Creating Impact with Practice-based Social Media Projects

1. Creating Impact with Practice-based Social Media Projects University of Northumbria 31 March 2011 Professor Sue Thomas Research Professor of New Media Faculty of Humanities / Institute of Creative Technologies De Montfort University Leicester www.suethomas.net

2. Amplified Leicester partners

3. Amplified Leicester A 2009-10 city-wide experiment to • explore diversity and innovation • build a network across diverse communities • create, share and develop new ideas • use social media like Facebook and Twitter as an amplifier Commissioned and supported by NESTA, an independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative.

4. Triangulation of 3 areas of research • Transliteracy (Transliteracy Research Group, DMU) • The Amplified Individual (IFTF) • Social Networks/Social Capital (Centre for Social Action, DMU)

5. 1. Transliteracy The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. www.transliteracy.com

6. 2. Amplified Individual The Amplified Individual (IFTF) • Highly social • Highly collective • Highly improvisational • Highly augmented

7. Amplified Individuals possess an unusual set of skills Examples: • High Ping Quotient: responding & reaching out to others (esp in social media networks). • Mobbability: ability to work in large groups; to organize & collaborate with many people simultaneously. • Longbroading: thinking in terms of higher-level systems, massively multiple cycles, and the very big picture.

8. 3. Social Networks Social Networks • Social networks tend to magnify whatever they are seeded with • Social networks are creative and what these networks create does not belong to any one individual. It is shared by all those in the network Social Capital • ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ • The notion of ‘glue’ and ‘resources’

9. Transliteracy in the network

10. Inspired by Leicester In 100BC the Belgae settled there followed by Romans, Danes & Normans • Today, population <300,000 • 40% ethnic minority background • About 240 faith groups across 14 different faiths • 16% of people in Leicester prefer to speak Gujarati, 3% Punjabi, and 2% Urdu. 81% prefer to speak English One Leicester Summary of key facts: 2008

11. Project Objectives • Develop a transferable model for amplifying a diverse city’s grassroots innovation capacity through connecting diverse communities through key individuals • Provide practical examples of how collaborative technologies can be exploited in a city context

12. Resources Partners People Uniqueness of Leicester Project Team Advisory Group Participants 43 applied 30 selected 24 continued to end • NESTA (Funder) • DMU Institute of Creative Technologies • Phoenix Square • Leicester Mercury • Harvey Ingrams LLP • Citizens’ Eye

13. The Team

14. We offered the opportunity to learn how to: • Manage the stream of information which bombards us every day • Generate, share & develop new ideas quickly • Make the most of different kinds of capital – social, economic, creative, personal • Think like a futurist • Organise and collaborate better • Be persuasive in different situations ….and more

15. Participation was free of charge and by application • Open-minded, enthusiastic and curious. • Interested in working and sharing ideas with other people • Willing to try new activities and technologies • Able to take part in the whole programme • Able to access the internet regularly • A resident of / working in the city of Leicester • Proficient in English. Over the age of 18. • No formal qualifications needed.

16. The Participants

17. Six Month ProgrammeOct 09 – Mar 2010 • Fortnightly private meetings of 3 hrs + group lunch • Focus on qualities of Amplified Individual • Visiting speakers e.g. • JP Rangaswami, Chief Scientist, BT • Duncan Wilson, Arup Foresight • Andy Miah, Prof in Ethics & Emerging Technology • Chris Meade, Institute for the Future of the Book

18. Practical workshops

20. Three #ampleic stories

21. 1. Inspector Bill Knopp

22. Tweeting Police

23. 2. FarhanaShaikh

24. 3. Ian Davies “A great experience to realise that so many can get together through varying mediums to influence and change things. Amazing. Certainly changed my life.”

25. Participants… • “A fantastic opportunity to participate in a diverse group of people to hopefully achieve lasting positive amplification of our city.” Gary McCarthy • “I could share my knowledge with others inside and outside the project”. Sarah Eaton • “Amplified Leicester has re-awakened my desire to push the boundaries of communication and innovation in whole new direction.” Darren Hines • “I learned that you often know more than you think - you just don't know it.” Farhana Shaikh

26. Research Findings 1. Transliteracy • Most difficult to assess • Some ‘got it’ right away, some didn’t. • Relates to the need to broaden the definition of diversity to include new dimensions e.g. age, skills, disciplines, and backgrounds; cognitive, work, learning, and thinking styles. • There is a need for a diagnostic test for transliteracy but also some resistance to it • Currently being analysed further by Impact Research Fellow

27. Research Findings 2. Amplification • Participants have been developing new skills that enable them to thrive in an increasingly complex and collaborative work culture. • Participants identify substantial improvements in their amplification. • Some of the strongest shifts can be observed in influency, multi-capitalism, cooperation radar, signal/noise management and longbroading.

29. Research Findings 3. Social Networks • Most of participants (70%) consider themselves to be a mixture of ‘offline and online’ person. • 85% of the participants would say that trust between members is average to high.

30. Research Findings 4. Social Capital • Participants have been developing new skills that enable them to thrive in an increasingly complex and collaborative work culture. • Need to differentiate between the dynamics between diverse people which reflect issues of cohesion and the fluid and deep diversity which nurtures a group to be innovative.

31. The Model A trusted collaborative space where deep diversity flourishes, ideas flow, and social media connects. See NESTA report by Thilo Boeck and Sue Thomas Amplified Leicester: Impact on social capital and cohesion July 2010

32. The Process Step one: Cocoon • The Consciously Amplified Group Step two: Emergence • From the Amplified Group to the Amplified City

33. Emergence • 15 April 2010 – Public Showcase event • New public online community • Free talks until Summer 2011 • Vision2020 built on city interest in widening Amplified Leicester participation • Amplified Resilient Community directed by Thilo Boeck and funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

35. Vision2020 Green Wishlist Ampleic goes green Summer 2011 • Turn waste ground into green space • Plant fruit trees in public places • Empty lots used as green spaces • City gardens / community gardens • + more

36. Academic Impact Impact Research Fellow Dr Souvik Mukherjee currently working on this. His findings so far: • Very high level of Reach • Very high level of Significance • Transliteracy plays an important part but still not enough tools to really quantify it.

37. Next steps Waiting for Dr Mukherjee’s final recommendations but probably: • Find out why our relationships with external agencies have been so successful and develop them further • Create a programme of scholarly research on the Cocoon/Emergence model • Devise a diagnostic tool to assess transliteracy

38. Creating Impact with Practice-based Social Media Projects