Slightly updated for the end of 2015, these slides describe the How and Why of networks in the digital age. As I like to say, it is not about the shiny objects (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, or any other app). Thriving in a digital age means we need to understand how networks functions. Doing so allows us to plan our actions and communications more wisely.

1. PILLARS OF THE DIGITAL AGE
MICHAEL NETZLEY, PHD
Communicateasia@gmail.com

3. DARPA Red Balloon Challenge
ì 2009
challenge
on
wide
area
collabora9on
ì Defense
Advance
Research
Project
Agency
ì $40,000
prize
to
be
first
at
finding
10
balloons
around
the
United
States
ì How
long
did
the
winning
team
need
to
find
them?

4. FEWER THAN
NINE HOURS

5. How Did the MIT Team Win?
ì Shared
the
reward
ì $2000
correct
coordinates
ì $1000
for
whomever
invited
them
ì $500
for
invi9ng
the
inviter
ì $250
for
invi9ng
them
ì And
so
on…
ì Mass
&
social
media
were
complementary
ì Data
mining
via
social
media

6. Twitter
&
Queenstown

10. I Would Like You to Meet Gen
28 years old, Gen graduated from
Singapore Management University and
now works in finance.
She lives with her family, enjoys biking and
coffee with friends. Her favorite brands
include Zara, Nike, Tom Ford and Prada.
Each day she uses Facebook, WhatsApp
and Instragram to talk with friends. She
doesn’t read a newspaper or listen to radio.

11. Let’s Connect with Gen
ì Using Instagram or any
other photo sharing app,
who can
ì send to my Twitter account
@CommunicateAsia
ì a photo of this event
ì You have 1 minute

12. Gen Uses Digital, But Can Still Learn
How Has
Media
Evolved?
What Does
New Media
Mean to Me?
What Are the
Coming
Trends?

13. Meet Gen’s Prof….Michael Netzley
ì Academic Director, SMU Executive Development
ì Daddy with 3 daughters & 1 son
ì Champion’s Award, Innovative Course Design and Delivery
ì Research Fellow, Society for New Communication
Research
ì Visiting faculty positions in Argentina, Berlin, Finland,
Slovenia, and Japan
ì Worked with IBM, IHG, 3M, Singapore Airline, BNP Paribas,
Unilever, UOB, Sumitomo Chemical and Shell

14. Gen & Friends Think of Digital As…

15. Social Media
Social media is a type of online media that expedites
conversation as opposed to traditional media, which
delivers content but doesn't allow readers/viewers/
listeners to participate in the creation or development
of the content.
Source

16. Sociological View of Social Media
Social Media refers to not only the technology but the
cultural and behavioral traits of people communicating
and sharing with one another. Through social
networks, people are listening, sharing, creating,
judging, and innovating in ways that are reshaping
relationships (e.g., government to constituents or
friend to friend), power bases, financial models, and
knowledge.

17. Gen is Literate

18. First Media Age: Greece
Greek alphabet and
writing led to one of the
most productive
cultures in all of history

19. Second Media Age: Print
Chinese moveable type
in 11th century, and
Gutenberg's Press in
the 15th century,
brought books to the
non-elites of society

20. Third Media Age: Broadcast
20th century
broadcasting brought
media into homes, and
at a low cost, thus
increasing demand while
decreasing the supply of
media channels

21. Fourth Media Age: Internet
Everyone becomes their own
media company because of
infrastructure, Internet, digital
technology, and interactive
easy-to-use sites.

22. Web 1.0
Static Text Not
Interactive
Proprietary
Software

23. Shouting: One-to-Many
“The one-to-many approach is
out…It was replaced by CRM,
the one-to-one model. This
gave the ability to customize a
message. This model was, in
turn, replaced by the one-from-
one, or search model ”
But
all
good
things
must
change…

24. Web 2.0

25. Impact: McKinsey & Co 2006
hOp://adage.com/abstract.php?ar9cle_id=110899
• Traditional TV ads becoming less cost effective
• McKinsey says that by 2010 traditional TV
advertising will be 1/3 as effective as 1990
• 50% decline of viewers; 40% hike in fees
• McKinsey also predicts:
– 23% drop in ads viewed due to switching off
– 9% loss of attention due to multitasking
– 37% decline in message impact due to
saturation

26. Impact: McKinsey & Co 2010
ì Use of Web 2.0 technologies significantly
improved companies’ performance
ì Networked enterprises leaders vs. companies
using the Web in more limited ways
hOp://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organiza9on/Strategic_Organiza9on/
The_rise_of_the_networked_enterprise_Web_20_finds_its_payday_2716

27. Impact: McKinsey & Co 2010
ì Use of Web 2.0 technologies continues to grow
ì Social networking 40 %
ì Blogs 38 %
ì Companies see increasing future investments in
new technologies
ì Both internally and externally networked
organizations achieve benefits

