Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> >>PEGGY: THE 61ハMILLION PERSON STUDY FOUND THE SMALL I VOTED BUTTONS ON FACEBOOK
PAGE NZ FLEUNSED 340,000 MORE PEOPLE TO VOTE IN THE NOVEMBERハ2010 ELECTIONS.
JAMES FOWLER, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND MEDICAL GENETICS AT UC SAN DIEGO LEAD
THIS UNUSUAL STUDY. THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
WHY DID YOU DO THIS EXPERIMENT AND HOW DID YOU DO IT?
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: WE WANTED TO KNOW U IF ALL THIS HYPE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA WAS TRUE.
SO WE COLLABORATED ACTUALLY DIRECTLY WITH FACEBOOK TO DO AN EXPERIMENT THAT INVOLVED
61ハMILLION PEOPLE. >> >>PEGGY: ACROSS THE STATE.
YOU POSTED SOMETHING ON FACEBOOK, WE'RE GOING TO POP IT UP SO THE VIEWERS CAN SEE, SO WHAT
DID YOU ACTUALLY PUT ON WHAT DID YOU ACTUALLY PUT ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE?
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: WE HAD A MESSAGE THAT SHOWED TODAY IS ELECTION DAY, IT SHOWED A BUTTON
THAT YOU CAN CLICK ON TO SAY WHETHER OR NOT YOU VOTED AND A COUNTER OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
WHO CLICKED ON THAT BUTTON THAT DAY. THEN AN ALTERNATIVE MESSAGE THAT ALSO SHOWED
FACES OF YOUR FRIENDS AND THEN A THIRD GROUP WHO SAW NO MESSAGE AT ALL.
SO WE COULD COMPARE. >> >>PEGGY: AND THE PEOPLE WHO GOT THE INTEREST
THING THING IS THE PEOPLE WHO GOT THE MESSAGES WITH THE FACES THAT'S WHERE YOU SAW A DIFFERENCE.
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: THAT'S RIGHT. SO THE PEOPLE WHO SAW THEIR FRIENDS FACES,
WE ESTIMATE THAT CAUSED AN ADDITIONAL SCIGZ 60,000 PEOPLE TO GO TO THE POLLS.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEIR FRIENDS WERE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO VOTE.
SO THE FRIENDS OF PEOPLE WHO SAW THE MESSAGE, GOT AN ADDITIONAL 280,000 PEOPLE TO THE POLLS.
>> >>PEGGY: MORE SO JUST BY SEEING YOUR FRIEND OPPOSED BY SEEING THE VOTE BUTTON.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE VIRAL ASPECT. THE IMPORTANT THING ISN'T JUST THE PEOPLE
WHO SAW THIS AND PUSHED THE BUTTON THAT SAY I VOTED. THE REAL POTENTIAL HERE IS THE VIRAL
ASPECT. >> >>JAMES FOWLER: FOR EVERY ONE PERSON WHOSE
BEHAVIOR HAS CHANGED DIRECTLY FOR THEIR FRIENDS HAD CHANGED.
THAT POINT TO THE POWER OF SOCIAL NETWORKS. WE HAVE FRIENDS AND FRIENDS OF FRIENDS.
>> >>PEGGY: WE'RE SEEING A GRAPHIC OF CLOSE FRIENDS.
IT'S NOT JUST EVERY FRIEND. CLOSE FRIENDS AS SEEN HERE IN THE RED DOTS.
WHAT WAS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CLOSE FRIENDS LINK?
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. WE DID A SEPARATE STUDY WHERE WE ASKED PEOPLE
TO TELL US WHO THEIR REAL WORLD FRIENDS WERE AND USED FACEBOOK DATA TO PREDICT WHO HAD
REAL FACE TO FACE RELATIONSHIPS. THE AVERAGE PERSON HAS ABOUT 10 CLOSE FRIENDS WHAT WE
FOUND WAS THAT ALL OF THE EFFECTS OF SPREADING TO THE NETWORK WAS DRIVEN BY THE FACE TO FACE
FRIENDS NOT BY ALL THE FACEBOOK FRIENDS. >> >>PEGGY: THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING POLITICALLY.
