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,
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
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.
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.
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.