reduce their exposure to news and ideas that challenge their current beliefs.</p>
<p>The great promise of social media was that they would create a powerful and open public sphere, in which ideas could spread and networks of political action could form. If it is true that the young are turning aside from these platforms, and spending most of their time with messaging apps that connect only those who are already connected, the political promise of social media may never be realized.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felicity Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Young people are starting to skip the very public postings of some of social media’s original platforms. Why? And where will that leave the companies that rely on our willingness to divulge everything?Felicity Duncan, Assistant Professor of Digital Communication and Social Media, Cabrini CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/346312014-12-01T20:10:00Z2014-12-01T20:10:00ZStudying society via social media is not so simple<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65736/original/image-20141127-21951-lf2gnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tons of social media there for the taking… but is it truly representative of real life?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jürgen Pfeffer</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Behavioral scientists have seized on social media and their massive data sets as a way to quickly and cheaply figure out what people are thinking and doing. But some of those tweets and thumbs ups can be misleading. Researchers must figure out how to make sure their forecasts and analyses actually represent the offline world. </p>
<h2>Big Data’s overwhelming appeal</h2>
<p>Imagine you’re interested in analyzing society to learn the answers to questions like: how bad is the flu this year? How will people vote in an upcoming election? How do people talk about and cope with diabetes? You could interview people on the street or call them on their phones. That’s what traditional polling firms do – but it takes time and can be quite costly. A promising alternative involves collecting and analyzing social media data – quickly and for free.</p>
<p>Hundreds of millions of people use social media platforms like <a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://about.twitter.com/company">Twitter</a> every day. Individually, they create traces of their activities when they tweet, like and friend each other. Collectively, these users have produced massive, real-time streams of data that offer minute-by-minute updates on social trends – where people are, what people are doing and what they are thinking about. For the last several years, researchers in academia and industry have been developing ways to utilize this flood of data in their investigations and have published thousands of papers drawing on it.</p>
<p>A typical Twitter study could look like the following. Imagine you’re interested in information diffusion after a tragic event. The moment you hear about such an event – for instance, the Boston Marathon bombing – you activate software on your computer that collects in real time Tweets that contain your keywords of interest – maybe Boston in this case. Since there are no Twitter archives available for researchers, you’d utilize Twitter’s data interface and collect all data that come for free. After a couple of hours or days you stop the data collection and start with the analysis.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65737/original/image-20141127-16934-12xp0j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">So much data, there for the taking….</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterras/15149258618/in/photolist-p5FUN7-8CBj3s-8CAgVh-8ku7v6-aQy1JM-6yNCXa-6z8prX-dGK1zs-cCyLwu-9BBi5g-eeyh3d-cCyLyE-aSKGWZ-6ADDuF-dU7Cn1-8RszNr-7kETST-7U4KnJ-6dENoE-93daad-7H6fnx-98eeX8-8BKnwi-7mrUDT-7mvLx9-7mrS54-oh7hti-jfYZRK-6tXvwF-nZULtL-oHsWUa-84Gxki-xn5e8-78y1BK-dDyZav-dyxsH5-aQt1AB-bqJgjX-6MPfLz-7e5YK6-82TGSb-9Yf1ju-dvGh9G-6h65V7-cYiDZd-81gMx7-8CBeSS-cCyLxA-7E1AHQ-7E1WjA">Peter Kirkeskov Rasmussen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What to watch out for</h2>
<p>Not surprisingly, this effort to measure and predict human behavior from social media data is fraught with pitfalls – both obvious and very subtle. For instance, we know that different social media platforms are preferred by <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013%20/Social-media-users.aspx">different demographic groups</a>. However, most social media studies don’t carefully account for the fact that Twitter is used mostly in cities or that most Pinterest users are upper middle-class and female. This oversight can introduce serious errors into predictions and measurements. </p>
<p>Many of the “individuals” that populate social media platforms are actually accounts managed by public relations companies (think Justin Bieber or Nike) or not even humans at all but automated robots. Because these accounts aren’t portraying anything that even approximates normal human behavior, studies need to remove such accounts before making predictions. However, finding robot accounts can be quite hard. </p>
