Facebook’s latest update on its news-feed algorithm

Facebook may seek to restore the “social” part of social media

In his latest announcement, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has indicated significant overhaul in the way its news-feed algorithm is going to function, going forward. By providing content that encourages social interactions per se, the flagship social network seeks to place more emphasis on doling out content from friends and family and moving away from public content, i.e., posts from businesses, brands and media outlets.

Prioritizing person-person engagement

In a bid to engage users more actively, Facebook plans to customize users’ news-feed such that they will see more posts from their immediate social groups. Based on significant academic research conducted by the product team at Facebook, the move seeks to adopt a pro-active and communal approach to building strong social networks rather than superficial surface interactions. Prioritizing what your friends and family share is part of an effort by Facebook to help people spend time on the site in what it thinks is a more meaningful way to build stronger bonds.

Read: Influencer Marketing: Employees are the new influencers!

Increasing community interaction

In a post he shared on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg wrote, “By making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down. But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable. And if we do the right thing, I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.

Yet another aspect that has probably led to this latest update in Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm is to emphasize the idea that Facebook primarily seeks to promote a user’s well-being through genuine social interactions among close-knit circles.

Promote more organic content; diminishing chances of fake news

By tweaking its news feed such that it cuts down on the posts from businesses and media houses, Facebook may see an opportunity to be able to avoid a repeat of the bad press it received during the 2016 US election when it became a breeding ground for “fake news”, helping spread stories that misled millions.

By reducing the number of third parties in the whole equation of social networking, Facebook may seek to restore the “social” part of social media.

So, what could this mean for the advertising community/publishers?

Due to this move, media houses are bracing to times when there would be a possible lull and significant de-emphasis on news material.  Businesses may have to rethink their advertising strategies in organizing their content. That technically means less or no traffic to their websites. So that could well signal the end of clickbait. We are in for interesting times!

Read: How will IoT influence marketing?

What could have led to this overhaul?

This change in the trajectory could have well stemmed from the fact that Facebook, in the past year, has come under severe governmental scrutiny for its role in spreading misinformation and hate speech. Not just that, a couple of former Facebook insiders came out in the open speaking out about social media’s addictive nature and its harmful impact on society. And as a result of all these accusations hurled back and forth, users will soon be more likely to see a post from a friend than a viral video.

The bottom line!

In more ways than one, Facebook is making an attempt at getting back to its basics: connecting people.

When governance in India goes digital

Making e-governance work for India

Visiting the official website of Digital India (www.digitalindia.gov.in) is a lesson in patience. But, as the wise say, the fruit of patience is sweet. After about half a dozen ‘clicks’, one is likely to chance upon the Digital India eBook – with cool infographics and curious statistics.

Did you know that:

  1. India had 40 crore smart phone users in May 2017, as compared to 22 crore in June 2014?
  2. The number of internet users more than doubled from 24.3 crore to 50 crore in three years!
  3. The number of e-governance transactions per day grew from 96.9 lakh in 2014 to 3.5 crore in April 2017?

 

As a key component of the Government of India’s Digital India initiative, e-governance aims to “radically transform the quality of governance by the creative use of digital technology”. From Aadhaar (electronic identification of citizens) to UMANG (unified mobile application for new-age governance), there’s a lot of buzz around e-governance. But is it really working?

Breaking walls, building bridges 

Traditionally, government services have been synonymous with dense bureaucratic red tape. Running from pillar to post, greasing palms of officials, waiting for the powers that be to oblige. Now, with digital governance, things are slowly changing at the ground level.

Rajasthan has been in the forefront of this digital revolution, with successful e-governance practices, such as Rajasthan Payment Platform, Raj Wi-Fi, eBazaar, eSanchar, and iFact, to name some. Launched in 2004, Rajasthan Government’s e-Mitra was among the first multi-modal platforms in the country (with a dedicated web portal, mobile app and kiosks across the state) to offer a single-window access to all government services. Its USP remains the sheer convenience of having integrated services, such as utility bill payment, banking, application and digitally-signed certificate services, tele-medicine, etc at your fingertips.

