Designer Charles C. Dawson and "O Sing a New Song"

Charles C. Dawson (1889 - 1981) was an important African American designer, illustrator, and artist primarily active from the 1920s to 1940s in Chicago. Born in Georgia, Dawson attended the Tuskegee Institute, and the Art Institute of Chicago, worked as a Pullman Porter, and was a pioneer of African American art clubs and collectives in Chicago. Long-overlooked in the annals of design, in recent years, Dawson has finally received some of the recognition that he deserves. Recently, AIGA posted an online retrospective of Dawson’s work. Throughout his career, the prolific Dawson worked in commercial art, illustration, and fine art. Some of Dawson’s earlier designs were for packaging and advertisements for Valmor African American beauty and hair products, and some of these iconic images are Dawson’s most enduring in the public imagination. Pictured below is a draft of a full-page paste-up for an ad for Valmor products, as designed by Dawson.

Image from Design Observer

Dawson’s iconic illustrations were featured in several recent Chicago exhibits, first 2015’s, “Love for Sale: The Graphic Art of Valmor Products” (Design Observer has a great walk through of this exhibit) and in 2018, “African American Designers in Chicago: Art, Commerce and the Politics of Race,” both at the Chicago Cultural Center. With a long history of design work in Chicago, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that Charles Dawson also had a connection to the 1933-4 A Century of Progress World’s Fair. Dawson was commissioned by the National Urban League to create a mural depicting the Great Migration for their display in the Hall of Social Science, entitled Negro Migration: The Exodus. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a picture of this mural. However, one of Dawson’s other Century of Progress commissions gained even more traction.

In 1934, a large African American-focused pageant, “O Sing A New Song,” debuted at Soldier Field in the midst of the Fair, featuring the iconic poster above, designed by Dawson. Telling a dramatized history of African American history and culture, the pageant featured a large cast, as well as memorable performances by young choreographer/dancer Katherine Dunham, musician W.C. Handy, and entertainer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Unlike the 1933 African American Pageant at A Century of Progress, 1934’s “O Sing a New Song” was wildly successful, with a higher attendance and more community buy-in. The pageant’s poster, in particular, has stood the test of time, and is referenced as one of Dawson’s most iconic works. In 1933, Dawson also illustrated a children’s book about great figures in African American history, The ABCs of Great Negroes (as seen below). Dawson’s later career spanned the decades after the Fair and he served as the curator for the Museum of Negro Art and Culture and the George Washington Carver Museum from 1944 to 1951.

Image from Special Collections, Firestone Library, Princeton University

Findings from the Pew 2018 Teens and Social Media Report

It seems to be a common refrain that teens are on social media constantly, and are more wired than any generation that came before. But what does that really mean? The Pew Research Center recently published a new report about teens and social media use that illuminates this group's real habits on social media and attitudes toward technology.

One of the most interesting findings to me was the distribution of what social media networks that US teens aged 13-17 actually used. Other reports showed that Facebook was losing traction among younger demographics, and this finding was supported by the Pew report. Of the teens surveyed, 85% said they used YouTube, 72% Instagram, 69% Snapchat and only 51% used Facebook. Snapchat was the most used platform for 35% of the teens, followed by 32% who favored YouTube and 15% Instagram. In Pew's last teen survey, in 2015, 71% of teens were on Facebook.

This report also highlighted teen's typical technology use. A staggering 95% of teens had access to smartphones, up from 73% in 2015. An increased amount of teens (45%) in 2018 also stated that they were "almost constantly" online, up from 24% in 2015. The teens also voiced a mixed view on how social media had influenced their lives. Of those surveyed, 40% of teens felt that social media made it easier to connect with friends and family, while 27% felt that social media made it easier to spread rumors and bullying messages. For more findings and the complete report, visit Pew's website.

How to spot a Twitter Bot

It is a well known fact that automated Twitter accounts, or bots, are extremely prevalent, and beyond mere annoyance, Twitter bots have the ability to spread misinformation and cause real harm. Before you retweet or re-post on Twitter for yourself or on behalf of your organization, it is imperative make sure you are sharing information from a legitimate account. Twitter bots are defined as automatically controlled accounts that connect to Twitter through its API and post content without human intervention. Though not all Twitter bots are bad (take for instance the MOMA Bot, which retweets high-resolution photos from the Museum of Modern Art - though it is not officially affiliated with the museum). The problem is the subgroup of bots that aim to manipulate the information landscape by posting prolific amount of links and spammy content that can be used to spread false information, distort online debates, and game ratings systems. 

The Pew Research Center recently studied the prevalence of Twitter bots on the social network and found that 2/3rds of the links to popular sites in the study (over the summer of 2017) were shared by bots - defined in the study as "Accounts that can post content or interact with other users in an automated way and without direct human input." Though there are many bots on Twitter, a relatively small amount are responsible for a large quantity of shared links:

"This analysis finds that the 500 most-active suspected bot accounts are responsible for 22% of the tweeted links to popular news and current events sites over the period in which this study was conducted. By comparison, the 500 most-active human users are responsible for a much smaller share (an estimated 6%) of tweeted links to these outlets."

In the context of ongoing debates over the role and nature of bots, Pew Research Center set out to better understand how many of the links being shared on Twitter are being promoted by bots rather than humans. Our analysis found that an estimated two-thirds of tweeted links to popular websites are posted by automated accounts - not human beings.