<p>Another big issue is how the data are collected to be studied. Academic researchers need free – or at least very cheap – access to social media data to perform their studies. Few social media outlets provide this, with Twitter being the exception. Because social media studies tend to be often based on data that are sampled (researchers get about 1% from the free Twitter interface), it’s often the case that what’s available to researchers might not be a <a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.5204">representative sample</a> of the overall social media data. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65735/original/image-20141127-21951-1wyygg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Simply collecting billions of data points isn’t enough.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoliv/6481563277/in/photolist-aSKGWZ-6ADDuF-dU7Cn1-8RszNr-7kETST-7U4KnJ-6dENoE-93daad-7H6fnx-98eeX8-8BKnwi-7mrUDT-7mvLx9-7mrS54-oh7hti-jfYZRK-6tXvwF-nZULtL-oHsWUa-84Gxki-xn5e8-78y1BK-dDyZav-dyxsH5-aQt1AB-bqJgjX-6MPfLz-7e5YK6-82TGSb-9Yf1ju-dvGh9G-6h65V7-cYiDZd-81gMx7-8CBeSS-cCyLxA-7E1AHQ-7E1WjA-hhwd41-8CAnKJ-8CAoBW-8Cx9hT-8Cx6Qt-8ywotc-6ADDuK-bqNiKF-8h6sWa-8Wb619-5n4FWw-6u1GFx">Geoff Livingston</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>How to do it better</h2>
<p>In order to realize the immense potential of social media-based studies of human populations, research must tackle these kinds of issues head-on. In our <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6213/1063.summary">recent paper</a> in Science on caveats for social media researchers, we discuss the need to control for bias in all the ways it appears – through platform-specific <a href="http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM13/paper/viewFile/6128/6347">population makeup</a>, data collection and user sampling. This will involve improvements both in how data is collected and in how data is processed: for example, better methods for identifying non-human accounts on social media are needed.</p>
<p>Ultimately, researchers must be more aware of what is being analyzed when they work with social media data. What data are actually being collected? What systems are actually being studied? What social processes are actually being observed? Through greater awareness of and attention to these questions, the research community will be better able to realize the great promise of social media-based studies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jürgen Pfeffer receives funding from NSF, DOD.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek Ruths receives funding from SSHRC, NSERC, NSF, Public Safety Canada. He consults for Facebook.</span></em></p>Behavioral scientists have seized on social media and their massive data sets as a way to quickly and cheaply figure out what people are thinking and doing. But some of those tweets and thumbs ups can…Jürgen Pfeffer, Assistant Research Professor of Computation, Organizations and Society, Carnegie Mellon UniversityDerek Ruths, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/269962014-06-04T12:12:46Z2014-06-04T12:12:46ZHard-to-please ‘fauxsumers’ pin it and save it but rarely buy it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50135/original/xhwzfm67-1401812723.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many trolleys have been reduced to roaming the countryside in search of work.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickwilken/5950625276/sizes/l">Patrick Wilkin</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since there were shops, people have enjoyed window shopping. But a new phenomenon is emerging that takes the habit to the extreme.</p>
<p>If you save things to your Amazon wishlist without ever actually buying them, browse gadgets, clothes and offers online as a pastime or fill your shopping cart without going through with the payment, you may be a fauxsumer.</p>
<p>This “false consumerism”, particularly prevalent among millenials, is the process of discovering products online without purchasing anything. Shopping without having the goal of actually buying. </p>
<p>The rise of fauxsumerism was revealed in a <a href="http://www.trendcentral.com/life/cassandra-report-digest-young-consumers-love-browsing-but-not-buying/">recent study</a> of 1,300 14-to-34-year olds in the US. These millenials, born between 1980 and 2000 are browsers rather than buyers. The report found they create wishlists, both to engage with brands and for fun, with no intention of actually buying. Sometimes they don’t have the money to make the purchase but save the item anyway. There is even the suggestion that these fauxsumers get the same kick out of saving an item as they would if they had bought it.</p>
<p>What started with the Amazon wishlist now plays out across mobile phone apps and social networking sites like Pinterest, where users curate pinboards of items they like as though that were their main goal, rather than actually owning anything on them.</p>
