Online and Mobile: The Potential of Personalized Health Information
Friday, March 16th, 2012 | Mobile, Trends and Emerging Issues, Web Communications | 2 Comments
An average 24 year old will spend more time on Facebook than they will with their doctor in 20 years, according to Razorfish Health. Given this type of reality, how do you unlock the potential prowess of personalized health in online and mobile health strategies? That is the question.
Personalized Medicine vs. Personalized Health
We are in an age of personalized medicine. Personalized medicine refers to therapies that can be tailored to an individuals own genetics and physiology. Some relate this to genomics as a way to bridge the gap between the Human Genome Project to individualized healthcare. According to a report from the Kaufman Foundation, “personalized medicine” is a part of a broader field called personalized health.
Personalized health “includes predictive tests and technologies for individuals and for society, and science-based strategies to prevent or mitigate disease and poor health.” We don’t have to look too far to see personalized health at work, especially given the ongoing evolution in mobile technologies, digital strategies, online communities and health IT.
4 Additional Ps
In social marketing, we talk about 4 P’s (Price, Product, Place and Promotion) and sometimes 8 P’s (adding in Policy, Publics, Partnerships, and Purse Strings). Personalized health involves four Ps of its own as part of P4 Medicine:
- Predictive Medicine denotes the creation of therapeutics that will prevent a disease that a person is assessed to have a high probability of developing.
- Preventive Medicine refers to the development of a probabilistic health projection for a person based on his or her DNA and protein expression.
- Personalized Medicine refers to treating an individual based on his or her unique human genetic variation, completing the predictive and preventive efforts above.
- Participatory Medicine denotes patients’ active, informed involvement in their medical choices and care, acting in partnership with their health provider.
Going Online and Mobile
The Pew Internet & American Life Project recently released a new presentation titled, “Mobile is the Needle; Social is the Thread” which highlights the change in how information is integrated into our daily lives as compared to the turn of the century. One of the sound bytes that pops out the most is that “information is now portable, participatory and personal.” Question for you: Would you describe your current online efforts, mobile initiatives or content in the same manner?
Potential privacy questions aside, how can we apply personalized health online and via mobile devices–in an effective manner? Effective is the key word. Example: 80% of American Internet users have looked for health information online while 10% of American adult cell phone users have signed up for a health app–yet 26% of mobile apps are used only once.
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in what Darcy Sawartzki describes in her latest post for Social Marketing Quarterly: People like to make stuff–vs. make stuff happen. Perhaps we should take a step back from creating more apps, more Web pages, more online communities and ask: What are the small steps we need to take first? What are the motivations behind the little behaviors that can add up to big changes?
Moving Forward
Thankfully, learning how to make small steps towards big changes is the theme of B.J. Fogg’s Mobile Health Conference this May. Fogg has been looking into the science and psychology behind habit making and how this leads to success in three areas: behavior change, collaborations, and experience design. B.J. Fogg is also known for saying: “Put hot triggers in the way of motivated people” when it comes to designing for success. This starts to make even more sense when you look at what mobile apps researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found to be effective:
- Those that send reminders to keep patients, such as those with HIV or TB, on their drug regimens.
- Those that send messages to help people change harmful behaviors such as smoking.
- Those that use texts about specific goals and behaviors to aid in weight loss.
In their research, one participated said she preferred one app over another “because it was more personalized.” If your not familiar with the personalized health movement yet, it might be time to get on board. As one source says: Whether it’s mobile or digital health–it’s all personalized [health] to us.”
*****
Additional Resources:
- The Personalized Medicine Coalition
- The Personalized Health Manifesto (see pg. 57)
- The Future is Quantified
- A “High Touch” Approach to Personalized Mobile Health
What’s In A Campaign? That Which We Call Change
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 | Social Change, Trends and Emerging Issues | 3 Comments
As the science behind social change evolves, how we approach our work must too. And sometimes, it is just semantics. But sometimes, it’s not. It’s a difference in mentality.