The Bhamashah Yojana is another fine example of an effective e-governance initiative. The first of its kind direct benefit transfer scheme in the country, it works on the simple premise that every woman should have a bank account and Bhamashah Card. The idea is to empower women to be decision-makers of the family, as beneficiaries (monetary and otherwise) under various government welfare schemes. And all this, through a single, hassle-free digital medium.

Read: Significance of Citizen Services Experience Management in Governments and Public Sector

Global technology, local focus 

State governments are now collaborating with global tech innovators to boost digital infrastructure in the remotest corners of the country. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has formed a company named Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) with the sole aim of setting up and managing its ambitious transformative information highway for the state – AP Fiber Grid. In a landmark agreement signed recently with US-based X Development LLC that works on cutting-edge technologies, Andhra Pradesh is all set to bring high quality and affordable digital services (data, voice and video) to about 53 million people in the state by 2019.

With advanced technology, getting the benefits of e-governance to the hard-to-reach areas is becoming more feasible. In fact, the government of Karnataka is working on a project, whereby Wi-Fi will be installed in all gram panchayats across the state. Gujarat, on the other hand, has computerized record keeping of accounts and maintenance of tax registers at the village level, courtesy its e-GRAM project.

Even as state-level digital platforms are gaining steam, there’s an emergence of local apps focussing on micro issues. ‘We Are Kannur’, for instance, is an e-governance mobile app on the android platform – developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) – that brings all aspects of this district in Kerala onto one platform. From finding addresses and contact details of government departments or officials to rating and reviewing government services, the app seeks to become a one-stop-shop for all Kannur-related information.

Earlier this month, Rajasthan became the first state to adopt vernacular e-mail. Following the chief minister, all government officials in the state will soon have an email id in Hindi. How long before the others start aiming for the low-hanging fruits?

Two to tango – the challenges 

Digital transformation, whether in the corporate setting or government environment, demands the right infrastructure and technology expertise. To truly empower citizens and improve administrative efficiency, governments at the Centre as well as State levels need to collaborate with trustworthy IT partners for digitally-powered solutions.

Digital India initiatives, like Aadhaar, have exposed us to concerns of data theft and cyberattacks. We need scrupulous moderators between the unsecured public domain and sensitive government data. To accelerate the deployment of digital services across the country, the government needs to join hands with industry experts, who can facilitate integrated and interoperable service delivery.

In the meantime, the Indian e-juggernaut continues its course.

The Entrepreneur Roundup | Episode 1 | Chandra Vadhana R | T4Trainer.com

Chandra Vadhana R | T4Trainer.com

Nobody goes through more ups and downs, in a single day, than an entrepreneur. In today’s interview, Mukund Krishna, CEO of Suyati Technologies and Committee Member in Kerala for NASSCOM’s 10,000 Startups Initiative, talks to Chandra Vadhana, Entrepreneur and Founder of T4Trainer.com, a portal dedicated to the training of trainers.

A social, and a serial, entrepreneur, Chandra brings energy, passion, and conviction to every project she handles. Watch as she answers questions on being a woman entrepreneur, on what she will do if she wins a lottery, and how NASSCOM helped her business to grow.

3 technology trends revolutionizing the education space

Education’s digital rebirth has the power to transform the world

It is said that access to education brings equal opportunity. Back in the day, one had to travel miles and miles to get a good education. Now, with digital transformation disrupting the education industry with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and Online Learning, the world’s best professors are in the palm of your hands. The potential this represents to uplift sections of society, to penetrate into the most rural areas and provide its inhabitants access to the world’s cutting edge knowledge, is massive.