<p>Curating your fantasy buys on Pinterest or Tumblr offers you the thrill of shopping without having to pay anything. This collection and display of products in social media sites has become a way of expressing one’s tastes and projecting a “personal brand”. Entering luxury stores virtually allows you to “roam about” without having the feeling of insecurity that the products being displayed may be out of your reach.</p>
<p>However, the process of fauxmersism is not limited to millennials. <a href="http://www.accenture.com/us-en/outlook/Pages/outlook-journal-2013-who-are-millennial-shoppers-what-do-they-really-want-retail.aspx">The Accenture study</a> of 2013 conducted market research on the shopping behaviours of 6,000 consumers, including 1,707 millenials across eight countries. Although millennials are the first truly connected generation, the study found similarities between the way they shop and the way Baby Boomers (born from 1946-1964) and Generation X (1965-1979) shop. Across all three demographics, 41% said they preferred “showrooming” –- looking at the merchandise in a retail store and then looking for it online to find the lowest price.</p>
<h2>Meeting new demands</h2>
<p>The fauxsumer certainly poses a challenge for the companies trying to sell goods. If customers get the same thrill out of putting an item on a list as they do from actually spending money on it, there is an obvious consequence. </p>
<p>All is not lost for shops though, they just need to adapt. The Accenture study also found that although millenials value online channels when checking out reviews, ratings and prices, they still prefer to visit bricks-and-mortar stores where they can touch an item, smell it and pick it up.</p>
<p>The findings also challenged the myth that millennials are not loyal customers. In fact, they seek a personalised memorable experience where their purchase or interaction is valued and they expect to receive targeted offers and discounts via email or post in return for their custom. That said, it turns out that they “like” a retailer’s Facebook page more often with the goal of keeping abreast of offers and news than to express an actual attachment to the brand.</p>
<p>Retailers need to convert browsers into buyers and should think smart to make that happen. Bricks-and-mortar retailers should include mobile devices in their in-store experience. They might send real-time promotions to their customers’ phones as they browse or let them pay with their phone. Millennials expect integrated, seamless shopping, be it online or in store.</p>
<p>If shopping has become a source of entertainment for millenials, retailers need to take advantage of that and show customers a good time when they buy.</p>
<p>A bigger problem to solve is how to keep up with social media habits. Technologies like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr are constantly evolving and users are moving around more than ever so retailers need to work out which is the best platform to use if they want to converse with customers, and adapt their strategies accordingly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26996/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shailey Minocha receives funding from UK's EPSRC, JISC, VITAE and Wolfson Foundation.</span></em></p>Ever since there were shops, people have enjoyed window shopping. But a new phenomenon is emerging that takes the habit to the extreme. If you save things to your Amazon wishlist without ever actually…Shailey Minocha, Reader in Computing, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72352012-05-30T20:14:58Z2012-05-30T20:14:58ZMindshare is still Facebook’s biggest asset<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11210/original/f36rcd7p-1338356280.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mark Zuckerberg rings the Nasdaq's opening bell from the Facebook Headquarters in California.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Zef Nikolla</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With almost a billion accounts and growing, Facebook still has as strong a lock on the concept of sharing as Google does on the concept of search. As such, while no company is immune to failure, the current market nervousness over Facebook is unwarranted.</p>
<h2>The mishandled IPO</h2>
<p>Facebook’s IPO was certainly mishandled, at least in terms of public relations. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-ipo-disclosure-scandal-2012-5">Lawsuits have been filed</a> over the nature and relevance of lower-than-expected earnings disclosures to selected institutional investors but apparently not other investors. Facebook, Morgan Stanley, and NASDAQ, have all been the subject of much finger-pointing about the poor value of the stock.</p>
<p>Some commentators have claimed that the lack of stock pop (a rise in value making initial subscribers money within hours or days of the IPO) indicated that the company was valued correctly or at least not over-valued. But many more have been <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/198815/how_will_facebook_make_money.html">warning</a> for some time that Facebook owes a great deal to its early angel investors and has demonstrated limited capacity for earnings beyond simple advertising.</p>
