I've been dipping into the today's extensive report, "Social networking sites and our lives." It provides strong evidence that many of us have rapidly rearranged how we use our time and conduct our relationships in response to tools like Facebook and Twitter.

We've clearly reached the tipping point, where social networking use has become an established part of life in the United States.

Nearly 60% of Twitter users, 39% of Facebook users and 36% of LinkedIn users have joined within the last year.

It's worth starting with some headlines from the survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project:

• The number of those using social networking sites (SNS) has nearly doubled since 2008 and the population has gotten older.
• 79% of American adults said they used the Internet.
• 47% of all adults, and 59% of all adults using the Internet, use at least one SNS.
• More than half of adult SNS users are over 35  – it's not just "young people."
• 56% of SNS users are female. Women are also the majority of email, instant message, blog and photo sharing users.
• On the main networks, women are the majority users except on LinkedIn, where 63% are men. 
• On Twitter, 64% are women.
• LinkedIn users have the most formal education and MySpace users the least. 
• 75% of LinkedIn users have at least a bachelor's degree. That's true of 39% of Twitter users, 35% of Facebook users and 18% of MySpace users.

Pew's survey involved telephone interviews with 2,255 adults last October and November. Pew, whose survey research has high credibility, believes this is the "first national representative survey of American adults in their use of SNS and their overall social networks."

You didn't a survey to tell you this, but the Pew study confirms the powerful dominance of Facebook:

• 92% of SNS users are on Facebook (remember this is just a U.S. survey, although the same would be true in numerous other countries.)
• 29% use MySpace, 18% LinkedIn and 13% Twitter.
• 52% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users are on those platforms daily, but only 7% of MySpace and 6% of LinkedIn users have a daily habit.

Focusing just on Facebook users, on an average day:

• 15% update their own status.
• 22% comment on another's post or status.
• 20% comment on another user's photos.
• 26% "like" another user's content.
• 10% send another user a private message.

The average adult Facebook user has 229 friends. Of those friends:

• 22% they knew in high school
• 12% extended family and 8% immediate family
• 10% co-workers
• 9% collegiate friends
• 7% from voluntary groups
• 2% neighbors

(31% can't be classified in the above groups, but 10% of the above have never been met in person, or met only once.)

Beyond being a tremendous source of authoritative data, the Pew study addresses questions about whether those who participate in social networks are weakening their social ties.

Remember when friend was a noun, not a verb? A friend was someone you liked, and who liked you, in real life. A friend was someone who cared about you and with whom you had shared experiences. 

After a lot of numbers crunching, the Pew study concludes that the average American actually has increased the average number of close ties in the past few years. The average American now has 2.16 "discussion confidants" -- someone they trust to discuss important matters -- now versus 1.93 when the same question was asked in 2008. Then 12% of Americans said they had no such person; that number of isolated people has fallen to 9%. Only 5% of SNS users feel similarly isolated.

It's worth taking a look at the study for yourself. I'll be using it extensively this fall with Wichita State University students in my social media seminar at the Elliott School of Communication.

Local governments and law enforcement agencies are finding increasing value in using new media tools, especially social media, to keep citizens informed and engaged.

Social media differs from traditional media in that it facilitates a two-way conversation, there are immediately measurable responses and government communicators can use it to listen, as well as to talk.

In a recent seminar I led for members of the Kansas Association of Public Information Officers, the room was filled with middle-aged communicators -- decidedly not Digital Natives -- seeking to understand more about the revolution in communication they're expected to participate in.

As one gray-haired sheriff's office communicator put it: "They think of us as the good old boys."

Well, now the good old boys -- and their female counterparts -- in sheriffs' offices, state police posts, city halls and county courthouses are beginning to experiment with -- and even embrace -- Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

While there are high barriers to success -- especially maintaining consistency -- there are low barriers to entry. 

It makes sense in an era of budget and staff cutbacks to learn to use tools that are less expensive than traditional government outreach channels such as direct mail, newsletters and newspaper advertising. 

