5.

Social Information Filtering

Contents
● Social Information Filtering - Social Sharing and
filtering
● Automated Recommendation systems
● Traditional Vs Social Recommendation Systems
● Understanding Social Media and Business Alignment
● Social Media KPI
● Formulating a Social Media Strategy, Managing
Social Media Risks
Social Information Filtering
● Social information filtering is a process for organizing and filtering
information based on social connections and relationships.
● It can involve the use of algorithms and/or human judgment to identify
relevant information.
● It is used in a variety of contexts, including online social networks, news
aggregators, and recommendation systems.
● It can be used to surface relevant content to users based on their social
connections and interests.
Social Information Sharing
● Social information sharing refers to the exchange of information, ideas, and
content among individuals within a social network or community.
● It can take place through various channels, such as online social media
platforms, messaging apps, forums, or in-person conversations.
● Social information sharing can facilitate the spread of information and ideas,
and can help to build connections and relationships among individuals.
● It can also have negative consequences, such as the spread of
misinformation or the invasion of privacy.
● The use of algorithms and other technologies can facilitate social information
sharing by suggesting content to users or by helping to connect individuals
with similar interests.
●
Automated Recommendation System
● An automated recommendation system is a technology that uses algorithms
to suggest content, products, or other items to users based on their interests
and past behaviors.
● Recommendation systems can be used in a variety of contexts, such as
online retail, streaming services, and social media.
● They rely on data about the user, such as their past actions, preferences, and
demographic information, to make personalized recommendations.
● Recommendation systems can improve the user experience by providing
relevant and personalized recommendations.
● However, they can also raise concerns about privacy and the potential for
manipulation or bias in the recommendations.
Traditional Recommendation Systems
1. Traditional recommendation systems rely on human judgment and expertise
to recommend items to users.
2. These systems can be used in a variety of contexts, such as bookstores,
libraries, and music stores.
3. They may rely on personal recommendations from friends or trusted sources,
or on reviews and ratings provided by other users.
4. Traditional recommendation systems may be less personalized than
automated systems, but they can also be seen as more trustworthy and
reliable.
5. They may be less efficient than automated systems, but they can also be
more flexible and adaptable to the needs and preferences of individual users.
Case Study : Reddit Voting System
● Reddit is a social news website that allows users to post links and vote on them.
● The votes are used to rank articles and determine which ones appear on the front
page.
● The simple vote count method can be biased towards older articles, as they have
more time to gather votes and stay highlighted longer.
● Reddit uses a system that estimates the 95% confidence interval for the number
of up votes a post will receive, in order to fairly compare articles regardless of
age.
● This system adjusts after every vote and takes into account the total number of
votes a post has received.
● Sorting options, such as "Best," "Top," "New," "Old," and "Controversial," are
important to Reddit users in order to navigate and make sense of the vast amount
of content on the website.
Case Study : Trust Based Movie Recommendation
● FilmTrust is a movie recommendation system that uses social networks and
trust to make recommendations.
● Users can rate and review movies, view others' ratings and reviews, and make
social connections with other users on the system.
● When creating a social connection, users are asked to rate how much they
trust the other person's opinion about movies on a scale from 1 to 10.
● The system estimates trust in other people's opinions using a weighted
average based on the trust ratings given by the user and their friends.
● Trust values are used to adjust the average rating of a movie and give more
weight to ratings from users who are trusted more by the user receiving the
recommendation.
● The system also takes the user's own ratings into account when making
recommendations.
Exercise - Case Study
● Choose a popular current issue of public debate (a bill under
consideration, an election, or a political issue). Search Twitter for
posts about that issue.
○ What opinions are you able to find? Summarize them.
○ Is one opinion dominating the others?
○ Do you find a lot of content repeated? Perhaps one or two
tweets that are repeated by many accounts? Does this appear
suspicious, or is there a reason for it?
Case Study 2
● How social media can be used in crises.
● Create a recommendation for a public agency (at any level,federal, state, or
local) about how they could leverage social media in crisis situations.
● Describe your recommendation, why you think it would work, and how the
agency should go about implementing it.
Understanding Social Media and Business Alignment
● Marketing and advertising: Businesses can use social media to reach potential customers and
promote their products or services. This can include creating a social media presence, posting
content, and running ads on social media platforms.
● Customer service: Businesses can use social media to provide customer support and answer
questions or resolve issues. This can include monitoring social media for mentions of the business
and responding to customer inquiries or complaints.
● Public relations: Businesses can use social media to manage their reputation and communicate
with the public. This can include responding to negative reviews or feedback, as well as sharing
news and updates about the business.
Understanding Social Media and Business Alignment
● Talent recruitment: Businesses can use social media to find and attract potential
employees by posting job openings and engaging with potential candidates.
● Lead generation: Businesses can use social media to generate leads and connect
with potential customers by sharing valuable content and offering incentives for
users to provide their contact information.
● Market research: Businesses can use social media to gather insights about their
customers, competitors, and industry trends by monitoring social media
conversations and conducting surveys.
● Product development: Businesses can use social media to gather feedback and
ideas for new products or features by engaging with customers and asking for
their input.
Measure of Success for a Company’s Social Media
Campaign:
● Counts: This includes the number of fans, followers, or friends, as well as the
number of views, likes, or similar indications of favorable opinions on the
company's social media content.
● Social sharing: This includes the number of times the company's content is
shared, mentioned, or retweeted on social media platforms.
● Engagement rate: This is the number of engagement activities (likes, shares,
etc.) divided by the number of friends, followers, or fans, and indicates the
level of engagement of the company's social media audience.
Measure of Success for a Company’s Social Media
Campaign:
● Interaction: This includes the number of customers with whom the company
has engaged, the number of conversations, and the length and resolution of
those conversations.
● Referral rates: This is the amount of traffic driven to the company's website
from its social media presence, as measured through click-throughs or
website analytics.
● Importance and influence of users: This includes metrics such as centrality
or the number of friends, which indicate the influence and importance of users
in the company's social media network.
Social Media KPI
● Reach: The number of people who see a business's social media content,
including followers, friends, and other users who come across the content.
● Engagement: The level of interaction with a business's social media content,
including likes, comments, shares, and other actions taken by users.
● Traffic: The number of users who click on links from a business's social
media content and visit its website.
● Conversion rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action after
visiting a business's website from its social media content, such as making a
purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
Social Media KPI
● Customer satisfaction: The level of satisfaction of a business's customers, as
measured through social media interactions or surveys.
● Lead generation: The number of leads generated through social media, such
as users who provide their contact information in exchange for an offer or
resource.
● Return on investment (ROI): The financial return on a business's social media
efforts, calculated as the profit gained divided by the cost of the social media
campaign.
● Cost per acquisition (CPA): The cost of acquiring a new customer through
social media, calculated as the cost of the social media campaign divided by
the number of new customers acquired.
Exercise
● Find a company that has undertaken a viral marketing
campaign over social media.
○ What is the essence of the campaign?
○ What metrics can you use to measure it (number of
views, fans, likes, etc.)?
○ Is the campaign ongoing, or did it run for a fixed amount of time?
○ Are any statistics available to indicate the success of the
campaign? If so, what are they?
Formulating Social Media Strategy
1. Define objectives: Identify the specific goals that the business wants to
achieve through social media, such as increasing brand awareness,
generating leads, or improving customer satisfaction.
2. Identify target audience: Determine the demographics and interests of the
business's target audience, including age, gender, location, and social media
habits.
3. Research competition: Analyze the social media presence and strategies of
the business's competitors to understand what is and is not working in the
industry.
4. Choose social media platforms: Select the social media platforms that are
most relevant to the business's target audience and objectives.
Formulating Social Media Strategy
5. Create a content calendar: Plan and schedule the types of content that the
business will post on social media, including text, images, videos, and links.