Take the idea of a “campaign” for example. The word campaign itself brings with it assumed processes, methods and associations. It also ranks up there with “awareness” as one of the most overused and over-relied upon words in public health. We can do better.
The word-of-mouth company, Brains on Fire, wrote a brilliant manifesto on the inherent differences between a campaign and a movement that can help point us in the right direction:
Campaigns have a beginning and an end.
Movements go on as long as kindred spirits are involved.
Campaigns are part of the war vocabulary. (target, launch, dominate markets…)
Movements are part of the evangelist vocabulary. (evangelize, passion, love…)
Campaigns are dry and emotionally detached.
Movements are organic and rooted in passion.
Campaigns rely on traditional mediums.
Movements rely on word of mouth, where the people are the medium.
Campaigns are part of the creationist theory—we’re going to create something cool
and people will talk about it.
Movements are part of the evolutionist theory—whatever we co-create with the fans
they can own and run with it, which will evolve over time.
Campaigns are you talking about yourself.
Movements are others talking about you.
Campaigns are an ON/OFF switch.
Movements are a volume dial—and there’s no zero.
Campaigns add to awareness.
Movements add to credibility.
Campaigns are “you vs. us.”
Movements are “let’s do this together.”
Next week, the University of Florida’s Center for Digital Health and Wellness will host its first Digital Health Communications Extravaganza. May we approach the week with the idea that we want sustainable movements of change focused on outcomes, impact and building relationships that strengthen communities.
Will you be at #DHCX? What other words rank up there on your list of over-used and over-relied upon?
flickr credit: JanneM
Is Talking About Spirituality and Social Change Taboo?
Monday, January 23rd, 2012 | Faith, Trends and Emerging Issues | 3 Comments
What shapes your world view? How does your world view influence your work to change the world for the better?
Growing up, we’re told we shouldn’t talk about two things: politics and religion. Yet these two things often help set the foundation of one’s world view. How do we go about changing the world for the better if we can’t talk about either? It’s not realistic--Is it?
“If I hear one more politician croak out the words that his or her faith is a private matter, I may just have to go smack them. That is so not reality. All of us have a worldview and that worldview shapes everything we think, act, or do.” --Kay Warren, Saddleback Church
How does Spirituality + Social Change Add Up?
This post is prompted by two different events:
- Learning about the upcoming Justice Conference taking place next month, and
- Listening to a keynote address by Kay Warren at Pepperdine University’s 2010 conference, The Role of the Church in Doing Justice
The role of spirituality in social change has a lot to answer for--humans have a history of twisting one to achieve selfish desires and horrific acts. That said, does this mean that spirituality should not be a part of the social change dialogue? When you read social marketing texts or go to conferences, you don’t always hear a lot of chatter about mobilizing the network of the church or other faith-based organizations in efforts. Is it too taboo? How can we bring these two worlds closer together for good?
Mobilizing the Place “P”
In 2009, President Obama created the Office of Faith-Based Organizations and Neighborhood Partnerships, but how can we challenge ourselves--as both practitioners and people with our own world views--to go a step further?
In social marketing circles, practitioners often look at the distribution network of Coca-Cola and ask how can we utilize the place “p” and mobilize it for good? Some, like ColaLife, are already a step ahead of many. In Kay Warren’s address, she discusses how the widespread distribution network that local churches offer can offer a sustainable solution to global health and international development efforts. To highlight the potential of this network, she shows how there are three rudimentary hospitals in Western Rwanda yet 726 churches.
Kay Warren goes on to present The PEACE Plan, a “hopeful response to the five giant problems in the world: spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy.” Kay and her husband Rick Warren (author of a Purpose Drive Life) created The PEACE Plan with the goal to mobilize a billion ordinary church members--or half of the world’s Christian population--to do normal tasks that make a difference in the world.
Who is the Hero?