There's also the trust issue to be addressed. Because social media facilitates two-way conversation, a properly used Facebook page can become a new kind of public square or town meeting.

As author-blogger Brian Solis says, social media represents "the shift from a broadcast mechanism, one-to-many, to a many-to-many model rooted in conversations..."

I don't encourage any government unit -- or business -- to rush into social media.

I think strategy and organizational culture must always come first.

I encourage communicators to answer these questions:

• What benefits are you seeking through using social media?
• How will it complement, or override, your other communications efforts?
• Which social media channels will you use, and why?
• Who will develop, implement, maintain and measure?
• How, when and by whom will your social media efforts be assessed?

Government communicators who use social media, or make better use of it for two-way conversation with citizens, tell me they sometimes have a hard time convincing their risk-averse supervisors, attorneys or elected officials.

While social media can sometimes seem like the Wild West, it doesn't need to be that way.

Yes, government has process, deliberation, layers of approval and codification before implementation.

Employees operate under strict guidelines, and are trained and reviewed.

All that's true, but in the end, employees are expected to build on that foundation, but exercise their own judgment.

New media can work just that way.

I interviewed Kansas government communicators from places as small as Gardner (population 19,000) and as large as Wichita (population 400,000). 

I summarized what I learned by listing five traits of next-generation government communicators, meaning those who will successfully use Internet tools to connect with citizens in new ways:

Trait #1: Empathetic and open (Perspective change)

You think first like a citizen and you are prepared for deep and honest engagement. In other words, respond as appropriate to questions and complaints received through social media. 

Trait #2: New media chemist (Content and platform change)

You mix media channels -- website, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. -- to achieve target outcomes. 

Trait #3: Influencer (Culture change)

You bring your boss and organization with you. 

Trait #4: Integrated communicator (Role change: You are the media)

You create direct-to-citizen communications, while continuing to also work through traditional media.

Trait #5: (Continuous change)

You use analytic tools, such as those provided by Google and Facebook, to regularly measure the impact of your social media use and adjust it. 

In the spirit of the engagement formula offered by Brian Solis, government units need to:

• Go where citizens are
• Give them something to read or see
• Give them something to share, and
• Give them reasons to respond

The potential payoff is greater citizen involvement and more trust in government.

Click here to download:

Heldman_KAPIO_May_5.pptx (2.81 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Heldman_KAPIO_May_5.pptx (2.81 MB)

One of the world’s most traditional institutions is making notable use of new media tools.

The Diocese of Wichita, that serves 117,000 Catholics in 25 Kansas counties, has a large and rapidly expanding digital footprint.

With more than 40 videos created and posted on YouTube in the past six months, more than 2,000 followers on Facebook, and efforts to experiment with other forms of new media, the Diocese is becoming something of a role model for other religious bodies.

In just the past year the diocese working with a local firm, Solutio, has launched its redesigned website, and connected YouTube, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The local Catholic Advance newspaper, more than a century old and distributed twice monthly in print, is now available in a digital edition that can be more regularly updated.

Two of the diocese communication leaders, Amy Pavlacka and Christopher Riggs, recently spoke with Wichita State University communication students about these changes. Pavlacka has been director of communications for five years; Riggs has been editor of the Catholic Advance for 22 years.

They see the use of website and other new media as “living, breathing, changing tools of communication,” Pavlacka said.

(download)

Click here to download:

applying-new-technology-to-the-2-000-year-old-message-of-the-catholic-faith-wrnDilhunjyxDhssFkvn.zip (144 KB)

She said new media use represents a natural evolution of the mission outlined by their bishop, Michael Jackels, to unite the far-flung diocese. “Bishop Jackels wants all of the Catholics in this 25-county area to feel connected to him, to each other and to the church,” she said.

Much of the change has resulted from experimentation, rather than long-term strategy. For example, Riggs shot his first video about five years ago only when he realized his digital camera was capable of producing video as well as still photos.  