<p>Whether or not the lawsuits and claims have merit, mindshare is a slow but steady road to profitability: just ask Google.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11217/original/3n5z2926-1338360775.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Facebook is also the interconnecting tissue of a huge ecosystem of third-party companies. These either trade directly through Facebook (such as Zynga, developer of Farmville and Mafia Wars), use Facebook for login credentials (e.g. including The Conversation), or rely on Facebook to reach far beyond their individual websites (e.g. Pinterest). <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2011/09/23/zyngas-profits-downs-95-ahead-of-ipo/">Zynga’s profits are down</a>, and <a href="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-19/tech/31076370_1_zynga-facebook-market-e-commerce">Facebook f-commerce appears to be an initial flop</a>, but money is being made and the space is still new.</p>
<p>Not only do many tech jobs directly rely on Facebook, but increasingly so too do the marketing, public relations, and journalism professions as a whole. Certainly all of these professions are still trying to figure out just how to use the platform most efficiently. However, again, it is an empirical fact that this ecosystem exists and that it is in the interest of many to see that it remains healthy. </p>
<h2>Mobile space is still in its infancy</h2>
<p>Just as the f-commerce space is new and fragile, there are concerns that Facebook has not shown much chop in the mobile space. Its early mobile interface was weak and has only recently started to improve. But the big concern for many investors is that <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404768,00.asp">Facebook has admitted that it does not earn much from mobile use</a> because it has much more limited space for advertising.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=833&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=833&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=833&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1047&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1047&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11216/original/hv6qjv9n-1338359977.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1047&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>This concern is clearly being addressed by the company, both through the <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/09/facebook-to-acquire-instagram-for-1-billion/">acquisition of Instagram</a> and the release of individual Facebook applications beyond the core: <a href="http://mashable.com/follow/topics/facebook-messenger/">Messenger</a>, <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/05/21/facebook-page-new-app/">Pages</a>, and most recently the <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/05/24/facebook-camera-app/">Camera</a> app. The benefit of multiple applications over a one-stop shop, of course, is that advertisements can be delivered to each, as well as tailored to the particular uses. Doing this without angering users is difficult, as <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitters_dickbar_meets_its_demise.php">Twitter found out when it tried to include more advertisements</a>, but mobile is still a new space.</p>
<p>Further, Facebook has enough cash now to treat mobile as a loss-leader as long as it can measurably demonstrate that it still has the majority mindshare. That being said, in this case Facebook probably should not look to Google, whose mobile offerings have been fairly weak and limited in terms of ad-space (at least before the <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/13/with-its-new-google-app-google-finally-gets-it-right/">beautiful new Google+ iPhone app</a>).</p>
<h2>Can the social graph be monetised in a way that retains user’s privacy trust?</h2>
<p>Third, while Facebook’s much-vaunted <a href="https://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/">Social Graph</a> provides it with enormous possible resources for using behavioural data to target advertising, the company has not managed to find as lucrative a marketing process as Google Adwords. The highly personal nature of Facebook means that it faces much more visible privacy infringement possibilities than Google does with search.</p>
<p>Search is actually as much or more personal, but it does not appear as such to the average user because most searches are carried out, a goal met, and then it’s on to the next. Facebook posts are more persistent—deliberately so, since the goal is for multiple people to see them whereas the goal for most searches is more individualistic. Again, though, <a href="http://data-informed.com/ipo-aside-facebooks-long-term-prospects-depend-on-mining-unstructured-data/">monetising the social graph in a way that keeps users feeling secure is probably only a matter of time</a>. And time, for now, is on Facebook’s side, because it is by far the most visible manifestation of a “social network” in the public imagination.</p>