ONE INTERESTING PART I READ ABOUT THIS, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE AMONG POLITICAL LINES.
DID THAT SURPRISE YOU? >> >>JAMES FOWLER: WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT LIBERALS
AND CONSERVATIVES WERE EQUALLY EFFECTED BY SEEING THE MESSAGE.
>> >>PEGGY: WHEN WE FIRST RAN THE STORY WE DID A COUPLE DAYS ON OUR WEBSITE, THERE WAS
CONCERN ABOUT PRIVACY. IN FACT, WE HAD ONE PERSON WHO POSTED THIS:
IT'S A CONCERN THAT THE STUDY AUTHORS COULD TRACK EACH PERSON WHO CLICKED THE I VOTED
AND LINK THEM TO VOTER RECORDS. WHICH INCLUDES NAMES, ADDRESSES AND PARTY
AFFILIATION TO CHECK IF THEY ACTUALLY VOTED. WHICH WAS YOUR METHOD.
HOW WERE THESE FACEBOOK PEOPLE IDENTIFIED? WAS IT THAT WAY AND HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO
PRIVACY ISSUES? >> >>JAMES FOWLER: FACEBOOK HAD EXACTLY THE
SAME CONCERN AS THE PERSON WHO WROTE THIS COMMENT.
WHEN WE SAID WE WANTED TO LOOK AT REAL BEHAVIOR, THEY SAID THAT'S FINE, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO
KNOW WHO REGISTERED. WE USE TD THIS PROCEDURE THAT MATCHES GROUPS
OF PEOPLE IN THE VOTER RECORD TO GROUPS OF PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK TO PRESERVE PRIVACY.
>> >>PEGGY: SO DOLLAR WAS A PRIVACY PROTECTION IN LINE.
AND IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT VOTER RECORDS ARE PUBLIC RECORD.
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: RESEARCHERS USE THEM ALL THE TIME.
>> >>PEGGY: HOWハ SINCE YOU'VE DONE THE STUDY, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA, DO YOU
THINK BECAUSE AFTER DOING THE STUDY, DO YOU THINK IT REALLY WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE
NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION? CERTAINLY THE CANDIDATES THINK SO.
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: I'M SURE IT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE STRATEGY BECAUSE ONE OF THE KEY
MES NLS IF YOU'RE TESTING THE THE NETWORK IS KEY.
IT'S REALLY THOSE FOUR FRIEND WHOSE REACT THAT REALLY DRIVE THE IMPACT OF ANYTHING YOU'RE
TRYING TO DO TO GET YOUR SUPPORTERS TO THE POLLS.
>> >>PEGGY: YOU HAVE TO STILL HAVE THE SORT OF SHAKING HANDS KISSING BABIES BUT ON FACEBOOK
SOME HOW. >> >>JAMES FOWLER: THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S THE
REAL WORLD SOCIAL NETWORK THAT MATTERS. THAT'S THE FUNDAMENTAL MESSAGE OF THIS RESEARCH.
>> >>PEGGY: LAST QUESTION HERE, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE LOOKING AT NEXT WITH THIS SOCIAL
MEDIA RESEARCH? >> >>JAMES FOWLER: WE'RE INTERESTED IN TWO
KEY QUESTIONS. WHAT KINDS OF MESSAGES ARE MOST EFFECTIVE,
AND WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED. YOU MAYBE SOME PEOPLE YOU CAN GET A 10 PER
1 OR 20 PER 1 RATIO. >> >>PEGGY: SO SORT OF A SOCIAL SCIENCE, POLITICAL
SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT I'M SURE MANY POLITICIANS WILL BE FOLLOWING.
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: THANK YOU. >> >>PEGGY: I HOPE.
ALL RIGHT, JAMES FOWLER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH US.
>> >>JAMES FOWLER: THANK YOU.