How Social Media and search are driving a renaissance in words! Presentation by David Warwick at the Melbourne Internet Show - 30 April 2012.

1. THE RENAISSANCE OF WORDS
How search and social media have elevated quality text
David Warwick
The Internet Show – Melbourne
30 April 2012
@drwarwick
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

2. Read or write?
Structure and History
Nearly universal literacy
is a defining characteristic of modern civilization.
Nearly universal authorship
will shape tomorrow's!
Denis Pelli& Charles Bigelow
A Writing Revolution
http://seedmagazine.com/
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

3. Growth in authorship
Structure and History
People are trading privacy for influence!
Trends
Books: x10 per century for 6 centuries | New media: x 10 per year for 6 years
Source: Denis Pelli& Charles Bigelow … http://seedmagazine.com/
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

4. People want to connect (and influence) …
Structure and History
Source: Facebook
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

5. Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

6. Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

7. Impact of Search
Structure and History
Has search elevated ‘quality text’?
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

8. Dimensions
Structure and History
Focus
Reader or writer centric
Reach
Distribution and promotion
Intelligibility
Transfer of meaning
Fidelity
Clarity, accuracy and truth of meaning
Change
Generation of desired outcome
Longevity
Lifetime and durability of relevance
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

9. Extreme Interventionis ‘text’ driven
Structure and History
Chinese Censorship – Categorization Spread
Censored memes – long tail
Effectiveness
Most effective when list is secret
Peer-to-peer V Client server
Channel difference (Skype V Twitter)
Neologisms
Censors follow changing use
Collateral damage
Source: Jeffrey Knockel, University of New Mexico Over-blocking V Under-blocking
http://news.unm.edu/2011/09/unm-research-team-presents-paper-on-chinese-surveillance-and-censorship/
Where is the content line?
Fcuk | Tibet | Tian’anmen | Hold the microphone | 4 Jun 89 | 64 | 8-squared …
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10. Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

11. Visual design weakness in Social Media (and Search)
Structure and History
Agency
‘a service that acts for others’
Pitch
Stereotyping of audiences and simplification of message
My Design
Text gets in the way
Economy
Speed, expense and profit
Channel
Adaptability, flexibility and variability
Discovery
Images and rich-media still depend on text for discovery!
Accommodation (the fine print)
Of course great design (both visual assets and information strategy) can further elevate communication!
(but then where would the controversy / debate be in saying that …)
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12. Do you speak social?
Structure and History
Writing is more concise
Micro-blogging and the web generally have abbreviated meaning … IMHO ;)
Transparency
Many of use have become more revealing about our views … TMI
Social is ‘anti-social’
(and dangerous) … however it can lead to ‘socialization’ #fail
We are social beings
This is not new … human’s leverage technology for society (and communication)
Elevation
Is about awareness and access – not specifically aesthetic or philosophical importance
Source: ‘How Social Media is Affecting the Way We Speak and Write’ AlizaSherman,
http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-social-media-is-affecting-the-way-we-speak-and-write/
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

13. Corporate Lexicon – A ‘Brand-guide’ for language
Structure and History
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

14. Siemens (message variation and controlled consistency)
Structure and History
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15. Monitoring – ‘Listening Post’ Model (control and learning)
Structure and History
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

16. The jury is out …
Structure and History
Some other things are changing …
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au

17. END
David Warwick
Director of Technology and Services
davidw@bwired.com.au
M: 0411 411 555
P: 1300 780 566
@drwarwick
April 2012
Experience. Capability. Technology bwired.com.au