One of the key points from Kay Warren’s keynote is the value and dire need for servant leadership, people who lead by serving others. This is a mentality and perspective we can bring into every meeting, every conversation and every interaction with others. No matter where you stand on whether or not spirituality is appropriate to discuss in social marketing circles, I personally encourage you to watch the video above. You’ll see common themes between that which we work to achieve in social marketing and the spirituality expressed.
What do you think? How does the spirituality fit into social change? Or, is it too taboo to discuss?
Passion Meets Purpose – Let’s #Rock2012
Friday, January 13th, 2012 | Multiple Sclerosis, SocialButterfly | 6 Comments
How are you applying purpose to your passion? Between blogging with Razoo and working at IQ Solutions on fun projects such as launching Healthy People 2020 and our Nation’s Leading Health Indicators, it’s been awhile. There are two announcements I want to share:
Evolving Beyond the Free Agent Fundraiser
Jo Rampy crossing the finish line at the inaugural TRI 2 Encourage with her family.
My family and I (pictured above) have launched a nonprofit foundation to help advance multiple sclerosis research called the Rampy MS Research Foundation. Our vision? Find a cure for MS within our lifetime. You may recall how my family and I have been free-agent fundraisers for the multiple sclerosis community over the past six years. From all of our efforts combined, we’ve been a part of raising half a million dollars for MS.
Wanting to place a focus on MS research specifically, we’ve made our work official by achieving 501(c)3 status. Spearheaded by my dad, we have already created a partnership with the University of Arkansas’s Medical Sciences (UAMS) Department of Neurology and Multiple Sclerosis. Together, we are hosting an MS Research Symposium on January 24 where we will be kicking off 2012′s TRIFEST for MS happening this upcoming Labor Day in Bentonville, AR. Expect more updates on this as our Foundation continues to grow.
Read Our Family’s Story - Follow Our Chief Encouragement Officer on Twitter
Introducing Professor Bornkessel
One of my aspirations is to always be learning. To grow, you challenge yourself by embarking on new adventures–such as teaching the first-ever “Health Promotion & Social Media” course at American University.
If you want to follow along, I’m having the students read the latest edition of Kotler and Lee’s book, Social Marketing: Influencing Behaviors for Good and The Dragonfly Effect by Stanford Professor Jennifer Aaker. Students will also be partaking in a number of labs and projects to not only grow their knowledge but also learn by doing. Over the semester, I will work to share insights gained from this experience and questions raised on the role of social media in health promotion and behavior change. In other words, this blogger is back!
How are you spreading your wings in 2012?
Social Media Is Not a Marketing Strategy
Sunday, November 20th, 2011 | Social Media, Trends and Emerging Issues | 6 Comments
There, I said it. Social media in and of itself is not a strategy (gasp). It does not replace a solid marketing approach or even a communications plan. To be successful, it must be integrated into a larger strategic framework. This applies to organizations as well as programs, initiatives and (my dreaded word) campaigns.
Harvard Business Review recently published an article titled “Separate Social Media From Marketing:”
…we need to break out social media and talk about more than marketing and technology. Instead, we need to talk about what social media enables: the ability to collaborate in new ways — which is particularly important for business leaders interested in creating more collaborative, innovative, and engaging organizations. [...]
The use of these platforms can truly transform a business by moving beyond brand marketing. Social media has enabled business leaders to think differently about how they engage and interact with both customers and employees. But just because you’ve opened the door doesn’t mean you’ve crossed the threshold into a new way of working, managing, and leading.
Your marketing team might have the best handle on social media, but what about other departments in your organization? When you change the focus from the technology to more about what the technology enables and what you want to achieve, then you change the conversation. You start to be strategic.
An Opportunity for Social Marketers
Craig Lefebvre on Twitter the other day shared an article on Paramount and how they are changing their approach to mobile from brand awareness to driving a behavioral outcome (buying a movie ticket). How we use social media should also evolve. In fact, how we view marketing and communications in general needs to evolve. Marketing isn’t something you think about “later,” it’s about so much more than communications and it doesn’t live within just one team. It’s integral to your success now and everyone plays a role.
