Curiosity Stop: The Social Innovation

RoundupTNW Europe Conference 2016

SpecialJune 2016

CURIOSITY STOP‘Social Thinking’ is understanding how and why people communicate. We use this

insight to provide value for our clients. This understanding is an ongoing passion project for We Are Social.

Our global team of 550 keep a keen eye out for intriguing changes in the social landscape. We take the best of these innovations and compile them in the

monthly Curiosity Stop.

You’ll see some examples which prove our social trendspotting, and others which indicate what might happen next. But if you look really closely, you might catch

a glimpse into the future of how and why we use social.

This Curiosity Stop Special focuses on the most interesting topics discussed during TNW Europe 2016. We sat through hours of fascinating talks and distilled them

into this handy presentation, just for you. We hope you enjoy it.

Curiosity Stop >TNW Europe

The 2016 edition of TNW Europe has just come to a close. Gary Vaynerchuk described it as “unbelievable, f*cking awesome,” and I

pretty much agree with him. And it’s not just because of the beautiful location, or because of the unexpected sun that shone on Amsterdam, nor was it for the hectolitres of beers (but, honestly...

those factors all helped).

We departed from Milan in a massive delegation of people from different departments: myself from the Marketing & Innovation team, Bruno Tecci (Strategy Director), Alessandro Sciarpelletti

(Editorial Director), Giorgio Marziani De Paolis (Technology Director), Sandro Amabili (Senior Account Director), Sara De Mattia (Account Director) and our Managing Directors (Gabriele Cucinella, Stefano

Maggi and Ottavio Nava).

We’ve come back from Amsterdam with a lot of interesting stuff to share with our colleagues (and, of course, you), and I hope you

enjoy our picks.

Luca Della DoraMarketing & Innovation Director, Milan, We Are Social

#1 Mobile is the new television >Our attention spans are a battlezone. We are now exposed to a huge volume of content. It doesn’t matter if it’s content produced by brands, by publishers or by our friends and family: all these pieces of content compete with each other on different platforms, at the same time.

#1 Mobile is the new television > Gary Vaynerchuk (Vaynermedia) | An entrepreneur’s look on leadershipWhat’s it all about?

People are confused about the value that platforms like Snapchat are able to generate for business. Social media and mobile have changed people’s behavior and brands’ approach: Mobile devices have re-shaped the way people access and consume content and information. Just as TV took over from radio, now mobile is taking its place. Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook are the new BBC, CBS and CNN. We know these platforms and we create shows for these channels, not for TV or radio.

The bigger picture

It’s more important than ever to understand the context and what you need to focus on to get people’s attention in an effective way. It’s not about building giant communities anymore, it’s about gaining people’s attention and loyalty long-term.

#2 Build products that matter >“A product that matters is a product that people truly want to use.”

Facebook builds and releases lots of products - including platform features. It created a framework starting from a simple principle: a product succeeds because it solves a problem for people.

The first step is understanding what problem to solve, and for whom.

Basic? Probably. Crucial? Definitely.

#2 Build products that matter > Julie Zhuo (Facebook) | Building with creative confidence: what to always ask in a product reviewWhat’s it all about?

Julie shared with the audience the framework used at Facebook to build products that matter.This framework is essentially three hard questions:

- What problem are we trying to solve?- How do we know this is a real problem?- How will we know if we’ve solved this problem?

She chose a couple of Facebook products - Facebook Live and Groups Suggestions - and shared how they perfectly fit in this framework.

The bigger picture

While years ago measuring and analysing results was a separate activity in the building process, today it must be part of the framework. Also, being very honest while using a framework is essential to making it work.

#3 Machine Learning >We are now living in the age we have watched for decades in movies, and read about in science fiction books. This is the age in which machines are able to learn and to adapt their reactions to new information.

The good news is that it’s something that will improve people’s experiences and will be able to create efficiency in what we do in our everyday lives.

And this is just the embryonic stage.