<p>I think that this is the critical factor that means that Facebook is too big to fail. Facebook may be a glorified self-organising and updating address book (REF), but it is one of the big three portals to the Internet that is instantly recognisable to many users (the other two being search, usually Google, and email). Far more users treat Facebook as a place to share than Twitter or Google+. Eben Moglen would rather they didn’t, given the possibilities for surveillance, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/conrad-black/facebook-ipo_b_1540449.html">Conrad Black</a> believes the entire platform to be trivial beyond measure. While I have sympathy for both arguments, they fly in the face of the empirical fact that Facebook provides the easiest platform for personal connection and multi-media sharing across a range of contexts.</p>
<p>On this last front, though, it is imperative that Facebook pays attention to the users’ need for trustable privacy. While Facebook has weathered many privacy storms, a disaster on this front is the most likely to lead to a loss of users, and with it all else. <a href="https://www.efa.org.au/2012/05/09/efa-supports-mandatory-data-breach-notification/">Mandatory data breach legislation is currently being supported by Electronic Frontiers Australia</a> and other online user rights organisations. Facebook should be looking to build long-term user engagement by taking a leadership role in trustable privacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/7235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Rintel is affiliated with Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (EFA), a non-profit national organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line freedoms and rights.</span></em></p>With almost a billion accounts and growing, Facebook still has as strong a lock on the concept of sharing as Google does on the concept of search. As such, while no company is immune to failure, the current…Sean Rintel, Lecturer in Strategic Communication, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/58402012-03-21T19:39:34Z2012-03-21T19:39:34ZA new way to share – why Pinterest isn’t just another social network<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8842/original/89w9cgdr-1332307257.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pinterest's tasty layout is only part of its appeal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pinterest</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“I’m still trying to understand the whole thing but there must be something to it. It’s really popular!”</p>
<p>That’s my sister-in-law writing on Facebook in late January about <a href="http://pinterest.com">Pinterest</a> – one of the real up-and-comers in the world of social media.</p>
<p>In case you haven’t succumbed, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard or scrapbook to which users “pin” images, video, or snippets of text from other websites, or content they’ve uploaded themselves.</p>
<p>Those pins can then be organised into categories (“cooking”, “sport”, etcetera). Users can comment on or share the pins, and other people can pin them to their personal Pinterest boards as well.</p>
<p>Sound simple? It is. Sound like yet another social bookmarking site? It is.</p>
<p>Despite not being unique, and currently still being invite-only, Pinterest is 2012’s breakout <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/02/28/the-marketers-guide-to-pinterest-infographic/">social media marketing darling</a>.</p>
<h2>‘Social media fatigue’</h2>
<p>Every new social media service faces two related forms of user resistance. The first is the “tool for task” problem: “What will service X do that service Y doesn’t do?” The second is the “friend silo” problem: “Why do I need service X when all my friends are in service Y?”</p>
<p>If a new social media venture (such as Pinterest) can’t successfully address both of those questions, the future is likely to bring stagnation (sorry, <a href="https://theconversation.com/search?q=google%2B">Google+</a>) or a slow death (sorry, <a href="https://theconversation.com/unthink-rethinks-online-identity-and-fronts-up-to-facebook-and-google-4028">Unthink</a>).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8845/original/6kfxyqvn-1332307696.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A collection of Science & Nature pins.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pinterest</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But Pinterest seems to have hit a Web 2.0 sweet-spot, providing compelling answers to both questions. It delivers highly revisitable, personal collections that have high social interest and are extremely easy to share.</p>
<p>Sure, Pinterest resembles any number of “social collection” services. It combines online bookmarking (like <a href="http://delicious.com/">Delicious</a>), online photography (like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a>), and social news (like Facebook). But the way it combines these features makes for a valuable new addition to the social media landscape.</p>