I’ve written before about the “Word of the Year.” As December nears, I’m starting time for reflection early and designating all of December a time to ponder on the past, step back from the present and imagine tomorrow. My first thought? 2012′s”Word of the Year” might just be integration.
Reading Up On Social Determinants of Health
Monday, October 10th, 2011 | Changeblogging, Health 2.0, Research and Evaluation, Social Design | No Comments
October may be Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but a number of articles came out last week focusing on social determinants of health. The phrase “social determinants of health” refers to health where we live, learn, work, play (and pray). In short, Health with a capital H.
U.S. Life Expectancy Rises, Health Disparities Increase
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shared its review of Healthy People 2010. The report shared that as a Nation, we had met or were moving toward meeting, 71% of the disease prevention and health promotion objectives we set in 2000.
Despite this, the data also underscored the need for improvement in a number of critical areas, including health disparities and obesity rates. These two issues, as well as other key indicators of health, are top priorities of Healthy People 2020 (disclaimer: client).
“…Addressing health disparities continues to be our greatest challenge,” said Dr. Edward Sondik, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). “…All Americans should be concerned that disparities among people from socially, economically or environmentally disadvantaged backgrounds have generally remained unchanged.”
*****
Examining a 40-Year Spread in Life Expectancy Abroad
The October issue of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Bulletin is packed full of information on social determinants of health–including examples of work in progress and insights gained from around the world.
“Yes, there is a greater than 40-year spread in life expectancy among countries and dramatic social gradients in health within countries,” said Michael Marmot of University College London in his editorial. “But the evidence suggests that we can make great progress towards closing the health gap by improving, as the [World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health] put it, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.”
The bulletin includes another editorial that highlights potential solutions to improving the social determinants of health, as well as a number of research articles and relevant news.
*****
An Agenda for Fighting Disparities
What are the Occupy Wall Street protests all about? Author Geoff Livingston describes its as a “groundswell of economic injustice.” Playing a role behind the scenes in economic and social injustice are social determinants of health and health disparities. Perhaps it’s time to bring them to the forefront.
The October issue of Health Affairs presents an agenda on fighting disparities. In it, Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for HHS, discusses a key part of this agenda, HHS’ National Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Analysis and commentary on how health reform may impact health disparities is also provided. What might be most surprising is that one research study included in the issue, shares that only 59% of Americans are even aware that health disparities exist!
*****
No Black-White Health Gap in Canada Says Study
Meanwhile, our friends in Canada may be one step ahead. According to a recent study and as reported in BET, “blacks are equally healthy as their white counterparts.” BET went on to say:
“Thomas A. LaVeist, a co-author of the study and director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions in Baltimore says that he believes America’s history of treating Blacks as second-class citizens plays a large role in the Black-white health disparity that exists in the U.S.”
As a heads up, LaVeist also cautions taking the results at their surface as the the results could have significant limitations because the survey included just 729 Blacks, compared with more than 280,000 whites reported BET.
*****
Health is About More Than Healthcare
LaVeist also published another study about how place–and not necessarily race–contributes to health disparities. The study, based on a neighborhood in Baltimore composed equally of whites and blacks, found that within the integrated community, health disparities all but disappear. This suggests that as a Nation, we’ve been looking for answers on how to improve health the wrong way. Instead, we should be looking at what’s going on in certain communities that what’s going on within certain populations. As quoted in the Atlantic:
“Solutions to health disparities are likely to be found in broader societal policy and policy that is not necessarily what we would think of as health policy,” LaVeist says. “It’s housing policy, zoning policy, it’s policy that shapes the characteristics of communities.”
*****
flickr credit: woodleywonderworks
Activating The Global Health Trifecta
Friday, October 7th, 2011 | Policy and Advocacy, Social Change, Social Innovation, Trends and Emerging Issues | No Comments
Image: PSI
Is foreign aid important to Americans? According to a recent poll, most Americans believe U.S. investment in foreign aid is 25% of the Federal budget, when the accurate figure is less than one percent. When asked what would be an appropriate percentage, the median amount shared was 10%. Yet–even that less than 1% is in jeopardy.