6. Engage with followers: Monitor and respond to comments and inquiries

from followers, and encourage user-generated content and interactions.

7. Analyze and adjust: Use social media analytics tools to track the
performance of the business's social media efforts and make adjustments as
needed to improve results.
Managing Social Media Risks
● Develop a social media policy: Create guidelines for employees on how to
use social media in a professional manner and how to handle sensitive or
confidential information.
● Monitor social media activity: Regularly review the business's social media
presence and activity to identify any potential risks or issues.
● Respond to negative feedback: Address any negative comments or reviews in
a professional and timely manner, and work to resolve any issues that may
arise.
● Protect personal information: Ensure that personal information, such as
customer data, is kept secure and not shared on social media without proper
consent.
Managing Social Media Risks
● Stay up to date with legal requirements: Understand and comply with relevant
laws and regulations, such as those related to privacy, advertising, and
consumer protection.
● Train employees: Educate employees on how to handle social media risks
and best practices for using social media in a professional manner.
● Have a plan in place: Have a plan in place for handling social media crises,
including identifying a team to manage the situation and establishing
protocols for communication.
Social Media Risk Management Framework
Social Media Risk Management Framework
1. Risk identification: Identify potential social media risks such as hacking,
information leaks, phishing, and impersonation(an act of pretending to be another person for the
purpose of entertainment or fraud.).

2. Risk assessment: Determine the likelihood and impact of identified risks.

Prioritize and rank risks based on probability and impact.
3. Risk mitigation: Implement strategies to manage, eliminate, or reduce
identified risks. This may include physical, technical, and procedural
measures.
4. Risk monitoring: Continuously monitor and assess risks to ensure that risk
mitigation measures are effective and updated as needed.
5. Risk review: Regularly review and assess overall risk management strategy
to ensure it is effective and up-to-date.
Aligning Analytics with Business Objectives
Questions
● What is the goal of aligning social media analytics with business goals?
● What is the purpose of social media strategy?
● Explain the steps needed to formulate a social media strategy.
● What are Social Media KPI?
● What are some common social media risks?
● Explain the four steps in social media risk management.