Social Media & The Long Tail

A Picture Depicting "The Long Tail"

By: Ashley Aronson, Andrea Blythe and Maggie Kovaks

On January 11, 2012 Kelli Matthews gave a general overview of social media. Focusing on the history of the internet and social media, followed by the long tail theory developed by Chris Anderson, Kelli applied these concepts to explain the importance of and how to find relevant conversations.

The long tail comes into effect when scarcity is removed from the equation. The Internet has allowed niche markets to thrive. Communicators must remember to consider everyone along the spectrum those with wants that are generic and those with very specific wants.

To find relevant conversations you must first decide what you are looking for. To do this think about:
·      Trends
·      Issues
·      Influencers
·      Audience

Some key tips that were given when conducting Internet searches are using:
·      Either/Or
·      Quotes
·      Not, by using “-“ to denote what you do not want included in results
·      Similar terms, by using “~” in front of the word want similar words for
·      Wildcard by giving you search parameters with “*”
·      Advanced Search

Many great sites were given to help with this research including:
·      Alltop.com
·      Google Blogsearch
·      Technorati
·      Socialmention
·      Icerocket
·      Twitter Search
·      Tweetdeck
·      Klout

The lecture was followed by the class through a live-tweeting session, reaching an audience of 18,444 followers within the 24 hours surrounding the discussion. Here are the tweeting highlights:

@sportsologist: I allowed it. I might *encourage* it in class more in the spring. RT @katypflaum: Why don’t all classes allow live tweeting? #J412ssm

@Anthony_Buckles: @ABlythe23 What about the major PR issues we see happening with corporations such as @papajohns. It seems one tweet can ruin a Co. #j412ssm

@ABlythe23: @Anthony_Buckles Very true, but overall, when social media is implemented correctly, the benefits typically outweigh the bad #j412ssm

@maggpie18: Who knew that social media was around in 1979? I didn’t. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2QdEj8UjBc @ethanz #J412ssm

@AshleyAronson You can also have them try my homepage - ethanzuckerman.com – which is older, more personal.

@AshleyAronson: Love this Elevator Rap from @dweinberger, #J412ssm http://www.cluetrain.com/book/elevator.html Companies have no choice but to join the convo via social media.

@plandsem: Learning a lot of social media search techniques in #J412ssm. What’s your favorite tool for finding & listening to conversations?

@ABlythe23: 5 Tools to Build Relationships & Find Conversations on the Social Web http://natedevore.com/5-tools-to-build-relationships-and-find-conversations-on-the-social-web/ (via @natedevore) #j412ssm

@maggpie18: Sites to use for seachers: http://Alltop.com,Google Blogserach, Technorati, Socialmention, Icerocket #j412ssm

Tagged history of the internet, long tail, social media, twitter