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NewsCloud/UMN
FacebookEngagementStudyProposal
SummaryDuringasix-monthperiod,NewsCloudwillsequentiallylaunchtwodifferentsocialmediapublicationsasFacebookapplications,eachwithadistinctstrategicapproachtopromotingparticipation,communityandawarenesswithyoungpeopleusingsocialnetworks.
Inparallel,theUniversityofMinnesotaInstituteforNewMediaStudiesandLearningTechnologieswillworkwithNewsCloudtoconfigureoureffortsandlaterstudytheresultsandimpactofeachparticularstrategyandpublication.
Attheendoftheproject,aUMNresearcherwillpublishqualitativeandquantitativeresearchfromthestudywiththegoalofdocumentingstrategiesthatworkbesttoengageyouthinnewmediainsocialnetworkingenvironments.
Costforphaseoneoftheprojectincludingtechnicalandoperationalcostsandacademicresearchisestimatedat$234,018.
Publications,ApproachesandPhasing
Thestudywillconsistoftwophasesofapproximatelysixmonthseach.Thephasingwillallowtimetofocusonthetechnicalandcommunitydevelopmentofeachpublicationaswellasacademicresearch.Therewillalsobetimetowardstheendofthefirstphasetoassessthefocusofourworkandmakeadjustmentsbeforefullydefiningphasetwo.
Thepreliminarylistandsequenceofpublicationsandaccompanyingapproachestopromotingengagementisasfollows:
PhaseOne
1. ObamaCampaignNewsSitefor2008Election(e.g.HopeStreet)1
Topic-based,allcontentfilteredbyagegroups2.Readersseeonly
stories,commentsandpeoplewithintheirdemographice.g.16-21,21-25,2635,36+
2. College-orientedNewsintheMinnesotaregion
Affinity-based,targetsaspecificdemographicinalocalgeographic
regione.g.collegeanduniversitystudents
1IfObamawereelected,thesitewouldcontinuetocoverhisagenda.Ifheisnotelected,thesitewillcontinueatleastlongenoughtocoverthepost-mortemofhiscampaign.2RegulationsmakeitdifficulttostudyFacebookusersunder16.
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PhaseTwo
3. GlobalWarming
Advocacy-based,usesStreetTeam3rewardincentivesandcommunity.
Participationinthecommunityincreasesthereaderspointscoresthatcanberedeemedforsmalltomediumprizes.
4. ExistingRealWorldCommunity(tbd)
ProvideasocialmediaFacebookapplicationtoanexistingyouth
outreachorganization5. Entertainmente.g.music,movies,games
Usessoftnewstoattractandengagereaders.Amoreaggressiveapproachmightoffervideoclipsonlyvs.writtenstories.
Thepublicationswillbelaunchedinseries,beginninginSeptember-approximatelyoneperthree-monthperiod.Thiswillallowforustofocusononelaunchatatime;timeforeachcommunitytomature;andtimetocollectdata,analyzeresultsandformulateconclusionswitheachpublicationseparately.DelayingtheadvocacypublicationlaunchwillallowtimeupfrontfordevelopmentoftheStreetTeamincentivefeatures.
Ideally,weneedasamplesizeofatleast300activereadersineachagesegment.
Note:ThismaybedifficulttoaccomplishintimefortheNovemberelection
but we believe that the prevalence of Obama supporters inside
Facebook
(1.15MFacebookusersontheBarackObamapage4)willhelpusachievethis
goal.Analternateapproachwouldbetochooseatopicfromphasetwoinstead.
Forthemostpart,eachpublicationwillhavesimilarfeaturesanddesign.Insome
cases,wecouldexperimentwithdifferentfeaturesetssuchasvideocommentary,polls,predictiongames,etal.totesttheeffectivenessofparticularideas.Itmaybeimportanttoaddthesetothepublicationsafteraninitialstudyperiodtoisolateaspectsoftheprimarystudy.
Atthistime,weareseekingfundingforphaseoneoftheproject.Phasetwofundingwillbediscussedaswemakeprogressduringphaseone.
Outcomes
Thegoalofthisprojectistolearnwhatworks(andwhatdoesnt)inengagingyoungerpeopleusingsocialnetworksinnewmedia.
Questionsthatguideourinvestigationinclude:
WhatgetsyoungerFacebookmembersengaged(ornot)insocialmedia?3PETAStreetTeamProgramhttp://www.idealog.us/2005/04/peta_street_tea.html4http://www.facebook.com/barackobama?ref=ts
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Whatdoesthisengagementlooklike?Forinstance,domembersbothconsumethesenewssourcesandproducerelatedcontent:talkingabout,with,andthroughthesepublicationstoeachother?Whatimpactdotheyseethesenon-traditionalnewssourceshavingontheirlives?
