Individuals != Groups
At first, this may sound like common sense but it is actually quite a critical and often over-looked observation. I was chatting with a colleague yesterday after receiving an Institute-wide e-mail for recruiting women aged between 18 and 50 who are not currently pregnant” (evidently poorly targeted, but that’s another story) to complete an online survey. I questioned whether Facebook Ads could’ve been used as well because you can target a large number of very specific demographics (i.e. I am never going to be a pregnant woman) through a similar information “push” model. Their response was that “I wouldn’t click a Facebook Ad, so why would anyone else?”. This made me think. I questioned what was so different that they considered e-mail “appropriate” and Facebook “inappropriate” to which they responded that via e-mail you know who the sender is as you can verify their e-mail address. There are lots of issues I have with this.
The first is “where is the proof that this is the case?” having read the Watts and Dodds paper on “Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion” they suggest that “large cascades of influence are driven not by individuals but by a critical mass of easily influenced individuals”. Many assume that people online make informed choices. That can’t be the case. While targeting the easily influenced may seem unethical, it is a sure-fire way for spreading information, fast. For example, if a Facebook Event was created it could spread through the social graph via activity streams creating a knock-on effect to influence others. Also, how do you communicate “authority” on an advertisement? My Guess: Facebook will create “Verified Ads” like Verified Applications. But, without evidence you cannot prove (or disprove) my theory. What saddens me is that nobody is willing to give it a chance and instead rule it out because they believe groups behave like individuals.
(And yes, I’ve heard of TrialX. However, this uses an information “pull” model as (for now, I presume) people need to actively search for trials in their area and have knowledge of the web site.)
About Me
Hey there! Welcome to my very shiny tumblog. I write about things that interest me, particularly innovative applications of information technology or services in the health informatics domain. This includes, but is not limited to, "things" such as patient-centred health care delivery, Generation Y/Millennials, pervasive health, social media and networking, the Internet of Things, The Staying Healthy Pathway, and many others. Feel free to contribute, (dis)agree and share.
