PewInternet.org

Personal. Portable. Participatory. Pervasive.The Digital Landscape in 2013 and its

Impact on Communities

Community Foundations - Denver July 18, 2013Lee Rainie (@lrainie) Director, Pew Internet ProjectEmail: Lrainie@pewinternet.org

“Tell the truth, and trust the people” -- Joseph N. Pew, Jr. http://bit.ly/dUvWe3

http://bit.ly/100qMub

Chelsea Welch Alois Bell

r/atheism

Next-news

• Spiritual precepts and atheism• Vigilantism• Privacy rights, publicity rights, and

collapsed contexts• Minimum wage policies and

employment practices• Corporate social media policies

3 tech revolutions

Digital Revolution 1: Broadband at home - 66%Internet users overall - 85%

The Landscape of Social Media Users (among adults)

% of internet users who….

The service is especially appealing to

Use Any Social Networking Site

72% Adults ages 18-29, women

Use Facebook 69% Women, adults ages 18-29

Use Twitter 18%Adults ages 18-29, African-Americans,

urban residents

Use Pinterest 15%Women, adults under 50, whites,

those with some college education

Use Instagram 13%Adults ages 18-29, African-Americans,

Latinos, women, urban residents

Use Tumblr 6% Adults ages 18-29

reddit 6% Men ages 18-29

326.4Total U.S. population:319 million

2012

Digital Revolution 2 - Mobilecell 91% … smartphone 56% … tablet 34%

Apps > 50% of adults

Digital Revolution 3Social networking – 61% of all adults

% of internet users

The social media platforms arts orgs use

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Arts Organizations Survey. Conducted between May 30-July 20, 2012. N for respondents who answered this question=1,202.

Number of platforms

The majority of arts organizations that use social media maintain profiles on at least four different social media sites.

Big Change 1: It has networked people

• Moved the basic social unit from tight, close-in groups to far-flung, loose networks

• New social operating system of “networked individualism

• Enlarged and diversified people’s networks

• Prompted a shift in trust from institutions to networks:– Sentries– Evaluators– Audience

• NOT MADE PEOPLE LONELY OR ISOLATED!!!!!!!

Big Change 2: It has networked information

• Pervasively generated• Pervasively consumed• Multi-platformed• Personally filtered• Participatory / social• Linked

• Continually edited• Real-time / just-in-time• Timeless / searchable• Given meaning through

social networks and “algorithmic authority”

Big Change 3: It has changed the civic ecosystem

• More niches• More topics of discussion

(and different “news” agendas”)

• More alliances (“peer progressivism”)

• More DIY work• More arguments• More disclosure• More surveillance /

sousveillance / coveillance

• More people in decision-making spaces -- “wisdom of crowds” and the filtering capacity of algorithms into people’s decision making

• More evidence of everything humans do:– Love– Hate– Altruism– Stupidity

@poop_strong (Arijit Guha)and Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini

@Poop_Strong and @mtbert (Aetna CEO)@Poop_Strong and @mtbert (Aetna CEO)

• @Aetna has now denied $118k in claims (in just 5 mos) since kicking me to the curb. Gotta preserve that $2 billion annual profit somehow.

• From @Aetna: @Poop_Strong We care

about our members. We want you to be empowered to be healthy and make informed decisions.

• That’s so sweet you want me to be empowered. Does @mtbert care to empower me by paying my $118K and counting in bills?

• From @mtbert: We paid hundreds of

thousands of $ already. A call is all it takes.

• From @Poop_Strong: Does that mean if I call you,

you’ll graciously offer to pay my bills?

Twitter Conversation, cont’dTwitter Conversation, cont’d• @mtbert Do you think it’s

morally justifiable to offer a flawed insurance product that doesn’t cover catastrophes?

• @poop_strong Why do you think the premiums were so low? Don’t you look at your policy limits when you buy other insurance (auto)?

• Tweets from others ‘friends of @Poop_Strong:

• @mtbert I’m concerned that you don’t understand how your industry works. ASU students aren’t given a choice on insurance plans

• @mtbert As a dad, if your kid was in school, got cancer & reached their lifetime cap, what advice would you give him?

“The system is broken. I’m trying to fix it.” – Aetna CEO

Aetna agreed to pay @Poop_Strong’s $118,000 in medical bills

New ASU health plan: No lifetime cap

Meaning of Arijit’s encounter

• Transparency and engagement are important in era of social media – sousveillance and coveillance are part of life now

• The less powerful can bring their issues to public spaces

• Powerful entities can lose control of their message once it’s “out there”

• Conversations can bring calls to action

Be not afraid