Earlier this week, ONE, USAID, FHI 360, PATH, Population Services International (PSI) and World Vision launched “The Power of 1%” campaign to highlight the economics of global health and the benefits U.S. investments overseas have for Americans at home. Having attended, I was reminded of the global health trifecta: what can happen when the power of 1%, the power of the media and the power of youth combine to influence and inspire good.
The Power of 1%
When it comes to emphasizing the true power of 1%, it’s important to not only look at the positive impact it has on the individuals and communities it supports. It also serves to improve the economy here at home and help increase national security. In August 2010, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton announced the State Department’s Global Health Initiative, working to improve global health as a way to achieve diplomacy.
“We know that the health of people in any nation is inextricably linked to the growth of its economy and security,” said Donald Steinberg, Deputy Administrator for USAID, “We invest in the health of developing nations because it is the right thing to do, and because our economy and security is dependent upon it as well.”
Addressing global health is now a part of the U.S.’ international diplomacy efforts as well as on our health agenda. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added global health as a new area of focus for its Healthy People 2020 initiative (disclaimer: client) which was released in December 2010. The Healthy People 2020 global health topic area looks to address five specific objectives to “improve public health and strengthen U.S. national security through global disease detection, response, prevention, and control strategies.”
Not only is funding critical to achieve these goals, but an important step will be enabling and empowering the global citizen to play an active role. Our world is growing (estimated to reach 7 billion by October 31) but it’s also shrinking. We are becoming more connected and more aware of the problems we face and the commonalities we share–mainly due to the next component in the trifect, the power of media.
The Power of Media
9 in 10 adults agree that digital technology can turn interest in a cause into a movement. Facebook has over 800 million active users and is translated in 70 languages. Six in ten Americans go online wirelessly using a laptop or cell phone. 86% of adults ages 18-29 use social networking.
We’ve already seen the power of media at work. Online fundraising raised over $20 billion dollars in 2010. Technology is saving lives and enabling communication. Community-funded journalism and citizen journalists are changing how the news is reported. Add to this innovations such as Random Hacks of Kindness, Code for America, Crisis Camps, Ushahidi, accessible health data and a slew of additional examples. And it’s not just digital technology and the mobile Web at work.
ABCNews was awarded for its global health coverage. In December 2010, ABC News launched a year-long effort to provide coverage on global health in the developing world with the help of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Today, ABCNews continues its commitment to global health through it’s One Million Moms Challenge, which focuses on improving maternal health globally.
Media–no matter the form it takes–can help not only increase awareness but also inspire action.
The Power of Youth
“More than 60 percent of the world’s population is under the age of 30,” said Ronan Farrow, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues, at a High Level Meeting on Youth, in the U.N. General Assembly this past July. “And that demographic, increasingly empowered by the new technologies that we’ve discussed…is increasingly a potential driver of great economic and social reform.”
Farrow, a dynamic speaker with genuine assertiveness in his belief in youth, also acknowledges that the “[youth] demographic can be one of the great threats to national, international, stability and security.” Data shows that 86% of all nations with new outbreaks of civil conflict have significant majorities under the age of 30. This is one reason why the U.S. State Department has created its new Office of Global Youth Issues which Farrow leads.
“The United States is focusing on economic empowerment, through programs around the world that educate, create employment opportunities, and foster entrepreneurship for young people,” continued Farrow in his remarks. “We are launching initiatives that encourage civic participation, create local leadership opportunities, and develop linkages between young people and their governments.”
This is a call to action not only in our work abroad, but also here at home. How are you empowering youth in your community and in your work?
Start Today
At the event, organizers took video testimonies of what the power of 1% meant to attendees. To me, the power of 1% reminds me of how the heart of a person can inspire the power of a community for good. Funding and politics aside, one person can make a difference–and that’s what the campaign inspires. Somedays–it’s easy to forget the power you hold. Don’t doubt your purpose or question your mission. You were called for a reason.
