Social Access in Social Listening and Social Privacy

We have all seen the classic movie plot in which robots rise against humanity in movies such as “Terminator,” “Battlestar Galactica,” and, most recently, CBS All-Access “Start Trek: Picard.” Despite these movie fears, artificial intelligence (AI) uses are growing every year. SoftBank Robotics has created the social robot “Pepper.” Pepper’s design is to understand human emotional displays and carry simple conversations.[1] More advanced artificial intelligence is used for therapies and as hospital companions. The society welcomes basic to complex social listening devices in our homes to increase the ease in life and social access to more exceptional products. Smartphones, smartwatches, Amazon Echo, and Google Alexa, along with cookies and algorithms on our digital devices, are tracking and collecting data under the umbrella of providing a greater experience for the user.

The dichotomy in creating a better experience is the transformation of the user from being a client to becoming the product. The data mined in a social setting reveals the personal privacy of the user and potential product needs. Merriam-Webster defines social as “the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society.” The same defines privacy as “set-apart from observation and freedom from unauthorized intrusion.”[2]  The modern balancing act of digital interaction and freedom from unauthorized intrusion is the user’s digital social and private road. Yet, the journey is manageable with three basic guides of asking questions of the offering, be wholistic in the situational context, and consider the medium in which the information is being communicated.

Asking questions is excellent listening skills. Asking questions of the AI is to seek clarification or seeking elaboration. Asking questions includes investigative work before purchasing the digital device. The user and the marketer must interact with apps, such as Ghostly, to track cookies on computers and mobile devices. Always remember the two ears to one brain is a great ratio. In a world filled with information and data, listen twice as much as you act.

The second guide includes a wholistic awareness of the context in which we live. Simply, a complete view of the AI big picture. Be aware of the devices within your environment. As marketers, we need to be mindful of laws and regulations which protect and provide the user. The big picture is to be aware of AI’s ability to remove excessive information for the user and collect information to be stored, for the marketer. As David Priest explains, The marketer’s big picture view will embrace the data minimization principle where “only relevant and essential data should be processed and collected. Not only does enacting this principle ensure ethical use of data by the company, but it also exposes less customer data to potential privacy breaches.”[3] 

The third guide is to consider the medium in which the information is communicated. AI will collect the data, but is it truly the information you wish to collect or need to use? Compared to the one-on-one approach of yesteryear, modern digital mediated communication is the many-speaking-to-many. AI provides that information to the product creators and relates the information to companies and marketers to offer a greater experience. Thus, digital information posted online can be used in a public setting. This third guide is to carefully consider the medium to establish a conduit for restricting unauthorized intrusion. Traditional ethical rules apply online as they do face-to-face. The user and the marketer should assume everything put online will become public and influence public perception. Simply put, turn the AI off, block cookies, and strategically consider the medium you are communicating.

It is possible to summarize the three guides with “Ask, Look, and Consider.” Keeping in mind that social is interaction and privacy is freedom from authorized intrusion. The three guides of asking, looking, and considering provide the user with social access in a world of digital social listening while maintaining social privacy. The three guides provide the marketer with tools of balance. Artificial Intelligence is part of our new normal and can be managed and balanced between social and private. Just don’t let the robots rise and take over the world.

It is a great and exciting time for online information. Keep at it and you know I love ya, Don

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[1] Autumn Edwards, Chad Edwards, Shawn T. Wahl, Scott A Myers. The Communication Age: Connecting and Engaging, 3ed. SAGE. 2020. pg. 110

[2] Merriam-Webster, Social & Privacy. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privacy Accessed 7/18/20.

[3] David Priest. Smart Home Developers Raise Concerns About Alexa and Google Assistant Security. C/NET. March 15, 2020. https://www.cnet.com/news/smart-home-developers-raise-concerns-about-alexa-and-google-assistant-security/ Accessed 7/17/20.

Communication Skill Change Remarkably as a Result of Social Media

Has social media changed the interaction with people in our communication skills?

I define communication as a transactional process unique in human beings by the exchange of symbols through verbal and non-verbal languages. For example, when I communicate with someone else, I am transacting symbols of communication with the other person and expect some response. The transaction continues as the person responds and the process continually builds on what was previously transacted.

If we agree on the definition of communication, then is there a change within our scope of the communication transaction as a result of social media? I believe there is and the first step in improving our communication skills is in acknowledging the changes.

A good case study is how our society has changed in the usage of magazine publication which was once a huge print business in the world. A good review of the impact on the magazine publishing world is written by Parul Jain, Zulfia Zaher, and Enakshi Roy in Magazines and Social Media Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. The title of their research and finding is Magazines and Social Media Platforms: Strategies for Enhancing User Engagement and Implications for Publishers. (3Vol. 17, No. 2 Winter 2017).

A few highlights of their work that I found worth noting for our question are:

• “Most stakeholders expect organizations to have some presence on social media platforms, and a lack of it is considered unacceptable and non-normative in this day and age” (page 2). 

• “Given the nature of social media platforms, an audience that engages with magazines can critique the content put forth by the magazine, create new content on that magazine’s social pages, interact with fellow readers, and express both positive and negative emotions online” (page 3).

Jain, Zaher, and Roy make a noteworthy quote for our question from Malthouse, Calder, and Eadie:

• "Less engaged customer would be one who merely provides simple feedback, such as 'liking' an image on a social media platform, while a more engaged customer would be one who “actively engages in co-creation,” such as producing content for the brand"2 (page 4).

As we examine the changes in communication, we must also accept the use of social media platforms is a diverse field. In 2015 Magazine Publication Associate reported of the top five followed/liked magazine brands on media National Geographic and Vogue were listed. Interestingly, the vast diversity in the magazine’s primary theme was also reflected in the diversity of the platform in which the user was engaging the magazine in a social media setting. Which I see as a direct tie-in with Jain, Zaher, and Roy’s earlier statements that: “one of the main motivations for engaging with a magazine on social media was the accessibility of magazines across multiple social media platforms and various devices” (page 11).

In response, Jain, Zaher and Roy concluded: “Our findings suggest that the participants gratify different needs (such as home décor and fashion) utilizing specific platforms that are more likely to cater to those needs” (page 16). Another response is: “Magazine readers expect publishers to maintain an engaging and relevant social media presence” (page 18).

The changes are not limited to magazine publishing. The above is simply one case study which illustrates the larger truth: Social Media has change the scope of our communication skills. We are no longer a society focusing on one medium such as a magazine, newspaper, journal, or media outlet to access information. Social media allows for the reader to share the information across large audiences through their social media platforms. Communication as a transaction is evolving with the digital age. Social media expands readers access as well as allowing a reader to look beyond the vast material to a specific search criteria. It would appear as a result of social media, our communication skills are growing and increasing for the better while making “it is a small world after all.”

There is one thing that has not changed ... You know I love ya, Don

1. Parul Jain, Zulfia Zaher, Enakshi Roy, Magazines and Social Media Platforms: Strategies for Enhancing User Engagement and Implications for Publishers. Magazines and Social Media Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. 3Vol. 17, No. 2 • Winter 2017

2. Edward C. Malthouse, Bobby J. Calder, and Wayne P. Eadie, “Conceptualizing and measuring magazine reader experiences” (presentation, Worldwide Readership Symposium, Cambridge, MA,2003),285–306.