<h2>Me first, others second</h2>
<p>An individual’s Pinterest site has both individual and social qualities. Users collect things for themselves with a view to returning to the collection themselves.</p>
<p>That desire to return and see the collection grow, to compare and contrast an ever-larger but relevant set of things is a huge part of Pinterest’s success.</p>
<p>The fact other friends are not on Pinterest is no barrier to use because the service has value to the individual first. This is in stark contrast to a service such as Google+ or Facebook which, without friends to follow, offers a less-than-complete experience.</p>
<p>Of course online photography sites such as <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a> could also act the same way, but such sites tend to be about uploading one’s own content rather than collecting material while online.</p>
<p>And while online bookmarking sites such as <a href="https://www.delicious.com/">Delicious</a> (or del.icio.us, as it was) made collecting links possible almost a decade ago, the online bookmarking process is almost an end-point – “I’ll get to that later” – or is often just private hoarding, with the online-ness for backup, not sharing.</p>
<p>Many online bookmarkers do share, of course, but those services are not driving referral traffic around the internet with anywhere near the <a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/going-viral-on-pinterest-driving-big-traffic-and-making-pinterest-a-real-marketing-solution">power of Pinterest</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8846/original/p84p4hyt-1332308000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pinterest</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> blogs represent somewhat of a link between online bookmarking and Pinterest. My Tumblr-using students collect images, videos, songs, and inspirational sayings on Tumblr for their own enjoyment.</p>
<p>While their Tumblr blogs may be public, my students report not sharing either the full link or specific posts with others. Pinterest users, though, seem to treat sharing as a matter of course.</p>
<p>Why is this? After all, if a “me-first” collection is established, there needs to be something that pushes users to want to share part or all of their collection with friends.</p>
<h2>The secret ingredient: comparison and contrast</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/8803/original/6v6tk24p-1332245644.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Part of the reason could be Pinterest’s user interface. Pinterest is credited as having a very elegant version of both a wide and deep <a href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2012/02/09/jquery-masonry-is-behind-the-interest-in-pinterest.aspx">vertical masonry style</a> of image display.</p>
<p>This is very different to Facebook, Tumblr, and other <a href="http://www.webdeveloperjuice.com/2012/02/17/3-ways-pinterest-is-changing-website-design/">standardised single reverse-chronological “waterfall” displays of material</a> – that is, sites that display the most recent content at the top with older content cascading from there.</p>
<p>But the difference is more than skin deep. Simple sharing is just giving one thing to someone else. Complex sharing involves comparison and contrast. </p>
<p>As the site’s original investor, Brian Cohen, argues, <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/03/11/pinterest-first-investor/">Pinterest excels at comparison and contrast</a>, and the use-cases that go along with it.</p>
<p>Pinterest has become very popular for wedding planning for just these reasons. The planner collects pins to have a range of ideas and options for individual use, to solicit the opinions of others, and ultimately to have a single place to return to for reference. </p>
<p>In other words, we’ve added “come-with-me” to “me-first”.</p>
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<p>Since Pinterest pins can be shared through other services – such as Facebook – there is no need to invite friends to join Pinterest to enjoy the benefits (at least at first).</p>
<p>In this sense, the friend silos of individual social networks become irrelevant. Pinterest users can also find and re-pin other Pinterest users’ pins, which allows for the development of the kind of communities of interest that have long driven internet service popularity.</p>
<p>As is the case with many successful services, Pinterest was not first to market on a range of fronts. Rather, it has captured mindshare through excellent execution and, most importantly, a thorough understanding of the reasons and ways people share, not just the ability to share. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/5840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Rintel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>“I’m still trying to understand the whole thing but there must be something to it. It’s really popular!” That’s my sister-in-law writing on Facebook in late January about Pinterest – one of the real up-and-comers…Sean Rintel, Lecturer in Strategic Communication, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.