New media discussions are underway globally in the Catholic Church.

You can visit the Vatican’s Pope2You website or read Pope Benedict XVI’s message, “Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age.” The January 2011 message acknowledges the potential and ubiquity of new media, while warning against its power to take over lives.

“When people exchange information,” the message says, “they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals. It follows that there exists a Christian way of being present in the digital world: this takes the form of a communication, which is honest and open, responsible and respectful of others.”

What’s next for the Wichita diocese in new media, beyond continuing to develop the tools already in place? Here’s some of what they’re working on:

• An app for smartphones and tablets that will allow easy screen access to a popular website feature called Daily Reflections.

• Video to support a campaign to renovate the downtown cathedral that serves the diocese and to document the construction.

• Embedded video with stories on the digital Catholic Advance.

 • Better promotion, especially in the diocese’s 37 schools, of the new media tools already available and better use of the Twitter and Facebook accounts to support diocese activities.

• More live streaming of events, such as diocese press conferences and special masses.

With all of these new media activities, it’s easy to believe there’s a large staff and budget to support them, but that’s not the case.

The communications staff, including Pavlacka and Riggs, has developed new skills and found ways to utilize free platforms such as YouTube and Facebook to get their message out.

They also feel blessed – that’s a word used a lot in the diocese – to have access to Bishop Jackels, Vicar General Robert Hemberger and other priests who are highly experienced communicators.

As Riggs said, with a smile, “Priests are wonderful subjects for video because they rehearse every Sunday.”

In the heartland of America, traditional media organizations are becoming next-generation new media companies, reaching out to audiences through multiple platforms.

While national and international news sites such as Huffington Post and The Daily get the lion's share of attention, there is a quieter revolution going on in hundreds of American cities, as older media organizations successfully adapt the tools and attitudes of new media, even while they struggle to replace diminishing revenue streams from a recession-fueled downturn in local advertising.

Legacy news providers are becoming more social, mobile and visual, following their original print and broadcast customers to the Internet, smartphones, iPads and whatever may be next.

In Wichita, Kansas, near the geographic center of the United States, this new media movement is dominated by Kansas.com, the digital arm of the Wichita Eagle, the state's largest newspaper. Of the top 20 local Internet news sources, Kansas.com commands more traffic in monthly reporting periods  – 50 to 55% – than the other 19 sites combined, according to Hitwise.com, which measures online market share.

Runners-up include the websites of the three network-affiliated television stations, KAKE.com, KWCH.com and KSN.com. 

What's striking in looking at the newspaper and broadcast-originated sites is how much their approach to news is beginning to resemble one another, with text, video and photos all playing a role:

* Social. All four sites have social media components, with Twitter and Facebook feeds from each and opportunities for readers to contribute comments, photos and videos. Kansas.com, for example, has more than 3,500 followers on both Facebook and Twitter and has published more than 15,000 tweets. 

* Mobile: Each increasingly recognizes the shift underway from reading news on the computer to reading it on smartphones, sometimes through email or text daily subscriptions and breaking news updates. Weather alerts are big on all sites, not surprising in a state where the temperature recently swung 95 degrees in a few days.

* Visual: The newspaper-affiliated site is now heavily featuring video and photo galleries, while the broadcast sites offer a collection of video pieces tied to their newscasts, as well as opportunities for readers to provide their own. Kansas.com is posting 10 or more videos a week.

Three of the top Wichita Eagle - Kansas.com executives recently met with my students from the Wichita State University class called Media Transformation: Wichita, the Web and the World. I'm the retired president and publisher of The Eagle, but I've witnessed more change on Kansas.com in the three years I've been gone than in the five years I was there.

Editor Sherry Chisenhall said she's now spending 75 percent of her time overseeing the online product. Publisher Skip Hidlay meets at least weekly with his online team. Chisenhall, her interactive deputy, John Boogert and interactive advertising manager Jason Schlitz spoke to students about the importance of metrics in the new media world.