Howdoestheusersengagementwiththesepublicationscontributetothemissionoftheaffiliatedorganization(e.g.,Obamacampaignorcollegemission)?
Toanswersuchquestionsmeritsamixedmethodsapproachtodatacollectionandanalysis;UniversityofMinnesotaresearcherswillcollectquantitativedataonusercharacteristicsandinteractionswiththepublication(e.g.,frequency,duration,featuresutilized,andactivities)aswellasqualitativedataontheusersexperienceandperspectivestoproduceanaccurateandcomprehensiveaccount.Ourgoalistopublishthesefindings,therebycontributingtotheknowledgebaseaboutwhatworkswithindependentmedia,aswellasusethesedatatoimprovedesignanduserexperience.
Someofthedatacollectionwillbeautomated.InternalFacebookapplicationstatisticsandrequestedinternalNewsCloudstatisticaltrackingfeatureswillprovidedataforquantitativeanalysisandcomparisonofeachcommunity.Forexample,wecanmeasureandanalyzeactivitylevelsineachpublicationbasedonreading,linksharing,commentary,blogging/self-publishing,contentquality,invitations,virality,etal.
Otherdatacollectionwillinvolvesurveyingandtalkingtousersabouttheirperceptionsandexperiences.UniversityofMinnesotaresearcherswilldevelopsurveyinstrumentstoqueryreadersandactivemembers.Focusgroupswithusersandnon-userswillalsobeperformedtotriangulatesurveydataandverifytrends.Stagingthelaunchofeachpublicationshouldprovideadequatetimeforqualitativeanalysisoftheevolutionandhigh/lowpointsineachcommunity.
Theendresultwillbeanacademicstudyonwhatwelearnedandsuggestionsforfurtherareasofresearch.
PotentialPartners
Wherepossible,itmaymakesensetopartnerwithrealworldorganizationstofacilitatefasteradoptionandgrowthineachpublicationcommunity.Insomecases,
thesemightbeco-sponsorswhowouldofferusfreepromotioninexchangeforfeaturingtheirbrandorcontent.
Formissionrelatedorganizations,wecouldprovidetheserviceoflaunchingandhostingaFacebookapplicationfortheseorganizationswhichalsooffersNewsCloudtheadditionalopportunitytoassesstheimpactofoneofitstechnologysolutionsonthemissionoftheseorganizations.
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Havingpartnersmayfacilitatecontinuedhostingofpublicationslaunchedduringthestudy,sothatthecommunitiesdontjustgetterminatedafterthestudy.ThisislessimportantfortheElectionsitebutmoreimportantfortheadvocacysiteandothers.
Somepossiblepartnersinclude:
ObamaElectionNews:Politico,TheTimesoramediaorganizationcoveringthecampaignwhosefeedswecouldfeatureinthenewswire.
College-orientedNews:Localuniversitycommunicationsdepartments,localweekliesanddailynewspapersmovingonlineinandaroundMinnesota.
GlobalWarming:AdvocacyorganizationsWeCanSolveIt.orgor350.orgorgreenmediaorganizationsthatdonthaveaFacebookpresencee.g.GristorWorldChanging
RealWorldCommunity:AgroupsuchasRestoringEden5,areligiousgrouporganizingyouthofflinetopreservetheenvironment.
Entertainment:PerhapsMTV(anotherKnightgrantee)orseekoutanentertainmentbrandthatdoesnthaveaFacebookpresencee.g.VH1BestWeekEver,orsomethingfunandvideoorientedsuchastheupcomingFreakyWeather(http://freakyweather.agentic.ca/)
MarketingStrategy
ThequalityoftheresearchwillcorrelatetothespeedwithwhichwecangroweachFacebookpublicationintoaviablecommunity.Wellapplythefollowingapproachesformarketingeachpublication:
TargeteddemographicadvertisingonFacebooktosupportersoftheObamapageetal.thisiswheretheprimarymarketingbudgetwillbeapplied.
Strongerpartnershipdevelopmentwillallowustospendlessonmarketing.
Workingwithpartnerstoco-promotetotheirmembershiporaudience
ViralfeaturesoftheapplicationonFacebook
GeneralPReffortandopportunitiesbyNewsCloudandUMNleveraging
partnersandtheKnightFoundationwhereappropriate.
Guerillamarketinge.g.flyers,tabling,t-shirtsandstickergiveaways
LeveragingNewsCloud.commembers,existingNewsCloudFacebook
applicationmembersandJeffReifmansprofessionalonlinenetwork.
