social networking as enabler of social responsibility and sustainability

University of Zagreb

European Student Meeting

6-18 May 2012

Valencia, Spain

Social networking as enabler

of social responsibility and

sustainability

Faculty of Electrical

Engineering and Computing

Assist. Prof. Vedran Podobnik, Ph.D.

&

SUSCOMTEC 2012 Student Working Group 6

Outline

May 2012 SUSCOMTEC 2012 2 of 82

social networking & social responsibility

social network services

why responsible communities need social networking?

examples of existing social network services for encouraging and enabling social responsibility

examples of existing social network services for encouraging and enabling social irresponsibility

conclusions

Social networking &

Social responsibility

Networks are everywhere…

Computer network

Communication network

Social network

Networked economy Innovation

network

Television network

Universities network

Electrical network


What is a Network?

a set of nodes interconnected via links

the purpose of exchange

various topologies

node

link


What is a Social Network?

a set of actors interconnected via relationships

actors: people, groups of people, organisations

relationships: acquaintance, familiar bond, dislike, …

common interest connects involved actors

based on actor profiles

creating principle

explicit

implicit


Definition of social networking

Definition of Social Networking

We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

While we use the term “social network site” to describe this

phenomenon, the term “social networking sites” also appears

in public discourse, and the two terms are often used

interchangeably.

May 2012

What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between “latent ties” who share some offline connection.

On many of the large SNSs, participants are not necessarily “networking” or looking to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them “social network sites.”

May 2012

Research conducted on large social networks has principally

concerned interviews, enterprise human resources mining, or

scientific publications references. However, since its birth in

1992, the web has provided many ways of interaction between

people, revealing social network structures, a phenomenon

amplified by the emergence of the web 2.0.

Social networks have been extracted from email

communications, hyperlink structure of home pages, co-

occurrence of names, and from web 2.0 applications.

The first representations of

social network were

sociograms where people are

represented by points and

relationships by lines

connecting them.

Degree centrality considers nodes

with the higher degrees

(number of adjacent edges).

Closeness centrality is based on the

average length

of the paths (number of edges) linking

a node to others and reveals the

capacity of a

node to be reached.

Betweenness centrality focuses on the

capacity of a node to

be an intermediary between any

two other nodes.

The web is now a major medium of communication in our society and, as a

consequence, an element of our socialization. The huge number of human

interactions through web 2.0 platforms reveal real social networks, and

understanding their life cycles is one of the challenges of knowledge

sciences.

What is a Social Responsibility?

Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory

that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has

an obligation to act to benefit society at large. This

responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in

socially harmful acts, or active, by performing

activities that directly advance social goals.

Wikipedia


Social responsibility - definition

2/4 Social responsibility - definition

An ethical ideology or theory that an entity has

an obligation to act to benefit society at large

entity: an organization

or individual

their action impact the

environment

It can be:

passive

active

Types of social responsibility

Scientific Social

Responsibility

Activities that aim

at keeping science

in regard to values

that are generally

acknowledged in

society

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

how companies manage the

business processes to produce

an overall positive impact

on society

Social responsibility

CSR SSR

Inner cycle Outer cycle

Examples (1)

METHOD

• While cleaning products historically contained

hazardous chemicals, Method was able to

make safe and effective home and personal

cleaning products derived from natural

ingredients such as soy, coconut and palm oils.

• The products also come in environmentally

responsible, biodegradable packaging.

STARBUCKS COFFEE

• The company supports products such as Ethos

Water, which brings clean water to the more

than 1 billion people who do not have access.

Examples (2) PEDIGREE

• Pedigree dog food built its brand by focusing

on the need for people to adopt homeless

dogs. Funding the support and care of these

animals and sponsoring a national adoption

drive, Pedigree's 2009 goal was to distribute

$1.5 million in grants to 1,000 shelters and

breed rescues.

TOMS SHOES

• Toms Shoes started on the premise that for

every pair of shoes sold, one pair would be

donated to a child in need.

• Toms Shoes recognized that consumers want to

feel good about what they buy, and thus

directly tied the purchase with the donation. In

just four years, Toms Shoes has donated more

than 400,000 shoes, evidence that consumers

have clearly embraced the cause.

Examples (3)

Nike BAD • employs 23,000 people in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and

Latin America (Nike, 2005)

• The international human rights organization 'Global' Exchange has

reported that Nike employees in developing countries are:

• forced to work excessive hours,

• not paid enough to meet their most basic needs,

• subject to violent intimidation if they speak out about labor

abuses (Connor, 2001).