#3 Machine Learning > Werner Vogels (Amazon) | Does AI make Apps Evil? – Create smart applications with Machine Learning

What’s it all about?

The best way to predict the future is to use data from the past. Data based predictions are not magic. Machine learning automatically finds patterns in your data, and uses them to make predictions which can help you narrow down the infinite choices available to you.

● Choice comes with its challenges. The more choices you have, the less likely you are to choose. The more choices you have, the more unhappy you will be with your choice. Data generated personalisation helps to reduce your choices and make life easier.

● Your data + Machine learning = Smarter applications● One particular area of machine learning that is relevant for

consumers is personalisation.● You can use it to inform your business.

The bigger picture

The current opportunity is to use machine learning as a service, an open platform you can customise for image classification, object detection, segmentation, logistics and so on. There has never been a better time to build smart applications.

#4 The “local news” effect >Social media offers the opportunity to be informed in real time about anything that happens in the world, but people tend to give more importance to what hits closer to home, geographically and culturally.

Social networks have the potential to change this behavior, but often they tend to amplify it, because we are influenced by what the people closest to us are talking about.

#4 The “local news” effect > Ethan Zuckerman (MIT Media) | 12 billion voices: What if the entire world goes on social media

What’s it all about?

Think about what we’re used to talking about. Analysing digital and social conversations about the Syrian refugee crisis, the majority were focused on ourselves and local impacts, not about those directly affected. By 2100 there will be between 9 and 12 billion people on the planet, who will take billions of pictures and share what is happening in their lives. But, actually, we will keep watching the world through the lens of what already matters for us, of what we already know. This is a counter-evolutionary strategy.

We have the potential for unprecedented levels of connection, but media and social are getting more and more local. Why? 1. it’ s cheaper; 2. people like it most. The sociological reason for that is Homophily.

The bigger picture

Social media wants us to reinforce our existing ties, and we are locked by language and culture. But for the biggest global problems to be addressed, we need a global approach. If you are a connector, you have a higher chance of having good ideas. Social media give us the opportunity to change our behaviour or to reinforce the natural tendency to be local: it is up to us.Ask the media you use to tell stories from around the world, to build tools that help us to discover (take a look at the Global Voices project).

#5 Culture > Words >Our attention span is now about 5 seconds: that’s why we are trading accuracy for speed.

GIFs enable us to respond to this change: they allow us to express ourselves in a faster way and to be emotionally involved by immediate content.

The popularity of GIFs is not just related to social media or to the internet, but more to the way in which we communicate as human beings.

#5 Culture > Words > Adam Leibsohn (Giphy) | GIFS. What will this lead to?What’s it all about?

Giphy’s mission is to make everything move, and GIFs are the most effective way to do that. But why? Think about the impact that visual content has compared to words. From a human perspective, seeing comes before words, not just when we are babies, but throughout our lives. We think visually, not in paragraphs, and GIFs are able to spread emotions instantly, and with less effort. Our culture is now influenced by tons of different events, people and situations. Words are now replaced by emotions associated to them. Shorter pieces of content are the best solution to gain our attention and communicate in a more emotional way.

The bigger picture

Content has become our culture, and what we’re finding out is that culture is more effective than words, because now we have all the technology and all the devices to share them instantly.

Mobile Is The New TelevisionAn Entrepreneur’s Look On Leadership

Build Products That MatterBuilding With Creative Confidence: What To Always Ask In A Product Review

Machine LearningDoes AI Make Apps Evil? Create Smart Applications With Machine Learning

The “Local News” Effect12 Billion Voices: What If The Entire World Goes On Social Media

Culture > WordsGIFs. What Will This Lead To?

WE ARE SOCIALWe Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents

(Antarctica is a little too chilly for our liking).

We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our clients include adidas, Google and Netflix.

As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at the centre of marketing.

Trendspotting might get us unnaturally excited, but what really counts is action. If you'd like to speak to We Are Social about how to make innovation work for

your brand, email us at talktous@wearesocial.net