28. ì
Why Did This Happen?
Networks

29. We Live in Networks

30. Networks, not Information
ì The
defining
characteris9c
of
the
modern
age
is
networks
ì All
socie9es
have
had
informa9on
(e.g.,
Ancient
Athens
and
Rome)
ì Digital
networks
are
unique
to
the
current
age
ì Networks,
for
the
first
9me,
can
be
a
sustained
structure
for
organizing
people
and
work
Developed
from
the
work
of
Manuel
Castells

33. Space of Places
Source:
hOp://www.public.iastate.edu/~cfford/Colonytraderoutes.jpg

38. Flows: Information & People
Source:
hOp://www.simon-­‐law.com/archives/1274

39. How We Now Organize
Societal elites are now much less
connected to cities [places], and are
instead connected to information
flows. Thus, the network serves as
our organizing principle.
Previously, networks were just an ad
hoc organizational structure until the
rise of digital technologies.

40. Gen Was Born Into This World

41. Share Your Opinion with Gen
ì What is the single biggest
benefit that social media
brings to your life?
ì Latest news and gossip?
ì Always connected to
your friends and family?
ì Entertainment?
ì New opportunities to
learn and grow?
ì Saving money?

42. ì
Living in Gen’s World
Understanding How Networks Function

43. Research Says

44. Emotions Spread via Social Networks
Conclusion: People’s happiness depends on the
happiness of others with whom they are connected.
This provides further justification for seeing
happiness, like health, as a collective phenomenon.
- British Medical Journal 337 (2008)
Fowler and Christakis

45. Obesity Spreads via Social Networks
“You may not know him personally, but your friend’s
husband’s coworker can make you fat. And your
sister’s friend’s boyfriend can make you thin.”
- Fowler and Christakis (2009)
Connected

46. Political
Science:
Why
Americans
Vote
If you vote, then it increases the likelihood that your
friend’s friend will also vote….Instead of each of us
having only one vote, we effectively have several
and therefore much more likely to influence the
outcome.
- Fowler and Christakis (2009)
Connected

47. 3 Degrees of Influence

48. 25
25
25
25
25

49. 155

50. Professor
Christakis

51. Rule: Connections need
to be strong; but you
need not know the
people.

52. When to Use Strong Ties
ì Urgent Situation
ì Dependency for Well Being
ì Decision Making
ì Ethos-Based Influence
ì Access: Doors Opened
ì Regular Information Flows
ì Change Target’s Values
Source:
GranoveOer

53. When to Use Weak Ties
ì Speed of Distribution
ì Less Dependent on Others
ì Reach Distant Targets with Whom We are not Connected
ì Innovative Ideas or Models
ì Episodic Information Flows
ì Bridge Diverse Groups
Source:
GranoveOer

54. ì
What It Means For Gen
How to Grasp the Opportunity

55. We Could Not Have Imagined Her World

56. Share Your Opinion with Gen
ì What is the single biggest
concern that social media
brings to your life?
ì Loss of privacy?
ì Feel you must always “be
on?”
ì Being flamed online (i.e.,
publicly)
ì Identity or account theft?
ì Something else?

57. Digital Brings Risks and Rewards

58. The Network Effect
Effect that one user of a
product or service has on
its value to other users
Value of good or service
increases when more
people use it

61. Media Diffusion Today

62. Network Effect: Benefits
ì You
get
the
latest
updates
from
your
contacts
ì You
socially
remain
“in
the
know”
ì You
can
manage
your
public
persona
ì You
can
ask
for
help
or
support
from
your
network
(i.e.,
crowdsourcing)
ì You
maintain
contact
even
while
physically
separated
from
one
another

63. Proliferation of Media

64. Attention is a Scarce Resource

66. Networks & Social Isolation – Related?
ì Rise of internet, mobile
phones and social
networks have pulled
people away from
traditional social settings,
which were typically
associated with large and
diverse social networks
ì Average size and diversity
of core discussion
networks have declined
Source:
Social
Isola9on
in
America:
Changes
in
Core
Discussion
Networks
over
Two
Decades

67. Networks & Social Isolation – Related?
“…on Twitter, political talk is highly partisan, where
users’ clusters are characterized by homogeneous
views and are linked to information sources….”
Source:
“Birds
of
a
Feather
Tweet
Together:
Integra8ng
Network
and
Content
Analyses
to
Examine
Cross-­‐Ideology
Exposure
on
TwiDer”
Pew Research Center study
(2014) confirms the same
finding - little overlap in
the news sources different
groups turn to and trust

68. Tech Lowers
Cost of Making
Weak Ties

69. Enable the
free flow of
info

70. Peripheral
Cental
Bridging

71. ExpandYour
Resource
Base

72. Solve
Problems

73. Messages from
Peers more
Influential

74. Embeddedin
theNetwork

75. DARPA Applied

76. Clay Shirkey’s Cognitive Surplus
ì The Internet gives us
three reasons to no longer
be “couch potatoes”
ì Means
ì Motive
ì Opportunity