They're looking frequently, sometimes in real time, at traffic to Kasnsas.com news and advertising, continually fine-tuning their approach to increase audience. Chisenhall said, "Metrics should shape your strategy and tactics." 

She said as hers and other media organizations operate with reduced numbers of employees, it's more important than ever to measure results to set priorities for how employees are used. She said her organization is focusing on areas of excellence, including the kind of local news and public service reporting users can't get elsewhere.

Two recent enterprise packages that resonated with consumers, receiving thousands of online views:

* A package of stories, photos and video on Father Emil Kapaun, a Kansas priest and Korean War hero now being considered for sainthood by the Vatican.

* A heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring set of stories, photos and letters recounting the repeated sexual abuse and eventual rescue of 19-year-old twins. Based on the Wichita Eagle's reporting, they were recently interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Chisenhall and Boogert recently completed six-month fellowships with the Knight Digital Media Center at the University of Southern California. Chisenhall said they'll use what they learned to train others in the newsroom to bring down any remaining organizational barriers between old and new media.

She said it's important for media organizations to become "platform strategists," by developing the understanding that consumers will use different platforms -- newspaper, computer, smartphone, tablet -- for different purposes in accessing news and information.

She sees her company and others becoming "community builders," aggregating content from multiple sources as well as creating it.

And finally, she told the Wichita State students, she's learned to be humble about new media, because change is so rapid. "Everything I tell you today may be wrong in a year."

“A new issue of The Daily is being delivered” says the message on my iPad.

It’s still the first week of the most anticipated news app for iPad, so consider this a set of first impressions, rather than a full review.

Back in October, the New York Times David Carr wrote: “News is the killer app.”

I was hoping The Daily would be that app. It’s not.

In the months leading to its Feb. 2 debut, The Daily got a tremendous amount of media attention from writers who hadn’t seen it, but who were brave enough to speculate on its features and benefits.

It reminded me of the wonderful observation, from Richard Reeves I think, that a good journalist could write a story based on two facts, a rumor and a pile of clips.

The speculation was fueled by the personal involvement of News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, in close association with Steve Jobs and Apple.

Despite his many successes beyond the newspaper business, in television, satellite news and films, Murdoch has retained his passion for news and newspapers.

Perhaps that passion, and his considerable financial resources, married to Apple’s technology and design genius, could create a new business model for news.

So I was engrossed watching the New York launch of The Daily.

I was hopeful when Murdoch said: “New times demand new journalism.” And, “The iPad demands that we completely reimagine our craft.”

So far, I’m somewhat disappointed, and not just by the fact that the app crashes and I have to restart it virtually every time I use it.

Here’s what I’ve found:

• There’s not enough that’s compelling to pay $40 a year. In a week dominated by Egypt and the snowstorm that ate America, there wasn’t much that set The Daily apart from TV and newspaper coverage.
• It lacks a sense of urgency and the writing is as vanilla as an airline magazine. I agree with Dennis Hetzel, of the Ohio Newspaper Association, who observed, “Many of the stories I’ve read so far seem shallow and not even particularly well written or fresh.”
• The graphics are wonderful, but nothing I saw in The Daily outstripped CNN’s John King standing in front of the touch sensitive smart board (an iPad on steroids the network calls The Magic Wall), recapping the pitched battles in and around Tahrir Square.

So am I giving up on The Daily?

Absolutely not.

Rupert Murdoch was clear that the intended target isn’t a news junkie like me. He said the target audience is “the growing segment of the population” that’s educated and sophisticated but doesn’t read a national print source or watch national news.

If his editors and designers figure out how to reach that disconnected group, all of us in communication will benefit.

I want to watch The Daily evolve. I don’t want to be like those media critics who were hard on USA Today at the beginning, having missed the point that it wasn’t meant for them.

