The video ‘Digital Transformation Video by Erik Qualman’ (Equalman, 2019) presents a short and visual overview of some of the contemporary shifts occurring in the online sphere. In this article, we will examine five of these shifts and have a look at how this evolution of digital society impacts information organisations, most specifically how it impacts the need and development of information policies.

World Population vs Social Media Population

Qualman’s video suggests that some social media platforms – Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp – have much higher populations than even the most populated countries. This can make organisational accounts on these platforms seem daunting and complex. Not only must information professionals consider the vast range of platform users who may interact with their content and their behaviour, but it is also crucial to consider how the content may be digested by such a diverse audience. The overwhelming audience on such platforms also leads to many obstacles such as virality of content (Huang, Shen, Meng, Chang & He, 2019) and cancel culture (Veil & Waymer, 2021).

2 in 3 People Get News Via Social Media

As information professionals a shift in how society consumes information can impact us in two ways. It can create huge obstacles for us, as critical and trustworthy sources of information to be heard amongst the ‘noise’ of fake news and misinformation. It can also have a negative effect on how the information we provide, particularly on organisational social media platforms, is viewed with trust or skepticism, inside an untrustworthy information climate.

“What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube”

Based on a book published by Qualman himself (Qualman, 2013), this statement seems to be referring to the ongoing issues with digital privacy, or the lack thereof. There is an astounding amount of professional literature and discussion about how social media privacy issues impact information policies. Just the utilization of social media may lead to unintended access or automatic collection of patron information (Zimmer, 2013). Further issues and discussions arise when considering patron research (Mannheimer, Young & Rossmann, 2016) and patron perception of privacy risks (Fox & Royne, 2018).

80% of Mobile Consumption is Video

Based on the above statement and a large portion of literature that suggests video content can drive much higher online engagement (Gruss et al., 2020) it makes sense that information organisations should also feature video content online. Because of this, it is crucial to ensure that information policies consider and outline appropriate ways of implementing such media. Potential issues to consider include that video media reflects language and mission statements of the organisation and that privacy of individuals possibly featured in videos is maintained.

Shrinking Attention Spans

The preference for information that is quicker and easier to digest, particularly on social media platforms, is something that should push informational professionals about how they present accurate but engaging content. There is also a possibility that this can further shift which platforms and media types organisations online, in general, should be considered in a professional sense. While Facebook and Twitter are the primary social media platforms being utilised by organisations (Yellow, 2020), other platforms highlighting content in short-length video formats – such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – may become more viable and effective.

References.

Equalman. (2019, January 9). Digital transformation video by Erik Qualman [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k_G_h41ZaQ

Fox, A. K. & Royne, M. B. (2018). Private information in a social world: Assessing consumers’ fear and understanding of social media privacy. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 26(1-2), 72-89. doi: 10.1080/10696679.2017.1389242

Gruss, R., Abrahams, A., Song, Y., Berry, D., & Al-Daihani, S. M. (2020). Community building as an effective user engagement strategy: A case study in academic libraries. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 71(2), 208-220. doi:10.1002/asi.24218

Huang, H., Shen, H., Meng, Z., Chang, H., & He, H. (2019). Community-based influence maximization for viral marketing. Applied Intelligence, 49(6), 2137-2150. doi: 10.1007/s10489-018-1387-8

Mannheimer, S., Young, S. W. H., & Rossmann, D. (2016). On the ethics of social network research in libraries. Journal of Information Communication, & Ethics in Society. 14(2), 139-151. doi: 10.1108/JICES-05-2015-0013

Pew Research Centre. (2017). News use across social media platforms 2017. Retrieved from https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2017/09/13163032/PJ_17.08.23_socialMediaUpdate_FINAL.pdf

Qualman, E. (2013). What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube. Equalman Studios.

Veil, S. R., & Waymer, D. (2021). Crisis narrative and the paradox of erasure: Making room for dialectic tension in a cancel culture. Public Relations Review, 47(3). doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102046

Yellow. (2020a). Yellow Social Media Report 2020: Part One – Consumers. Retrieved from https://www.yellow.com.au/social-media-report/#download-report

Zimmer, M. (2013). Patron privacy in the 2.0 era: Avoiding the Faustian bargain of library 2.0. Journal of Information Ethics, 22(1), 44-59. doi: 10.3172/JIE.22.1.44