77. Means: How We Act
ì Means of production increases
ì Buying a TV versus buying a
laptop
ì Everything is an original; no
inferior copies
ì Fluid networks: content flows
smoothly between networks
ì Low cost

78. Motive: Why We Act
ì Intrinsic motivation can be
powerful
ì Autonomy
ì Mastery
ì Purpose
ì Daniel Pink, Drive
ì Extrinsic can “crowd out”
intrinsic motivation

79. Opportunity: Where & with Whom
ì Privileged media class with
right to speak disappearing
ì We can all participate & share
directly
ì “Social Production” or
“Commons-Based Peer
Production”
ì Open source software,
Wikipedia, or classsic Z-Boys
example

80. How We Use Time
ACTIVITY
TIME
SOURCES
Work
(USA)
7.5
hours
per
day
(avg)
Bureau
of
Labor
Sta9s9cs
Work
(SG)
8.5
hours
per
day
(avg)
AsiaOne
(1
in
5
works
11+
hours
per
day)
Television
(USA)
2.7
hours
per
day
(avg)
18.9
hours
per
week
BLS
50%
of
free
9me
Television
(SG)
12
hours
per
week
We
Are
Social
Internet
Use
(SG)
25
hours
per
week
We
Are
Social
Singapore spends 25,000,000 hours each month
watching online video (We are Social)

81. Cognitive Surplus

82. State of Trust in Media

83. State of Consumer Receptivity

84. Considering the increased activism of citizens
since the 2011 GE, public sector organizations
need to actively engage all types of media in order
to effectively convey their message. Not doing so
is the equivalent of knowingly allowing a one-sided
conversation where others set the agenda.

85. ì
Unlocking Gen’s Digital Future
Major
Trends
on
the
Horizon

86. Mobility

87. Indian Farmers Benefit By Going Mobile
Mobile-based farm advisory providers help farmers avoid heavy
losses by providing timely information during deficit
monsoons
Farmers
in
distress
over
weak
monsoons
and
resulting
damage
to
crops
Get
in
touch
with
Nokia’s
Life
Tools
seeking
advice
on
what
to
cultivate
Life
Tools
provides
tips
on
water
and
soil
moisture
conservation,
drought-­‐
resistant
seed
variants

88. Top Smart Phone Markets & Share
COUNTRY
2011
MARKET
SHARE
2012
MARKET
SHARE
2016
MARKET
SHARE
PRC
18.3%
26.5%
23%
USA
21.3%
17.8%
14.5%
INDIA
2.2%
2.5%
8.5%
BRAZIL
1.8%
2.3%
4.4%
UK
5.3%
4.5%
3.6%
REST
OF
WORLD
51.1%
46.4%
46%

89. Global Growth: Mobile Data by 2017

90. “Asia has an insatiable appetite for mobile”
“By 2015,one in two people in the world
using the Internet will be in Asia and in the
region a persons first experience online will
likely be on mobile.”
Aliza Knox, Managing Director of
Commerce, Google APAC

91. Mobile
Changes…
…the conditions under which
people experience your product
or service. It also changes what
information people want to
receive from you.

92. So What Changes?
ì Increase in geography-based search terms as people move
about and conduct searches (state source?)
ì Most SEO today does not factor in geographic terms, so SEO
must be updates
ì People rapidly enter search terms by small screen while
moving, so mistakes increase, and the search engine must still
recognize and find the relevant results (and quickly)
ì Many search engines driven by ad revenues, so how do you
display ads successfully on such a small screen?

93. Context Collapse

95. Big Data
Analyzing large data sets—so-
called big data—will become a
key basis of competition,
underpinning new waves of
productivity growth, innovation,
and consumer surplus
- McKinsey, Big Data: The
Next Frontier for
Innovation, Competition,
and Productivity.

96. Big Data: Pharma

98. E-Commerce
e-commerce spending topped
more than $1 trillion in
business-to-consumer
spending. That number
represents 21% year-over-year
growth, which is expected to
continue this year as online
spending tops $1.3 trillion.
- Wal-Mart’s e-
Commerce Potential,
Inc.magazine, 2013

102. eMart: South Korea

106. Reality: The Worst Game Ever
ì Unclear purpose
ì Little motivation to keep
plugging away
ì Uncertain individual goals
ì Feedback, infrequent,
ambiguous, or missing
ì Lack of control

107. Nike+ Makes Reality Better

108. Real-time Feedback

109. Turkcell Example

110. Why Do We Play?
Daniel
Pink
ì Autonomy
ì Mastery
ì Purpose
ì From the book Drive
Jane
McGonigal
ì Satisfying form of work
ì Success is within reach
ì Social Connection
ì Sense of purpose

116. Today, Visual Comms is Easy

118. Special
Thanks
to….
And
a
special
hat
9p
to
hOp://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
for
the
free
and
great
photos
of
today’s
lead
character,
Gen.
Lots
of
free
and
great
photos
here,
so
do
check
it
out.