Facebook, Health and the Pursuit of Happiness
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 | Social Media, Work + Life | 1 Comment
Facebook has become just about as integrated into American culture as apple pie. We all know apple pie tastes amazing–but when taken to the extreme and eaten on a consistent basis, it’s not exactly the healthiest food. This applies to Facebook as well. Facebook can offer a number of benefits–but it also has some potential drawbacks. And despite our shared love for Facebook, it’s important to be aware of its possible drawbacks. This post looks at a number of different research studies published in the past year that include some interesting findings.
Does Facebook help us feel more connected—or alone?
A recent set of studies found a paradox in Facebook psychology. The studies looked to answer the question: Does using Facebook help us feel more connected, or not? The results may surprise you.
The research was actually conducted through four different yet connected studies. The first study found that frequent Facebook usage relates to both increased connection–as well as increased feelings of disconnection. The second study found that disconnection motivates greater Facebook usage as a coping strategy as greater usage leads to greater connection (yes, this seems odd given the first study’s results).
The third study deprived participants of Facebook use for 48 hours. While feelings of connection decreased, the feeling of disconnection was unaffected. However, those who felt more disconnected actually engaged in increased Facebook use during a second 48-hour period.
In the fourth study, participants set a goal to reduce their use of Facebook. In setting this goal and working to achieve it, greater disconnection was felt. Those that had this feeling performed worse in achieving their goal.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Who has the best self esteem of them all?
Another study conducted by researchers at Cornell found that Facebook usage actually leads to increased self-esteem. “Facebook can show a positive version of ourselves,” associate professor Jeffrey Hancock told CNN. “We’re not saying that it’s a deceptive version of self, but it’s a positive one.”
Hancock is the co-author of a report titled, “Mirror, Mirror On My Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem” that was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking. The study put 63 students in a university computer lab. Some computers were turned off with a mirror in front of it—while others were turned on showing the student’s Facebook page.
For three minutes, participants either stared at themselves in a mirror or reviewed their Facebook profile. When time was up, students were given a questionnaire to measure their self-esteem. The students who had been reviewing their Facebook profile gave more positive feedback than the others. The participants that edited their Facebook profile actually gave themselves the highest marks.
“For many people, there’s an automatic assumption that the internet is bad,” Hancock is quoted saying in an article published by CNN. “This is one of the first studies to show that there’s a psychological benefit of Facebook.”
Is the grass really greener?
Another study supports this finding as it found that those who like themselves tend to share more of themselves through social networks. And, that those more active on social networks tend to think more highly of themselves.
At the same time, another set of research published this past January, found that Facebook reinforces the idea that “the grass is always greener” and that everyone else is happier and better off than you. This research “suggests that people may think they are more alone in their emotional difficulties than they really are.” Not exactly a recipe for great self-esteem…
What does this mean for us?
Given the mixed results already discussed, we know research has also found that Facebook and social networking can help increase connectedness among certain communities–especially when it comes to our health. This post is in no way meant to be a down-with-Facebook rant. More so, here’s the take-away for us: Have a self-awareness of the good and the bad impact Facebook may have on you, to your community and in your work. Knowing and understanding the positive impact technology can have as well as its potentially harmful effects is a part of digital literacy. For those working in public Health, it’s an awareness we need to consider.
BONUS: BJ Fogg’s Psychology of Facebook class is on my need-to-do list.
Do you know of additional research that looks into the psychology of Facebook? Please share!
flickr credit: Jason A. Samfield
New Research Suggests The Color Pink is Bad for Breast Cancer
Sunday, August 28th, 2011 | Nonprofits, Research and Evaluation | 5 Comments
A new research area around gender cues and its impact on awareness and fundraising efforts is just getting off the ground according to Dr. Stefano Puntoni, an Associate Professor of Marketing Management at the Rotterdam School of Management, in an interview conducted by Harvard Business Review.