GOOD • At the same time, Nike claims to be committed to alleviating poverty

by improving the well being of disadvantaged adolescent girls in the

developing world. The company has also donated US$1 million to

relief organizations providing aid to the victims of the December 2004

tsunamis (Nike, 2005)

Social Network Services

Social Network Services Social networking enabled by ICT

general social network

Facebook, Twitter, …

academic social network

corporate social network

external LinkedIn

internal


Corporate Social Network (CSN) External CSN – the LinkedIn example


Internet vs. intranet

external CSN vs. internal CSN

Internal CSN (community/employee network)

„social intranet”

identifying and encouraging “star” employees

maintaining the corporate knowledge pool

sharing company and employee news and press releases

stimulating ideation (idea generation)

improving communication, transparency, trust and empowerment of employees by flattening company hierarchy

…

Corporate Social Network (CSN) Internal CSN – a definition


24% companies already have internal CSN (*)

competitive advantage

„it’s all about the people”

Google Moma

Yahoo! Backyard

IBM Beehive

Microsoft Web + Townquare

Corporate Social Network (CSN) Internal CSN – examples

* 2010 Intranet 2.0 Global Study


effectively communicating organization’s efforts

maximizing the return on organization’s initiatives

sharing organization’s commitment and results

an easy and inexpensive way to effectively target interested

audience

shape a specific message around the results your company is achieving

Corporate Social Network (CSN) Part of a comprehensive responsibility strategy

http://apps.facebook.com/godisnjak


Why responsible communities need social networking?

Social networking for social responsibility Just seven years ago, Zuckerberg’s Facebook did not even exist

“For connecting more than half a

billion people and mapping the

social relations among them, for

creating a new system of

exchanging information and for

changing how we live our lives”,

Mark Zuckerberg was named

TIME’s 2010 Person of the Year


Social networking for social responsibility The importance of social networking in peoples’ everyday lives (1)

breaking the barrier of “borders, languages and cultures”

social networking as a tool for fostering social responsibility



social networking consumes twice as much of our online time as any other activity


http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-is-destroying-google-in-time-spent-online-chart/4183



Social networking for social responsibility Popular social networks in numbers

Facebook 900+ million active users

the average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook

over 1.5 million business pages

Twitter 200+ million registered users (100+ million active)

150 million tweets (March 2011) sent per day

1750 tweets per second

LinkedIn 150+ million professionals, including all Fortune 500 companies

Foursquare 15+ million registered users

Google+ 175+ million registered users

625 thousand new users daily (400 billion until the end of 2012?)


Facebook Social graph


Examples of existing social network services for encouraging and enabling social responsibility

a collaborative resource for individuals, non-profits, governments and industry to raise awareness for those in need around the world

relief organizations can highlight their needs during times of crisis

join by becoming a fan and by continuing to support relief efforts along with your friends

500+ thousand fans

Examples (1) Global Disaster Relief on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/DisasterRelief


4.5 million status updates from 3.8 million users across the world on March 11 that mentioned

“Japan”

“earthquake”

“tsunami”

Most of these status updates shared news, reports and prayers

For some, Facebook provided a way to quickly get in touch with loved ones in devastated areas

Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011 How news spread on Facebook via status messages? (1)


a real-time information network that connects users to the latest information about what they find interesting

find the most compelling public streams

follow the conversations

each tweet is 140 characters in length

convenient service for emergency management

enables immediate and intense reaction

Examples (2) Twitter as a go-to service in emergencies


less than an hour after the quake

country’s phone system knocked out

the number of tweets coming from Tokyo were topping 1200 per minute

Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011 Citizens’ reaction on Twitter


Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has created a Twitter account for its nuclear power plants

keeping Japanese residents, and the rest of the world, informed about the plants that were damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami notifying people of power blackouts and radiation leaks

amassed almost 200 thousand followers in less than a day

TEPCO has sent seven tweets until March 18

Japan’s prime minister created a Twitter account after March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as well

Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011 Japanese Power Company creates Twitter account for nuclear plant updates


empowering anyone with a good idea or passion for change to impact the world

individuals are enabled to

mobilize their friends for collective action

spread the word to friends of friends and acquaintances

launch movements that span local communities or even the globe

20 million monthly active users

Examples (3) Facebook Causes

http://www.facebook.com/causes


the largest cause – „The Race to End Cancer” started by Michelle Miles, a 19-year old girl

from Arkansas who wanted to help her local children’s hospital

over 5.9 million members

the community has donated over $60,000

„Love Without Boundaries Foundation”

„The Alliance for Climate Protection”

„Save Darfur Coalition”

„Friends of the World Food Program”

Examples (3) Facebook Causes – success stories

http://exchange.causes.com/resources/success-stories


Philip Rice posted the photo of his son, Ted, on Facebook after putting him to bed with a rash

A family friend, Dr. Sara Barton, recognized it as a symptom of acute lymphocytic leukemia and sent a message saying Ted needed to go to the hospital straight away

Ted has now started a three-year course of chemotherapy

Examples (4) Facebook saved 4-year-old boy’s life


the revolution in Egypt was driven by the use of social networks

Examples (5) How Facebook and Twitter supported the Egyptian revolution?

protests began on January 25

a flood of #Jan25 and #Egypt tweets was launched

creation of Facebook groups that gained hundreds of thousands of members and promoted the protests in Cairo

the government blocked Facebook and Twitter and eventually shut down Internet access completely

Facebook and Twitter users found ways to work around the blackout


¾ examples 1

Examples: how social networking

can be used to enable social

responsibility

• It is a website

• Its aim is to help users raise funds for a charity

of their choice, these include questionnaires,

quizzes and rewards in the shape of donations

to a chosen charity

Various examples of how social

networking can be used to enable

social responsibility

Double impact

• It is already a veteran on the socially responsible social network scene,

• besides the environmental benefits of planting trees

(carbon sinks, keeping water resources and fighting

desertification),

• Tree- Nation says it helps fight poverty

Planting trees

NobleHour was developed as an alternative to current

social communities that merely encourage the "me" generation,

NobleHour was designed for non-profits, schools,

businesses, municipalities, students and volunteers, individual volunteers can use NobleHour to find and post

news, events, opportunities, organizations and resources.

