When we are looking at the amount of information and conversations that are emerging on a daily basis (more like an hour or even minute basis) on social media, the statistics can be overwhelming. People are sharing information about all sorts of items such as conversations with friends and family about local, national, or global events to sharing pictures and videos of momentous occasions, to even sharing updates during a crisis or disaster situation. While the last example has a negatively charge to it, it is still one area many businesses, corporations, and PR professionals monitor greatly.
While there are many opportunities for social media, there are certainly some risks – some have classed the digital word-of-mouth forum to be almost like a “double edge sword.” One of the growing areas of focus in this area is how to combat the issue of dealing with false rumors or misinformation coming from social media. What are some of the key early warning signs businesses and other professionals need to be aware of to be prepared? What are some trends that can be detected online through various social media monitoring software programs? What are some key metrics to focus on?
The Guardian actually shared a very interesting link off of their website that shows from a timetable perspective several examples of crises that occurred in London that were either false rumors or just misinformation. What they found with these examples is that usually the messages and other users on Twitter help self correct the information being presented in the crisis. Definitely check out some of these interactive crisis examples and see how the crisis manifested due to false information on Twitter and how each ended.
Many have discussed the issue of influence on social media (ex. Twitter) to look at how many followers, RTs, or other basic qualities of a social media profile has online to deem them to be influential. However, others have mentioned that it comes down to the consistent interactions and engagement among others that deems them to be influential. In a research study I worked on with a few of my colleagues, we focused on the specific personality characteristics of these influential professionals online through the Q-sort methodology. Other characteristics can be communication skills and knowledge, sentiment analysis and even the specific content / situation in question.
There has been some research already focusing on the area of false information being spread via Twitter. However, more research needs to be done in this area focusing on the power of influence on social media and its effect on the credibility and reliability of false information and rumors being spread virally.
Hope you all are having a great day.
Best Wishes,
Karen
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