“[Gender que research] is quite new…Over the past 10 years, researchers have put more effort into thinking about consumer welfare. What can we we do as researchers to help consumers make better decisions?” Dr. Puntoni said. “How can we effect change in areas like overeating and disease prevention? This is part of that. We could go more general with gender cue research, but breast cancer is such an important disease that I want to study this more on its own.”
Dr. Puntoni is talking about the findings from 10 different experiments over the past three years that suggest gender cues (such as the color pink) may be counter-productive to campaigns against women’s diseases, such as breast cancer awareness and fundraising efforts. The main insight from the research found that when women saw branding that included gender cues (like the color pink), the branding and ads were less effective. Why? Possibly because the subconscious goes into a state of denial, causing women to:
- Think they are less likely be at risk
- Say they are less likely to donate in reaction to a breast or ovarian cancer advertisement
The infographic below created by One to One Global highlights more of the Dr. Puntoni’s research:
Komen Responds
A spokeswomen for Susan G. Komen responded to the research in Ad Age saying that: “The research is food for thought but pink has worked well over the years,” she said. “I would say that in our experience for over 30 years now we’ve been pretty successful using pink. We’ve raised over $2 billion for research and community programs to help people with breast cancer. I don’t want to necessarily discount [the research]. It’s something to look at and consider, but our historic experience has been that we’re doing okay with the pink.”
The AdAge article continues:
Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer in 1980, also wore a lot of pink, the spokeswoman said, forming a strong association for her sister Nancy G. Brinker, who later founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “It’s not just a random color we selected,” she said. “It actually reflects the connection between the two sisters and the promise that was made.”
Though some have seen success with the color pink specifically, the research around gender cues is “something to consider” for breast cancer and beyond. Just like there’s cause fatigue, perhaps there’s been so much success—that younger generations of women don’t see the risk or the need to donate.
What do you think?
Margaret Mead Predicts Social Science
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 | Research and Evaluation, Social Change, Social Design | 5 Comments
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead said this in the early 20th century. Who knew that in the early nineteen hundreds, she’d be quoting today’s science?
A new study conducted at the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on how beliefs spread through social networks found that minority rules: Only 10% of a population needs to be convinced of a new or different opinion to change the beliefs of an entire community.
According to the article, there are two main take-aways for those in the public health space:
- Public health campaigns might do well to target a small percentage of a community.
- Getting an entire population to adopt a new belief might require simply convincing 10 percent to believe it first.
In an interview, Prof. Boleslaw Szymanski, director of SCNARC, was quoted saying:
“We suggested,” Sreenivasan said, “that instead of trying to convince everyone, it might make the most sense to target selectively the people who are open-minded enough to hear out the evidence and make up their minds rationally.”
Reading through the details of this study is fascinating and so many questions come to mind for future exploration:
- Is minority rule a good thing? This research helps us better understand the importance to develop messages, materials and services with a certain community in mind to help ignite a movement. However, taken to the extreme, one can’t help but wonder about this insight being applied with misguided intent.
- Is 10% the tipping point? Once you reach 10% of the population–is that the tipping point for spreading ideas through social networks and alter behaviors on a larger scale?
- Does this rule apply across the board? According to the article, the research is still in its early stages. It’s uncertain if this 10% rule will apply to all kinds of beliefs, especially political ones.
- How does this connect with influencer theory? So much has been said about the role of influencers: who they are and how to connect with them–and if that even matters. Craig Lefebvre made a good point during last week’s CDC conference that the hyper-focus on influencers leads to a “distraction from understanding who are the ‘influenced’ and what can we learn from them.” I tend to agree.
What about you–What’s your reaction to this research?
flickr credit: ThisParticularGreg
Alexandra Bornkessel
Email: abornkessel@fly4change.com
Search
Get Email Updates
Fly With Us
Recent Posts
Social-ites
Categories
The Buzz
Social Marketeers
Kudos
Helpful Peeps and Places
Resources
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
If you have questions, comments or concerns, email me at abornkessel@fly4change.com.
Technorati Profile