Ad Hoc Innovation by Users of Social Networks: The Case of Twitter

Ad Hoc Innovation by Users of Social Networks: The Case of Twitter
Assoc. Prof. Axel Bruns
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
a.bruns@qut.edu.au – http://snurb.info/ – @snurb_dot_info

Source: AllTwitter

Twitter Fundamentals
Core features:
140-character messages
Flat network structure: either public or private, following public accounts is non-reciprocal and needs no approval
Any user can be publicly addressed by name
Public Twitter messages visible even to non-users
Technological basis:
Relatively open and powerful API
Thriving ecosystem of third-party clients and applications

Twitter as User-Led Innovation
Major user innovations on Twitter:
@replies – mentions of user by name
@snurb_dot_infoThanks for posting this paper! It looks great.
Retweets – reposting of messages by other users:
OK. This is getting silly. RT @Telegraph: Welsh harpist ready for Royal Wedding http://tgr.ph/fXw62f
Hashtags – tagging messages as belonging to a topic:
#socialnetworksAd hoc innovation by users of social networks: The case of Twitter http://t.co/4XC690A

(news.com.au)

#qldfloods Tweets

Third-Party Innovation
Helper Websites:
URL shorteners: bit.ly, j.mp, t.co; also nyti.ms, tgr.ph, …
Photo/audio/videosharing: twitpic, yfrog, twaud.io, …
Client applications:
Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Yoono, …(also for multiplatform social media updates)
Capture, tracking, visualisation:
Twittermap, Ushahidi Maps
yourTwapperkeeper, Streamgraphs, …

The Twitter Innovation Ecology
Twitter and its API as a user toolkit:
Tools and rules which define an innovation space:
“Toolkits for users … can increase the volume of user innovation. They also can channel innovative effort into directions supported by toolkits.” (Eric von Hippel)
Collaborative, ad hoc, user-led development of solutions to address a wide and diverse range of needs
Emergence of a cottage industry of commercial and non-commercial developer groups and solutions providers

Social Innovation during the Floods
Self-organisation:
Rapid establishment of #qldfloodshashtag
Ad hoc development of community structures
Highlighting of leading accounts, vigilant against disruption
Suspension of petty squabbles (e.g. state politics)
Innovation and rapid prototyping:
Adjunct hashtags (#Mythbuster, #bakedrelief)
Sharing and gathering of online resources
Additional tools (Google Maps, Ushahidi Maps)
Emergency services rapidly adopting social media tools (despite lack of established strategies)

Twitter and Third-Party Innovation
Embedding of user-generated solutions:
Functions to send and track @replies and retweets
Functions to track hashtag feeds, trending topics lists
Functions to support embedded links and images
“Need-intensive tasks involved in developing a particular type of product or service are assigned to users, along with the tools needed to carry those tasks out. At the same time, solution-intensive tasks are assigned to manufacturers.” (Eric von Hippel)

Misunderstood User Innovations
Flawed implementation of retweets:
User-created manual retweet format allows for comments:
RT @Telegraph: Welsh harpist ready for Royal Wedding http://tgr.ph/fXw62f
OK. This is getting silly. RT @Telegraph: Welsh harpist ready for Royal Wedding http://tgr.ph/fXw62f
Twitter ‘button’ retweets are verbatim only:

The Battle for the URL Shortener Market
Twitter’s referrals ploy:
All URLs now automatically shortened to t.co links(even bit.ly, youtu.be, nyti.ms…)
All link referrals now pass through Twitter’s URL look-up
Twitter able to provide link traffic analytics
Overall demonstration of Twitter’s influence on traffic
Undermines third-party URL shortener ecosystem
Removes potential for ‘vanity’ URL shorteners

Increasing API Access Restrictions
Original model:
Moderate API access for all developers and researchers
‘Whitelisting’ of accounts for greater access on request
New model:
Moderate developer access remains
Higher-volume access provided via official reseller Gnip
Volume pricing: US$1 per 10,000 tweets delivered
Unaffordable for non-commercial researchers and independent developers?

Twitter Ecosystem under Threat?
Corporate priorities:
Twitter forced to generate revenue and attract funding
Increasing focus on Twitter stars and celebrity culture
Twitter infrastructure changes geared towards promoting message dissemination and tracking, not conversation
User priorities:
Self-organised communication and information sharing
Effective interpersonal and group communication
Straightforward and user-friendly link and content sharing
Unencumbered third-party tools development

Image by Maproom Systems

Axel Bruns
Associate Professor
ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation
Creative Industries Faculty
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane, Australia
Email: a.bruns@qut.edu.au
Twitter: @snurb_dot_info
Blog: http://snurb.info/
Produsage: http://produsage.org/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/snurb
More Information
Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond:From Production to Produsage(Peter Lang, 2008)

http://snurb.info	231
http://paper.li	73
http://www.mappingonlinepublics.net	71
http://multiblog.svn.be	52
http://multiblog.local	5
http://us-w1.rockmelt.com	4
http://twitter.com	2
http://campodigital.org	2
http://mappingonlinepublics.net	2
http://www.snurb.info	1

Ad Hoc Innovation by Users of Social Networks: The Case of Twitter

by Axel Bruns on Sep 18, 2011

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