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8. COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE
Organizations synthesize search, social and sensor data streams into insights that guide smarter actions.
What is Collective Intelligence?
Collective intelligence involves analyzing the collective actions and feedback of people, finding patterns and trends, and sharing it back to aid understanding and guide action. Organizations, artists and changemakers are using collective intelligence to analyze opinions and behaviors, identify patterns and trends, and recommend actions or inspire change. The rise of collective intelligence can be attributed to three broad trends. First, people are sharing immense amounts of locationbased, personalized data online, both implicitly by searching, clicking or buying and explicitly by creating profiles, posting status updates, and checking in to locations and events. Second, people are beginning to use sensorbased devices to track and share real world data about our bodies (quantified self) and our devices, houses, and environments (internet of things). Third, web platforms like Google,
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are anonymizing and aggregating this data, mining collective intelligence from it themselves, and also making it available for third-party applications via robust APIs. Web platforms are using data to create reviews of the most important trends and events in the previous year (Google Zeitgeist(video), 2012 Year on Twitter (video), Facebook Year in Review); add new perspective to important political, sports and entertainment events (Amazon Election Heat Map (screenshot), Twitter Political Index, Facebook America Votes 2012 (video),Twitter Oscars Index); and even predict potential career paths (LinkedIn Career Explorer (video)), the spread of communicable diseases (Google Flu Trends (video)) and traffic conditions (Google Maps Traffic (video)).
News and entertainment media organizations are partnering with internet platforms or using their APIs to use search and social data to analyze public opinions, predict the outcome of important events (USA Today/ Twitter Election Meter, Facebook/ CNN Election Insights, E! Heat Gauge (video)) or showcase upcoming artists (MTV Music Meter (video)). Several web platforms are finding patterns in user profiles, networks and behaviors to make better product, movie, book, music and restaurant recommendations (Amazon, Netflix, Random Houses Bookscout, Goodreads, Pandora, Bundle). Entrepreneurs and changemakers are creating niche platforms to mine social and search data to improve traffic conditions (Waze (video)), optimize energy consumption (Opower (video)), and aggregate health data to predict outbreak of diseases (Sickweather (video), Flu Near You (video), HealthMap (video)) and even explore effective cures (Patients Like Me (video), NextBio (video)).
Some collective intelligence initiatives have achieved significant impact and scale. For instance, Wazes community of 36 million drivers shared 90 million user reports on real time traffic, accidents, hazards, police, gas prices and map issues, and Opower has used data from 80 utility companies to help reduce energy consumption by 2 billion kilowatt hours and save $234 million on electricity bills. The success of such collective intelligence platforms shows that its possible to synthesize search, social, sensor and self-reported data from millions of people into meaningful realtime insights that can guide actions and change behaviors at scale.
to engage with other users content and tag their own content so that it might be included (Sickweather). Behavior change driven platforms compare the users behaviors with similar others and incentivize them to change their behavior through gamification features (OPower).
all major brands are trying to use big data, including search and social data, to understand and engage with consumers. For instance, Vicks combined aggregated search data from Google Flu Trends with demographic data to target moms in high flu zones with ads for their premium Flu Thermometer. @WalmartLabs has analyzed vast amounts of social data (fast data) and combined it with public web data and proprietary data to create the social genome, a living database of entities (people, events, topics, products, locations, organizations) and their relationships. It is now building a series of collective intelligence social applications using the social genome, starting with the social gift recommendation app Shopycat (video). Finally, some organizations are building platforms and products to synthesize and share insights from sensor data, both in the quantified self-space and the internet of things space. For instance, the Nike+ (video) and Adidas MiCoach (video) range of wearable sensorenabled products enable people to track their workouts, compare themselves with friends and similar others, and even compete with others. Audi partnered with MIT to create a Road Frustration Index (video) based on traffic and weather conditions, reported accidents and driver sentiment from social data.
Source: mtvmusicmeter.com
The algorithm also segregates artists by type, by analyzing where people are talking about them. As Billboard contributor Glenn Peoples noted: Where an artist is being talked about influences the Music Meter list where that artist appears. For example, indie rock artist Bon Iver showed up on Music Meters mainstream list after winning a Grammy for best new artist. Then, MTV Music Meter provides curated content about the artists with 30-second song previews from music partner Rhapsody; articles, bios and photos from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and the MTV archive; and tour dates from Songkick.
The platform is accessible via the web, iPad, iPhone and Android. In its first year, MTV Music Meter generated 1 million downloads. Collective Intelligence program: CNN Im Voting Read the full case study on our blog or on Slideshare
Analysts acknowledge the potential of the Im Voting app to use metrics gathered from surveys and insights gleaned from conversations, both to predict trends and to better understand the views of the masses. Online radio host Tim Berge noted: Currently, about 25-hundred Facebook users have pledged to vote in November. Of the participating users, 53 percent said they are Democrat, while 25 percent are Republican, and 22 percent said they are Independent. And, despite what the candidates may be saying recently in their campaign attacks most Facebook users are listing the economy as the most critical issue. Several people have criticized the data collected from the app, pointing out that it does not truly represent the view of Americans but of Facebook and CNN users, the majority of whom are democratic. Branded program: Vicks Mobile Ad Campaign Read the full case study on our blog or on Slideshare
Source: facebook.com
CNN partnered with Facebook to create the Im Voting app to encourage people to discuss political issues and pledge to vote, and to share insights from these conversations in their coverage of the 2012 presidential elections. In a press release, CNN shared: The app will enable people who use Facebook to commit to voting and endorse specific candidates and issues. Commitments to vote will be displayed on peoples Facebook timeline, news feed, and real-time ticker" Govind, member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network commented: I love the fact that this initiative gets media to partner people in recognizing and thinking of real issues, and lets people see that they are not alone. Also, as this movement grows, political parties get to see that they need to deliver. Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, blogged: In my opinion, It will be really interesting to see how this Facebook integration influences conversations surrounding the election among young voters, and if it will become a platform for bipartisanship.
