Posts Tagged ‘study’

Weekly Wrap – Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Twitter turns 6 years old

March 21 marked the 6th anniversary of Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey, sending the first tweet:

Twitter has come quite a long way since that one tweet and . Here’s what Twitter is like now:

New study looks at Twitter and the stock market

There have been many studies and claims about Twitter being able to “predict the future”. People have looked at how it can be used in elections, entertainment awards, and more. A recent study conducted at University of California Riverside looked for correlations between what was being discussed on Twitter and the stock market. It turns out, there is:

“The more a facets on which a company is being discussed, the stronger that company performs in the stock market. If a discussion about company centers around only a small number of news items or discussion topics, its stock underperforms.”

A four-month trial was conducted by professor Vagelis Hristidis and a team of computer engineers and scientists. Hristidis is still puzzled as to why Twitter can help predict the stock market, but according to Mashable, it’s been hypothesized that the bad news that receives lots of attention on social media is the same bad news that can drive a stock’s price down.

Twitter users want #Justice4Trayvon

On February 26, Florida teen Trayvon Martin was shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who says he was acting in self-defense. Although it has been widely talked about on social media for weeks, the awareness and support has become much more widespread recently.

Celebrities as well as the general public are standing up for Trayvon using hashtags such as #STOPZIMMERMAN, #Justice4Trayvon, and #WeAreTrayvonMartin.

Internet users are also responding to FOX correspondent Geraldo Rivera saying that the hoodie Trayvon was wearing is as responsible for his death as George Zimmerman is by posting pictures of themselves in hoodies. Lebron James tweeted this picture of Miami Heat players in their hoodies, and Dwyane Wade changed his Twitter avatar to a picture of him bowing his head with a hood on. Other celebrities and public figures that have posted pictures include Diddy, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and several others.

Twitter updates TweetDeck

The first Twitter-branded version of TweetDeck has now been updated and has restored a few of the features that went missing when the app was acquired by Twitter. Users can now edit, create, and delete lists from the app itself with a “Lists” button, view in-line media previews, and “Edit and RT” has replaced the “Quote” tweet option for retweets. Additionally, Twitter introduced “Interactions” and “Activity” columns, mimicking a feature of “New New Twitter.”

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Social Networks Satisfy User Needs

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Over the past ten years, our perception of social media has transformed from a seemingly useless fad to an integrated way of life. As over a billion people worldwide use social media every day, we can recognize how it is becoming a vital channel in society. It is now second nature for people to search Twitter for the news, connect with an old friend on Facebook, or seek a job opportunity on LinkedIn. Not only do we desire the luxury of these tools, they have become a necessary aspect of our lives. As different needs develop, social media finds a way to fulfill them. It is easy to see how each successful social network strategically establishes a specific need for its users.

According to a blog post from All Twitter, social media may even play a role in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a psychological theory that addresses the stages of growth in humans. Facebook and Google+ help us maintain a sense of belonging through connections to friends and family. Twitter is good for our self-esteem, because it empowers us to reach out to others and self-promote, while keeping us informed. LinkedIn satisfies our need for safety, by providing security in employment.

With this realization in mind, we can see why some social networks are successful, while some are never adopted.

  • When Facebook launched in 2003, it was exclusive to large groups of people in college. It gained popularity through social proof and eventually people everywhere joined the network because they didn’t want to feel left out.
  •  A more recent addition to the digital world, Pinterest, saw the need for connectivity and sharing that social media users crave. Pinterest’s popularity sparked because it is integrated with Facebook. When a user joins they are automatically shown which of their Facebook friends are on Pinterest, revealing several accounts full of interesting and exciting pictures to “pin”. Once a user “pins” a picture, it can easily be shared through Facebook as well.  Pinterest also fulfills a need by sharing photos that inspire a call-to-action- whether it is a recipe or a home decorating idea.
  • Other examples include Foursquare’s ability to make location relevant online, Google+’s integration with the world’s largest search engine, Twitter’s ability to spark creativity with the #hashtag, and LinkedIn’s discovery of a professional way to interact online.

Additionally, the more these social networks integrate with brands, the more useful they are to businesses and customers. Brands can create fan pages on Facebook, have Twitter chats with their followers, pin their products on Pinterest, track their customers on Foursquare and increase their search engine optimization with Google +. Also, LinkedIn is known as the best social network to generate business leads online.

If a social network can satisfy an individual’s needs, it is essential for companies to take advantage of these platforms.  Have you capitalized on your business’ need to be socially available?

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Weekly Wrap – Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Twitter provides insight on cardiac arrest

Researchers at University of Pennsylvania have performed two recent studies that look at how social media, Twitter in particular, “can be used to help save lives and disseminate information relating to cardiac arrest.” In an article from The Daily Pennsylvanian , one of the researchers explains that they wanted to look at Twitter to “monitor what’s happening or understand what’s happening in non-emergencies, so that when emergencies happen we can be better prepared to use the tool to provide up-to-date accurate information to people.”

One study looked at over 60,000 tweets relating to cardiac arrest, CPR, AEDs, and resuscitation over the span of one month. Only 25% of the tweets had “real information”, such as about real symptoms, locations about events, or articles. These tweets were categorized as either personal, information sharing, or related to news media.

A second study looked at questions being asked on Twitter about cardiac arrest. The researchers found that people tweet questions about  CPR and proper procedures. In the future, they hope to look at what happens when they send information back to the people asking questions.