ApplicationFeaturesAndSoftwareArchitecture
Thecorefeaturesetoftheapplicationwillincludeafrontpage,anupcomingstories
page,anewswirepageandauserprofile/clippingspage.Thiswillincludefeaturessuchascommunityannouncements,comments,voting,commentrating,storyposting,userrankingandtagging.
5PeterIllyn,RestoringEdenhttp://www.grist.org/comments/dispatches/2003/03/10/illyn-restoringeden/
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TheapplicationwillalsosupportstandardFacebookapplicationfeaturessuchasprofilebox,applicationtab,opt-inemailandemailengine,mini-feedtemplates,invitations,directorypresenceandsharing.
ThetechnologytoenablethiswouldbeanextensionoftheexistingNewsCloudFacebookapplication.Currently,theNewsCloudFacebookapplicationistiedtotheNewsCloudserverandtalksdirectlytoitsdatabase.Ideally,wellhaveenoughresourcestobuildalayerofthenewsroommodulearchitecturethatwouldsupportthedecouplingoftheFacebookapplicationsothatgroupswouldeventuallybeabletohostthesepublicationsontheirownserver.ThiswillalsosupportafutureopensourcedevelopmentreleaseoftheFacebookpublicationframework.
Somenewfeaturedevelopmentwillberequirede.g.filteringbyage,supportingthenewdesign,theStreetTeamincentives,academicstatisticalrequirements,compliancewithresearchregulations,etal.
Challenges
Essentially,werebuilding,launchingandstudyingthesepublicationseachwiththeinherentcomplexitiesofdesign,development,marketing,branding,outreachandsupport.Therelativematurityandactivitylevelineachcommunitywillbeimportanttoenablingsuccessfulresearch.Oneormorecommunityconceptsmayflop.Therefore,itwillbeimportanttogatherdataontheusersexperiencewitheachpublication,especiallyfromthosewhodonotengagetounderstandwhynotandwhatcouldbeimproved.
Fromatechnicalperspective,wewanttorunallthepublicationsfromonesoftwarecodebasetoavoidforkingthecode6andhavingtomaintainmultiplecodebases.ThisisdesirableinpartbecausetheFacebookplatformchangessoquicklyandin
partbecauseitprovidestheopportunitytoopensourceasingle,feature-completecodebaseatafuturedate.
Whilegearedforrapid,stepwise,andfocusedstudy,theproposedpacingmaybetooquickforwhatweretryingtoaccomplish,challengingthedevelopmentandmarketingeffortaswellastheresearchers.Partnerdevelopmentanddependenceonpartnershipsmayattimehinderprogress.
Thisprojectisnotjustastaticwebsitebutrequiresanongoingserviceandsupportstructure.Publishers(andreaders)willhavequestions,featurerequests,problemreportsandwewillneedtoberesponsive.Thequalityoftheirexperiencewiththe
applicationandwithuswillinfluenceitssuccess.WhileIamgenerallyabletofindnewemployeesandcontractorsquickly,hiringthepeopleneededintimetolaunchtheObamanewssiteinSeptemberwillbeanaddedchallenge.
6Softwarefork:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(software_development)
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AlignmentwithNewsCloudGoals
ThisstudywillbegenerallysupportiveofNewsCloudsoverallgoals:
Thestudywillhelpusidentifyfeaturesthatworkatengagingnewusers,whichwewillbeabletoapplytoNewsCloud.comanditsotherplatforms.
IncreasedresourceswillmaketheprojectmoresustainableandsupporttheimprovementoftheunderlyingarchitectureforFacebookandourWebServicesAPI.TheresourceswillalsosupportthedevelopmentofnewfeaturessuchastheStreetTeamrewardsprogram,enhancedvideofeatures,etal.
TheopportunitytofundpartnerrelationshipswillhelpNewsCloudassesstheabilityofitstechnologytosupportmission-drivenorganizations.
TheFacebookpublicationsshoulddriveincreasedtrafficandactivity(bothnewusers,morediversestoriesanddeeperdiscussions)acrosstheNewsClouduniverseofsites.
TherelationshipwiththeKnightFoundationandtheacademicrelationshipwiththeUniversityofMinnesotawillbesupportiveofourotherfundraisingandpublicrelationsefforts.
TheprojectshouldhelptopositionNewsCloudmoreasathoughtleaderinthenewmediacommunity,especiallyintermsofsocialnetworkingandFacebookcapacity.