Source: nytimes.com
In early 2012, Vicks combined three layers of data to reach moms in high flu zones with mobile ads for their premium Behind Ear Thermometer. Moms only received ads if they were within three
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miles of a retailer selling the thermometer. On clicking the ads, moms were shown a video on the benefits of the thermometer and directed to the nearest retailer selling the thermometer. First, Vicks used Google Flu trends to find out which areas were experiencing high incidences of flu. Dr. Robert Brecht, a specialist in healthcare marketing, explained how the raw data was validated and made accessible: Googles [Flu] Trends is based on a formula to estimated flu activity based solely on searches. Google was able to do that by correlating flurelated Web searches with actual data from the Center for Disease Control (DCD) (sic). By combining the search keywords with the IP address of searchers which provides searchers locations, Google is able to estimate regional flu activity within a day of outbreaks compared to a week or two lag with CDC reports. Second, Vicks reached moms and expecting moms through mobile apps such as Pandora, which collect user data including age, gender, marital status and whether they are parents. Andrew Adam Newman, a journalist at New York Times, noted: A mobile campaign by Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, which is based in Chicago, places the ads for the thermometer within popular apps like Pandora that collect basic details about users, including their sex and whether they are parents, and can pinpoint specific demographics to receive ads. Third, Vicks used real-time data from location based mobile advertising network Where to target moms when they were within 3 miles of a closest retail store that stocks the Behind Ear Thermometers. Michael Johnsen, who covers medical marketing news, wrote: The ad targets users who arguably have a higher need for the product a factor that would presumably increase the purchase intent with that branded call to action.
Branded program: Nike FuelBand Read the full case study on our blog or on Slideshare
Source: nike.com
In 2012, Nike introduced the Nike FuelBand a wearable product that measures peoples daily activities and workouts in a virtual metric called NikeFuel. People can view their performance data on their smart phones and the Nike+ website and can compare results and NikeFuel earned with friends and members of the 7 million strong Nike+ community. Nike targets the everyday athlete with the FuelBand. As journalist Jessica Stanley observed Just Do It is one of the best positioning statements in the world, but customers started to change. Dont just say it, help us. The FuelBand does this by re-positioning everyday activities and chores as a sport, measuring peoples daily activities on web and mobile dashboard, and rewarding them for doing more. The concept of instant feedback immediately appealed to self-trackers, like Jenna Wortham, who commented From the moment I wrapped the band around my wrist, I was enamored with the idea of a device that could help me collect data about my habits and behavior, so that I could try to improve them. Ever present on the wrists of the owner, the FuelBand displays the amount of NikeFuel earned for the day, and motivates people to meet their daily goal. MSLGROUPs Gaurav Mishra talks about how the NikeFuel band has helped him become more active:
I am a big believer in breaking down a large challenge into small challenges and ticking them off in public. I remember that the year I first bought a Nike+ shoe was the year I ran most regularly. The instant feedback and the sense of progress were almost addictive. Then, I lost the sensor, and lost my stride. I bought a NIkeFuel band a few weeks back and I have seen my activity levels go up significantly since then. Instead of taking a taxi, I walk 3+ km to work, both ways, and I am planning to buy a bike for the weekends. I even created a goal on Nike Plus to finish 2012 active. As Alyson Shontell reflected Realizing how inactive I was during certain hours has made me more active in my spare time. The Nike FuelBand is the latest addition to Nikes suite of fitness tracking products, all of which incorporate some elements of games, networks and data to help people achieve their fitness goals.
We expect that big corporations will acquire many of these social data startups. For instance, Twitter acquired TV social data startup BlueFin, Intuit acquired personal finance startup Mint, eBay acquired personal recommendation startup Hunch, and Walmart acquired social commerce startup Kosmix (now @WalmartLabs). Other organizations will partner with platforms like Kaggle or DataKind to run crowdsourced data challenges. We also expect that organizations will shift their focus from collecting and analyzing data to creating applications that use the data to help their users get better understanding and make better decisions. As a result, social curation tools like MassRelevance, insight community tools like CommuniSpace and crowdsourcing tools like BrightIdea will all strengthen their features around visualizing and showcasing data back to the users to guide action. Finally, we expect that fast data will be the next big thing after big data, as organizations seek to analyze data streams from social conversations, search queries, sensors, and transactions, find patterns and actionable insights, and share it back with users to help them make better decisions, all in real time.
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MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe's strategic communications and engagement group, advisors in all aspects of communication strategy: from consumer PR to financial communications, from public affairs to reputation management and from crisis communications to event management.
With more than 3,700 people, its offices span 22 countries. Adding affiliates and partners into the equation, MSLGROUP's reach increases to 4,000 employees in 83 countries. Today the largest 'PR and Engagement' network in Europe, Greater China and India, the group offers strategic planning and counsel, insight-guided thinking and big, compelling ideas followed by thorough execution.
Write to us to start a conversation on the future of engagement.: Pascal Beucler, SVP & Chief Strategy Officer (pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com) Janelle Dixon, North America Head of Insights (janelle.dixon@mslgroup.com) Dominic Payling, Europe Head of Insights (dominic.payling@mslgroup.com) Gaurav Mishra, Asia Head of Insights (gaurav.mishra@mslgroup.com)