Blended Learning & Flipping the Classroom 

In 2004, when Salman Khan created maths lessons on Yahoo doodles, he had only one intention: to teach his cousin over the internet. When word got around, he decided to upload the videos on YouTube and scores of students across America began using the videos which led him to found the non-profit Khan Academy. Today, Khan Academy has over a billion videos, has 40 million students and is an international phenomenon. It has popularized the concept of a flipped classroom, where the classroom structure is inverted. Much of the course materials are provided online or in a digital format and students study at their own pace. In the classroom, learning is more focussed and is used for problem-solving, group work and one-on-one mentoring.

Flipped classrooms will change the role of the teacher and student. It gives student the power to explore and follow their interests, while teachers adopt the role of the ‘guide-on-the-side.’ You can read the story of how a fifth grade teacher in California has integrated Khan Academy’s lesson into her curriculum. And the result: Only 3% of her students were marked as average or below in the annual tests, down from 13% at the mid-terms.

Revolutionizing the way corporates train 

MOOCs and Online Learning Platforms are having a significant impact in the corporate learning and development programs. HR and L&D heads are re-thinking the ways their resources need to be trained, especially with digital transformation making most of the existing roles obsolete. Employees need to constantly learn and upskill themselves to match emerging job responsibilities. MOOCs have enabled companies such as Google and Yahoo to smoothly onboard new employees and to upskill existing employees acquire new skills. The corporate e-learning market is expected to reach about $31 billion by 2020 growing at a rate of CAGR of 11%. Course providers such as Lynda.com, Coursera and Edx are emerging platforms with the primary aim of helping individuals advance their careers. While some of the courses are free, there are different models from subscription-based access to pay-per-course. The 2016 Brandon Hall Group survey reveals that corporate KPIs showed a strong tendency to improve, on average, over 10% in terms of revenue for 43% of the companies surveyed and in terms of productivity for 53% of the companies surveyed.

Big Data and Predictive Analytics 

The possibility of combining blended learning concepts (such as the flipped classroom) with big data analytics and predictive analytical tools has immense possibilities. Edtech companies and schools are not oblivious to this growing phenomenon. Knewton is a startup that has built an adaptive engine which can sift through tons of data to deliver personalised content and courses, specifically suited to the learning needs and abilities of each student. Knewton has partnered with Pearson to integrate their adaptive engine to Pearson’s courses. As Knewton looks to access Pearson’s database of over 9 million students, it hopes to identify how students respond to different course content and deliver personalized recommendations.

Big Data and predictive analysis will play a large role in reducing student dropout rates. It can also predict chances of students dropping out and providing remedial measures as in the case of this high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma which raised its graduation rate from 53% to 75% in three years using a data-driven approach. When you consider that the  average dropout costs the taxpayers close to $300,000 over their lifetime, and that nearly 80% of the incarcerated are high school dropouts, there lies tremendous potential for schools and colleges in this area.

Mobile Learning for Social Empowerment 

One of the emerging areas of technology growth has been in offering mobility solutions through learning apps. This has immense potential to uplift people in rural areas where access to infrastructure of quality teachers are constrained. Eneza Education is a for-profit company that is pursuing its mission of helping 50 million students in Africa to become smarter. They do this by delivering educational lessons and quizzes on mobile phones through SMS. Eneza has over a million users and users can access courses for as less as 10 cents per week. The primary focus on delivering content through SMS is to ensure it is accessible to all, even those who do not have expensive smartphones or live in rural areas which have inadequate coverage. Projects like these can be implemented across developing nations, helping them leapfrog in to the future. Mobile learning will play a large role in delivering content, keeping track of student’s progress and offering guidance and counselling.

What does the future hold? 

Edtech is an exciting space to be in. Novel ideas of creating and delivering personalised content on a global scale can democratize the education system, creating equal opportunity for all. The opportunities that analytics bring with it can create adaptive and dynamic courses, closely matching the needs and speeds of the students. But the edtech space is not just for schools and graduates. Companies too will need to embrace the concept of MOOCs and Online learning to prepare their employees for a digital future.