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Budget,ResourcesandFundingStructure
Thebudgetbelowisapreliminaryestimateforonlyphaseoneoftheproject.Costsmayvarydependingonfinalprojectscope,formanddirectionofgrant(throughfiscalsponsor)and/orUMNregulations.
PhaseOneTechnologyroleandcosts
Projectmanager,softwarearchitect:Reifman $45,000
Softwaredeveloper $42,500Outreach,Customersupport $32,500
Contractsoftwaredevelopment(asneeded)
$15,000Contractsystemadministration(asneeded) $5,000Marketing,PR
$15,000
Graphicdesign $10,000Travel $2,000Webhosting $720
TechnologySub-total $167,720
Academicroleandcosts
PrincipalInvestigator/ResearchConsultant
$18,720GraduateAssistant $16,895ResearchSubjectsStipends $6,000
Travel/Dissemination $3,000Phone,projectsupport $100
ResearchAdvisory $1,500ReserveforUniversityIndirectCosts7
$8,939
AcademicSub-total $55,154
Reserveforfiscalsponsoradministrativecosts8 $11,144Phaseonetotal
$234,018
ItisunderstoodthatMr.ReifmanwillspendaportionofhistimeongeneralcapacitybuildingandmaintenancefortheoverallNewsCloudproject.
Thecostestimateforphasetwoislikelytobecomparable;however,runningthestreetteamincentivepublicationandanadditionaltrialpublicationmayhavesomeadditionalcosts.
AsthisisaresearchstudyandnotadirectinvestmentincapacitybuildingatNewsCloud,Iwouldprefertostructurethefundingasagrant.NewsCloudmaybeabletoaskONE/Northwesttoactasafiscalsponsor.TheremaybealternatestructuralfundingoptionswithinUMN.
7Assumeslowestrateof32%,ratecouldbeashighas51%8Ifneeded.Estimatedat5%.
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DevelopmentSchedule
Month1(ideallyAugust08tolaunchtwomonthsaheadofNovemberelection)
Hiredevelopment,outreachstaffanddesigncontractor
WorkwithUMNresearchteamtodefineapplicationrequirementsandoutreachstrategy
DevelopElectionpublicationfromNewsCloudFacebookapplicationcode
Beginrecruitingpartners
Month2
LaunchElectionpublication,includingmarketing/PRefforts
Continuemarketing,supportofElectioncommunity
BegindevelopmentofCollegeNewspublication
ContinuerecruitingpartnersforCollegeNewspublication
Continuedevelopmentofoverallcodebase,features,bugfixinginElection
application
Month34
LaunchCollegeNewspublication
Ongoingfeaturedevelopment,bugfixing,supportforeachpublication
ContinuemarketingandPReffortsforeachpublication
SupportUMNresearcherswiththeirstudywork
BegindiscussionswithKnightFoundationforPhaseTwofunding
Month5-6
Ongoingfeaturedevelopment,bugfixing,supportforeachpublication
ContinuemarketingandPReffortsforeachpublication
SolidifyopensourcecomponentsanddocumentationofFacebook
publicationapplications Preparetechnologypost-mortemforPhaseOne
SupportUMNresearcherswiththeirstudywork
BegindesignandspecificationforPhaseTwopublications
ResearchSchedule
Months1-3 Refineandagreeonresearchquestions
Developvalidsurveyinstruments,whichinvolvebrieflitreviewtoinform
validsurveydesignandgettingfeedbackfromadvisorygroup;pilottestingwithsmallgroupofcollegeageparticipants
SecureInstitutionalReviewBoardapprovalforworkwithhumansubjects(6weekprocess;processgoesmuchsmootherifsubjectsare18yearsofageorolder!)
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Setupsurveyinsurveymonkey,etc.Month4&5
Sendrecruitingemail/messagetopublicationusers;surveyincentivewillhelpgetahigherresponserate.
Recruitforfocusgroups($50incentive)
Provide3weekwindowforsubjectstotakethesurveyweeklyreminders
Analyzesurveydatatrends/questionstofollow-uponinfocusgroups
Dodatadumpofinternalstatisticaltrackinginformfocusgroupquestions
ConductfocusgroupsandtranscribedataAFTERsurveycompletion&look
atsitestats Analyzefocusgroupdata
Month6-8
Reviewsurvey,focusgroupandinternalsite-trackingdataanalysis
Writeupreportforpublicationon(1)whatengagesusers;(2)whatdoesthis
engagementlooklike(3)Howdidthepublicationcontributetothemissionoftheorganization.
ContactInformation
QuestionsorcommentsaboutthisproposalmaybesenttoJeffReifman([email protected])orDr.ChristineGreenhow([email protected]).
