Social Media & Conversations

Social Media and Conversations

The BBC has recently been running a story to highlight the increasing issue of using social media on phones when driving. Its clearly a genuine issue, the numbers don't lie, 20% of younger drivers admit to using social media whilst driving.



The original BBC article can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/27491600

The question I'm asking myself here is what is the real motivation to use social media whilst driving?  Its not out of necessity - there is no imperative need to do it.  So what makes these drivers take the chance with their safety and the lives of other road users?

It really comes down to how we see what's going on on social media sites.  If they're treated as conversations then this drives the need to read and instantly reply - as if you would if the person was sat next to you.  This would certainly be more consistent with something like Skype where the point of the exercise is to facilitate a real-time and live interaction between users.  This is now how I see Facebook and Twitter however.  

When friends and family post updates and comments onto Facebook and Twitter I see them like post-it notes.  I will read them when I have time and reply on the most relevant basis and time-scales. I have never felt the need to be so responsive that my read and reply is instantaneous.

I'm not a 20 something and therefore my appreciation and understanding of what Facebook facilitates is different from the younger generation.  I have no fear of missing out (FOMO if you want the latest teenager terminology)and therefore no impending feeling that I must know when something is posted and must reply immediately to thereby feed the other persons ego or sense of self-importance.

The key to reducing the risk factors here and the chances of young drivers engaging in this kind of behaviour is to educate them on (a) the implication of what they are doing but (b) show them that not engaging on social media for the period they are driving has no causal effect on their lives.  They just need to know that nothing is that urgent and that nothing will change if they fail to use social media.  Without this realisation the feeling and the "need" to use social media whilst driving will persist.

Faking it!

Faking It!

Today a story has appeared relating to the supposed fake reviews that now plague Trip Advisor and other similar sites.  In addition the article also highlights the supposed manipulative practices of travel sites such as Expedia and Booking.com

The original article can be found here: Fake Reviews

How surprising is this really?  After 25 years of humans trolling other humans and businesses are we still supposed to be shocked? On the subject of Expedia and Booking.com manipulating the market for travel pricing - I see no real insight here either.  Big business is awash with price fixing and market manipulation. Lets not even get onto the subject of banks.

Fake reviews are as old as the Internet and there is never going to be a solid gold way of stopping a disgruntled ex-employee or a local competitor finding a way to soil the reputation of another business through on-line commentary.  Businesses need to have the tools to deal with these comments to establish that a grievance is valid or fake, but not to negate those comments that work against them if they are genuine.

The real story here is that regulation of markets and big business influence here is once again - under developed.  The penalties for businesses behaving like this are non existent so the companies involved with this have no fear.  Get caught, so what!

It sometimes feels that because something is happening on-line that it is different to a more physical business in a real-world market.  If it happens in the real world then the on-line equivalent will quickly behave in the same way.  Until the chances of getting caught are high and the punishment significant then nothing is going to change.  Personally I would like to see business caught fake-reviewing or manipulating prices name-and-shamed, but I'm not holding my breathe.

First Post

I fall in and out of love with blogging.  Sometimes I think its the best thing ever and other days its mentally just like wading through treacle.  The reason for the new blog is two fold. Firstly I have a bunch of things on my mind that are not suitable for my personal space on Facebook etc. and secondly I need something that has a tighter focus in terms of what I do for a living - I'm intending to write a book  to which this blog is going to contribute all being well.  A general space like Facebook or Twitter becomes very general in its scope quite quickly, this is something I intend to be of much greater intensity and have much more of an edge ... but lets see.

In any event, let the blogging begin and hopefully what I want out of this comes to the surface.

Dave.