Data� & Journalism

Lutz Finger �

Blog  :  LutzFinger.com  linkedin.com/in/lutzfinger  

 www.facebook.com/lutz.finger  

@LutzFinger  

The philosophy of the day is

data-ism.

- DAVID BROOKS

Why this Hype?�

Source:  WikiBon  &  Google  Trends  –  Apr.  2013  

Google Searches for “big data”

1) MORE Data - “big data” �2) Better Technology�

30+ Petabytes of user- generated Data

75 Million events Per day

4TB = 11 million PDF of images in 24 HOURS

Definition – 5 V’s of “big Data” �Volume   Variety   Velocity  

Value  

Data at Scale (TB, PB,… )

Data in many Forms (Structured, Unstructured, ..)

Speed (Streaming, Real Time, Near Time, ..)

Uncertainty (imprecise, not always up-to-date ..)

Veracity  

BIG Data is Hype… go to SMALL data�

small as in… �

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%  

BoosPng  financial  performance  

CompePng  more  effecPvely  

Holding  on  to  customers  

Seizing  market  opportuniPes  

Survey  from  C-­‐Level  by  The  Economist  Intelligence  Unit  -­‐  2013  

Be Aware: Social Media�

Data vs. Usage

Predicting Osama Bin Laden’s Location�

Source:  TwiZer  &  University  of  Tennessee  

200  km  

Find Influencer �

INFLUENCER = EXPERT�

•  Opinion leaders (Katz 1955) •  Influentials (Merton 1968) •  Law of the Few (Gladwell 2000)

A few person decide what we do… �

There are no universal influencers. It’s a myth.�

The Reality: Influence is Homophily �

Source:  Kevin  Lewisa,  Marco  Gonzaleza  and  Jason  Kaufman  (2012):  PNAS  Vol  109,  no  1  

•  4 years •  1001 Students on Facebook •  traditional Self-reported Data •  How did taste Spread

Influence is

often overestimated.

It needs: •  Reach

•  Readiness •  Topic

Dependence

REACH is the KNOWN Game�

•  Aja Dior M.? •  AP News?

Aja Dior M. omgg, my aunt tiffany who work for whitney houston just found whitney houston dead in the tub. such ashamed & sad :(

45 min

How to measure Reach?�

How to measure Reach�

Only Twitter What will that Mean for the rest?

Engagement as Factor �

No Name

No Name

Many tools offer Engagement Metrics�Taken  from

 Social  Bakers  

Predict �

Be there before the story breaks�Study  by  Fisheye  AnalyPcs  

Facebook Parties�Study  by  Fisheye  AnalyPcs  

Prediction is difficult – especially about the future.

Nils Bohr

Political Prediction�

1. Santorum 2. Romney (-8 votes) 3. Paul (-3.000 votes)

Kirsten  Long  &  Rachel  Van  Dongen,  PoliPco,  Dec  12    

Deep Water Horizon & Social Outreach�

What is wrong here?

Study  by  Fisheye  AnalyPcs  

Content Validation�

Many have an interest to reach YOU … �

Sometimes with Bots�

Bots are easy to create… �@you malware.com @you-as-well malware.com D fresh-contact malware.com

Networks try to act… �

2013

7% SPAM

2012 2011

20% detection

But they are hard to identify�

Silent Influencer @Al_AGW

Social Friend @JamesMTitus

Knowledge Lajello

Example: Online Reviews�Arjun  M

ukherjee  et.al.    

Tools�

Max.  every  Sunday  

Timing is Everything�

Source:  Google  Trends  

Max.  every  Monday  Min.  every  Saturday  

Search  Frequ

ency  

Search  Frequ

ency  

What  are  the  SEARCH  terms?  

“Job”  Max.  every  Saturday  

Mood of the nation�Study  by  Fisheye  AnalyPcs  

Tools for Content discovery�Source:  Tam

e.it  

News of the World�

Indicated desire to

switch 1%

Former NOTW

subscribers 4%

Daily star on Sunday

15%

Daily Mail 22%

Sunday Mirror 26%

Sun On Sunday

8%

Sunday Herald 2%

Sunday Time 7%

The Observer 2% Sunday Star

2%

Sunday Sport Standard 2%

Star on Sunday 9%

General / Misc 5%

To Which Sunday Paper? Ready to Switch?

95% no info on switching

Timeframe:  Jul  2011  

10th June 2011: 2.6 million readers had to look for a new SUNDAY paper

Study  by  Fisheye  AnalyPcs  

Analyze by Audience�

Source:  PeerIndex  

Automate Monitoring�

Difficulty of Keyword Setup