New media -- the use of Internet-enabled communication tools -- is increasingly global, social, visual and mobile.  

As I told my Wichita State students in Tuesday's first COMM 660M seminar, these are all trends that took firmly hold in 2010 and will continue to dominate in this new year.

You could see this evolving Internet-based ecosystem in real time in two January events, the Tucson shooting and the popular uprising that toppled the government in Tunisia.

In Tucson, both the shooter, Jared Loughner, and his intended target, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were active new media users. She was on Twitter, promoting the event in the Safeway parking lot, minutes before she was shot. 

Before the events unfolded, you could follow her on Facebook or view his strange videos on YouTube.

In the days following the shooting, you could follow newsmakers comments on President Barack Obama's Facebook page(17-million+ followers) or watch Sarah Palin's video reaction on her page.

You could read millions more comments using search.twitter.com.

The events in Tunisia have been dubbed the "Twitter Revolution," as they were in this ABC News report, because of the use of social media both by people in the streets and those following the events around the world.

In the U.S., we may have invented the Internet, but we're only a fraction on it now. The latest figures compiled by pingdom.com show 825 million users in Asia and another 475 million in Europe. North America has 266 million, followed by Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Australia/Oceania.

Those users have access to more than 250 million websites and 150 million blogs. 

In social media, more than 600 million are on Facebook and on its Chinese counterpart, Tencent, and nearly 200 million on Twitter. 

The growth of video is also staggering, with more than two billion a day being watched on YouTube and video experiencing rapid growth on Facebook, where 20 million videos a month are uploaded.

A lot of the new media growth is being driven by the rise of smartphones including iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices. Smartphones accounted for about one in four U.S. phone sales in mid-2010, but are expected to represent the majority of new cellphones by the end of 2011, according to data from the Neilsen Co. 

One of the leading forces of global change identified by McKinsey & Company is the global grid. The consulting firm says that the global economy "is growing ever more connected. Complex flows of capital, goods, information, and people are creating an interlinked network that spans geographies, social groups and economies in ways that permit large-scale interactions at any moment."

Given all of that, 2011 should be an amazing year to witness the impact of new media. As Albert Einstein is quoted in the McKinsey report: "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."

Media Transformation: Wichita, the Web and the World

Comm 660M, Spring Semester 2011

5:30 pm Tuesdays, Elliott Hall, for Wichita State University juniors, seniors and graduate students 

Instructor

Lou Heldman, Distinguished Senior Fellow in Media Management and Journalism

203 Elliott Hall   978-6077   lou.heldman@wichita.edu 

Course Description:

Communications content, companies and careers are being rapidly transformed by technological innovation, shifting consumer preferences, new forms of media and economic pressures. There are dramatic changes in advertising, public relations, online, social and news media globally and here in Wichita.

We’ll use reading, online research, class discussion, guest speakers and off-campus site visits to broaden our understanding of this ongoing media transformation and what it will mean to those entering communications careers.

Class members will establish or enlarge their personal imprint on the Internet. Each student will select a subject matter area and post regularly on Examiner.com, learning about SEO (search engine optimization) in the process. 

We’ll address these questions, among others:

• What led to these changes in communication?
• What is the impact on advertising, public relations and journalism?
• What is the impact on consumers?
• How can students best participate in this emerging communications universe?

What outcomes can students expect from the course?

Students’ critical thinking skills will be developed through their own reading, writing and Internet posts. Students will learn by teaching. We’ll analyze the business opportunities and dilemmas faced by communications managers and entrepreneurs. Analysis, synthesis and evaluation will be required in most assignments. Through repetition of these practices, students should become better at thinking and expressing themselves.

What is expected of students?

Complete required readings and actively participate in each week’s class.  Meet all deadlines for required reports and presentations. Act as you would in a professional setting, treating classmates, instructor and guests with respect. Maintain the highest standards of academic integrity.

Text: New New Media, Paul Levinson, Allyn & Bacon, 2009