Influencer Marketing: Employees are the new influencers!

employee influence marketing

Our employees are the face of a transparent and real-time brand for our companies. They cause the emotional enchantment, by telling their stories, to attract the top talent, giving our companies the best chance for success now and in the future Shaunda Zilich, Global Employment Brand Leader, General Electric

Credible. Authentic. Trustworthy.

The chances are that most customers don’t connect your branding and marketing efforts with these words! However, when your employees share your branding material, the trust factor spirals up. Why is that?

Consider this statistic from Nielsen:

Employees have a greater degree of trust in their individual networks; so much so that 77% of consumers are likely to make a purchase after hearing about it from someone they trust.

Based on a study conducted by Cisco:

Employee posts can generate 8X more engagement than branded content from an organization. Furthermore, their social media accounts usually have 10X more reach.

Employee-driven marketing is all about employees within an organization doing the talking and promoting their organization’s brand through their personal social networks. This has an intrinsic credibility. This is why employees can boost an organization’s visibility on social media through serious advocacy measures.  

So how can you leverage your employees as powerful brand advocates?

  1. Invest in the right tools: According to Edelman, employees are twice as trusted as CEOs and consumer activists to further marketing goals. Employee advocacy is now an integral part of social media management. Therefore, it makes a lot of business sense to equip employees with the right tools to channel their advocacy skills. Building an employee advocacy platform that curates content makes it viable for them to share relevant, brand-approved content and build a brand voice across social media channels.
  2. Empower your employees: On an average, the re-sharing frequency of brand messages is 24x more when distributed by employees. A Forbes study revealed that 72.6% of employees engaging in social selling outperform non-social media users. To tap the complete potential of employees as brand advocates, it is important for them to feel valued and heard. Leverage your employee base by creating an environment that fosters a culture of openness and trust. This can be done by initiating inputs from them on what kind of content they would want to present online. By actively engaging them in the entire process, you can build a degree of sincerity around the process of brand engagement.

Employee advocacy or influencer marketing is not a new phenomenon. As early as 2005, L’Oreal’s employees were engaging in influencer marketing strategies.  In a bid to further employee engagement goals, L’Oréal firmly believes in incorporating employee engagement strategies right through employee induction and onboarding processes. This they believe is the first step towards promoting a culture of employee advocacy and developing thought leaders. Under the hashtags #LifeAtLoreal and #LorealCommunity, employee advocates at L’Oreal share user-generated content (UGC) and quotes about life working at L’Oreal.

Related: 4 Reasons why your Brand needs an Advocacy Marketing Program

Yet another case in point is the leading telecommunications conglomerate, AT&T. Called the Social Circle, AT&T’s primary aim at developing employee advocates is by identifying employees who are most active on social media and use their accounts to help promote the company. By also allowing a certain degree of online freedom, the organization allowed employees to use their personal voice to make a visible difference to their marketing efforts.

As part of its brand advocacy strategy, Starbucks has empowered its employees right from the word go by referring to them as “partners”. Created as an internal program, Starbucks Partners aims at bringing together its employees who seek to promote the brand on social media. In a bid to promote stock ownership and partially in an effort to make everyone in the company feel equally valued, Starbucks partners use hashtags such as #tobeapartner and #moments of connection to increase a sense of belongingness.

Building an employee-friendly culture has been an intrinsic part of Zappos organizational ethos.  Known for its incredibly open work environment, Zappos gives a sneak peek into its culture through its Twitter handle @eyezapp and uses @InsideZappos to host the #InsideZappos tweetchat among employees. The chat engages its employees in a transparent way and reinforces the power of brand advocacy. What’s more? There’s even a company leaderboard that shows which employees are on Twitter and how many followers they have.

At Suyati, we use SOCXO’s white-label app called SocialArmy extensively to build awareness about Suyati’s branding and event marketing efforts. We successfully participated at DreamForce’17, waving on the ride of shares and tweets by over 100 employee advocates who helped us create over a 100K impressions in just 10 days. In fact, the Suyati name was trending along with Salesforce and other Fortune 100 giants!

If you do not have an employee advocacy program in place in your enterprise, I think it is high time you started one.