Noblehour

• Greenpeace sparked a wave of protests on

Facebook and Twitter, to force Nestle to

change its buying policy for palm oil, which

was coming for rainforest-destroying suppliers.

People power and activism

Protest „Gorila“ •Series of anti-corruption rallies in Slovakia before

early elections

The Krásna Hôrka Castle

The 15M Movement • Pacific protests started on the 15th of May, 2011

• Organized and promoted using social networks

• Campings in the squares of hundreds of cities

Demand of a radical

change in Spanish

politics.

Against: political

corruption, power of

the banks,

mismanagement of

the money,

unemployment…

Essential role of the

social networks.

Need of a digital platform to

share ideas and discuss

topics about the movement.

The protesters created an

own new social network,

n-1.

Based on free and open source software, horizontal, self-managed and independent.

The 15M moved from the squares of the cities to

the neighborhoods and towns.

One year later, another huge demonstration is

being prepared for the May 12th

Still active

Spread

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5w4amBIHj4&feature=player_embedded

Movement appeared on

Facebook & Twitter

Organization of pacific

demonstrations in street

Several demands

• End of injustices • Limitation of the

powers of the king

• Political reforms

Youtube a weapon against

corruption

Internet users in Morocco upload videos

on Youtube showing corrupted

policemen

Many policemen were arrested and

judged for corruption

Social networks - a new way for social

justice

Mexico Earthquake April 2nd 2012

On April the 2nd Mexico City

was shaken by a strong

earthquake with magnitude

of 7.4 on Richter scale.

After the earthquake the

telephone lines and cell

network were surpassed by

the demand hundred of

thousand of people trying to

find their relatives.

New time zone campaign

The state of Quintana Roo in Mexico is in

an another time zone, different from that

of the whole country. The difference of

time zone is a problem, because in the

winter the sunrise is at 6:30 am and the

sunset is at 6 pm.

May 2012

Examples of existing social network services for encouraging and

enabling social irresponsibility

Examples: Social NETworking as an enabler of

Social IRRESPONSIBILITY

4/4 examples 2

May 2012

London Riots 2011 Peaceful start

Social Media Role

Blackberry Messenger

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Irresponsible and violent end

why&how?

London Riots 2011 consequences?

• Deaths and injuries

• Property and business

damage

• Personal attacks and thefts

• Transport damage

Mexico “Twitter Terrorism” 2011 why&how?

• Started as a Twitter

status

• Social media as a

source of emergency

news

• Lack of reliable

information

• Turned out to be a false alert

Mexico “Twitter Terrorism” 2011

Widespread

panic

Car accidents

Chaotic behavior

Terrorism charges

consequences?

"The punishment for those who caused damages is not because they are

Twitter users, but for the consequences that their irresponsible acts provoked"

Impact of Social Media on

Adolescent Behavioral Health

- 73% of online teens have used a social networking site

- Benefits of Social Media on Adolescent Health

- Risks of Social Media

- Recommendations

California study

May 2012

- Social Media and Adolescent Mental

Health

- Cyberbullying

- Texting/Sexting

- Adolescent Relationship Abuse and

Social Media

- Online Sexual Solicitation and

Predation

- Privacy

- Digital Divide

Risks of social media

- Start situation : car accident in Johannesburg

- Protest on Facebook

- Absurdity of this case

- Rights of consumer

“As much responsibility rests on the consumers shoulders to have realistic expectations of a brand as the brand itself has a responsibility to engage with and meet customers expectations effectively.”

Daniel Neville of Idea Bounty

Example of the Facebook profile of Nivea

- Barack Obama example

- Creating fake avatars to push a brand and manipulate people

- Difference between creating a fake avatar and creating a brand ambassador to empower you on the social networks

- There’s no need to fake it. Supporters will be there if is good

“You need true connections that don’t undermine the community.”

Fake avatars in social media

Conclusions

Conclusions (1) Social networking evolves from a service into a global platform

„Over the past few years, Wael, 30, began working

outside the box to make his peers understand that only their unstoppable people power could effect real

change. He quickly grasped that social media, notably

Facebook, were emerging as the most powerful

communication tools to mobilize and develop ideas”

Wael Ghonim Spokesman for a Revolution

the leader @

the 2011 TIME 100 most influential people in the world


Conclusions (2) Social networking 2.0: iPhone business model on the Facebook platform


Conclusions (3)


Conclusions (4)

No final conclusions now, it is up to the Student Working Group 6

to propose them!


social networking as enabler of social responsibility and sustainability

Technology