Another Chris Brown tirade

Last Thursday, Chris Brown had another one of those meltdowns he’s become so famous for. After someone tweeted about his assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 (super touchy subject for him), he went on a profanity-filled tirade ending with a vow for the AMA’s: “I wake up thinking of living my life….. YOU wake up thinking of me! NOW I REALLY CANT WAIT FOR THE AMA’s! u dont have to respect me now… but u will.” After his rant, he deleted his entire timeline, which now only has 2 tweets.

This incident is one in a long list of Twitter fights Brown has gotten himself into. Earlier this year, he got into it with B2K’s Raz B, Tyler the Creator, and Odd Future’s Frank Ocean. The “best of” the most recent episode of this series can be found here.

Simon Cowell has a new medium for insults

That’s right, Simon Cowell is on Twitter, and it didn’t even take 24 hours for him to get into his first Twitter fight. After tweeting “I love being on Twitter. Thank you for allowing me to beat the other three judges in the popularity poll. Paula looked like she’d sucked on a lemon.”

Piers Morgan, who used to work with Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent, responded “Save your breath Simon. Nobody’s watching X Factor. My show’s about to start.” To this, Cowell simply said “Look up the word ‘deluded’ in your dictionary.” At this point, Morgan pointed out that Cowell isn’t as popular as he thinks, with Morgan having over 1 million followers more than Cowell. But Cowell is apparently on a mission to have the highest follower count.

At least another judge from X Factor USA is on Twitter. After all, the show does have a partnership with Twitter.

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Weekly Wrap–Twitter Tuesday

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

New study uses Twitter to track when we are happy

Researchers at Cornell University have published a study in which they used Twitter to track mood patterns. The study used messages from more than 2 million people spanning across 84 countries.

The study found that mood peaks in the morning, taper gradually in the late afternoon, and rise once more at night. The study showed that “our moods are driven in part by a shared underlying biological rhythm that transcends culture and environment.”

NASA invites lucky followers to view launches in person

NASA has started inviting its Twitter followers to attend launches, known as Tweetups. NASA will be accepting applications for its next Tweetup from October 5 at noon to October 7 at noon. The 150 winners will be selected randomly.

The winners will get to spend two days visiting the Kennedy Space Center, meeting NASA scientists and engineers and socializing with fellow space and social media enthusiasts. They will also get front-row seats for the launch of Curiosity, the latest Mars rover, on November 25 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Sean Parker joins Twitter

Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster and former president of Facebook, gave in and joined Twitter yesterday. In his first (and as of now only) tweet, he apologizes to Mark Zuckerberg for crossing over to the dark side, so to speak.

His account is already verified and has already gained over 23,000 followers. It’s been speculated that his joining Twitter is part of a bigger plan, developing more of a social media presence to promote a product launch.

He is reportedly working on a blog, and is working on a new live video startup called Airtime.

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Facebook may Cause Psychological Disorders in Teens

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

A recent study, presented by Larry D. Rosen Ph. D. at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychology Association, showed how social networking sites, such as Facebook, have positively and negatively affected teens.

Rosen has been studying the effects of technology on people for over 25 years, and this particular study found that Facebook may cause psychological disorders in children and teens.

According to his research, teens that over-use media and technology are more prone to antisocial and aggressive behavior—along with anxiety and depression.  Rosen also believes that the teens who are constantly on Facebook become narcissistic.  He found high school and college students who logged onto Facebook at least once in a 15 minute period received lower grades in school.

However, Rosen has some positive to report.  He says sites like Facebook help kids socialize and show “virtual empathy.”  Rosen says those responding to people’s status updates online will lead them to be more empathetic in person.

This all may contribute to FOMO, too! Don’t know what FOMO is? It stands for Fear Of Missing Out, meaning the fear that if you miss a party or an event, you will miss out on something great.  It seems like Facebook really is giving teens anxiety about socializing!

So whaddyathink? Is Facebook really causing psychological disorders or is the way we interact just changing?

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Is Technology To Blame For Lack Of Sleep?

Monday, March 7th, 2011

A study by the National Sleep Foundation is making a correlation between a lack of sleep and the use of technology before going to bed. A study conducted by the group found that 95 percent of people surveyed admitted to using electronic devices within the hour before going to bed, while two-thirds felt they didn’t get enough sleep during the week.

The referenced devices blamed for these instances include television, laptops/computers, video games and smartphones, all of which help increase exposure to artificial light which is said can suppress the release of sleep-aiding hormone, melatonin.

It’s an interesting theory, and I’m sure that it has a great deal to do with cases of lack of sleep. But what caught my eye was the part of the research that found 22 percent of kids 13 to 18 say they are “sleepy”, in part because of this:

“One in 10 kids report they are being awoken by texts after they have gone to bed.”

The above quote is from Charles Czeisler, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. I don’t know what percentage of people actually put their phones on silent or turn it off completely, but I do know devices can alert users on everything from texts to e-mail to Facebook and Twitter updates. Kids love to be social and with mobile devices they can socialize at anytime.

Flat out, there’s just more at our disposal than there was even 10 years ago to occupy our time.

I personally find that the nights I can’t sleep is because I’m just distracted by what’s going on around me, either the television show I’m watching or the e-mails I’m getting on my phone. Had I not been exposed to the artificial light before heading to bed maybe I’d be able to sleep through those distractions, but knowing I have them around doesn’t make it any easier.

So now that we know this, what will we do about it? Will we heed the warnings and turn off these devices well-prior to bedtime? Will we choose to *gasp* pull out an actual book to read instead of watching a screen? It may be time to choose between your trusted devices and a good night’s sleep.

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