So when faced with a potential bot, how do you successfully identify it? The Digital Forensic Research Lab, Poynter, and Data for Democracy have all outlined ways to spot bots, which I will summarize here:

1. Too many tweets. Looking for an unrealistic amount of activity is the hallmark of a bot. I was interested to learn that there are a variety of proposed cutoffs to indicate a botnet versus just a prolific poster. The Oxford Internet Institute defines more than 50 posts per day as suspicious, and the Digital Forensic Research Lab finds 72 tweets per day as suspicious and 144 per day as highly suspicious. If the account posts throughout the night, that is another indication of a bot.
2. Amplification. Botnets serve mainly to amplify to content of others by reposting or retweeting, with little to no original content of their own. Definitely check out the ratio of recycled versus original content to spot a bot. The prime object of malicious botnets is to spread certain kinds of information, and this same information is usually replicated across multiple linked bots, or "botnets," (often sharing the same content word for word). 
3. Instant replies. If you tweet at a bot, you may expect to receive an automated reply in seconds, an unlikely feat for a human.
4. Anonymity. Many of these bots are anonymous, or have user names made up of a nonsense jumble of characters. The profile photo, or lack thereof, may be another dead giveaway of a bot. If a profile photo is missing, that is a red flag, as is having a stock photo, a mismatch between the photo and username, generic imagery (like a flag) or celebrity photos. You can check out if a photo is original by running a reverse Google image search on the profile picture and seeing if it appears elsewhere.
5. Unusual posting habits. Posting patterns that seem "off" can usually be identified by scanning through the bot's previous post history. One of the surest giveaways of a bot it that it posts a large amount of advertising. Posting in multiple languages in a short span of time is also a likely sign of a bot. 

As a second opinion, you can submit the Twitter account to Botometer, a site developed by Indiana University Network Science Institute (IUNI) and the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research (CNetS), which has an algorithm to weed out bots. Some bots are harder to discern than others, but checking for a few of these qualities will help you know who you are dealing with, and will allow you to Tweet smarter. 

What are users' computer skill levels worldwide?

The world wide web has been around for over 2 decades, and personal computers for over 3 decades, but that doesn't mean that average users are skilled at using either. Though older age groups are often considered to be at a disadvantage, not all youths are skilled computer/internet users, either!

The Nielsen Norman group recently summarized a comprehensive study from the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an economic organization made up of industrialized countries) of worldwide computer users' skills. This study is fairly unique in its breadth: the data in the study spans 2011-2015 and covers 33 countries, with at least 5,000 people surveyed in each country, for a total of 215,942 people between 16 and 65. So just how skilled is the average global computer user? When faced with a pre-set list of 14 tasks, rated from easy to difficult, at least 25% of participants could not use a computer at all, or were only able to complete the easiest level of tasks.

The lowest level of skills, deemed "below level 1" included only a single step, for example, deleting an email message in an email app. An example of a level 1 skill is “Find all emails from John Smith.” Level 2 skills included further steps, for example: “You want to find a sustainability-related document that was sent to you by John Smith in October last year.” Level 3 - the highest level in this study - added a further element of assessment: “You want to know what percentage of the emails sent by John Smith last month were about sustainability.”

In each of the countries in the study, less than 10% of the population surveyed were able to complete the level 3 skills. Even the level 3 skills may seem relatively manageable, but it is worth noting that if you are reading this page, you are probably not a typical worldwide computer user. Jakob Nielsen makes a very valid point in his summary of the study: just because you can do something simply online or on a computer, that doesn't mean that the average user will be able to do the same. This really highlights the importance of user experience testing to make sure applications and websites make sense to the average computer user before they are rolled out.

How much time do people spend on social media?

Social media seems to be ubiquitous - but just how much of a factor is it in an average person's daily life? According to the 2016 Nielsen Social Media Report - it turns out that Americans spent an average of 36% more time on social media in 2016 than they did in 2015. Statista also corroborated that time spent on social media is on the rise, and those surveyed spent an average of just under 2 hours per day on social media in 2016, an amount that has increased each year. Global Web Index places the time spent on social media in 2016 at 1 hour and 50 minutes, which is 30% of all online time.

Nielsen found that the heaviest users spent over 3 hours a day on social media. According to Nielsen's report, the average time spent on social media by adults 18 and up is is 5.5 hours per week (seen below). This accounts for 22% of all media use surveyed (both on and offline). In a fact that is perhaps surprising, the youngest users surveyed were not the ones that spent the most time on social media. In fact, it was Generation X (ages 35-49) who clocked in with the most time  - almost 7 hours per week. Millennials spend just over 6 hours per week on social media. Females surveyed also spent more time on social media than males, and this was a larger percentage of all of their media consumption (25% vs. 19%).

What is the state of live video in 2017?

Since the introduction of Facebook live in the summer of 2015, it seems that live video's online popularity has really taken off. Live video offers a direct line into compelling, personal or behind-the-scenes content in a way that on-demand video simply doesn't. You've probably watched live video yourself, and statistics show that you are not alone. According to Statista, the top sites for watching and creating live video, as of November 2016, are YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat Live Stories and Twitter's Periscope (Since then, Instagram has also gotten into the fray with live video).

The amount of live video produced and consumed is staggering, and within its first year, the pioneering live video app Periscope had been used to create over 200 million live videos. Year over year, live video consumption and production has grown. According to a survey by LiveStream, 81% of respondents watched more online video in 2016 than in 2015. In the age group 18-34 in particular, live video is extremely popular. 63% of millennials have watched live video, as of November 2016, according to UBS, and 42% have created live video themselves.

Unsurprisingly, given the popularity of live video with consumers, brands' interest in live videos is increasing as well. Live video draws in more eyeballs than static images, and even more than on-demand video. According to Facebook, live videos are watched for three times as long as standard videos. Respondents to LiveStream's survey also stated a preference for live videos from brands over other marketing tactics. 80% of these respondents would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog, and 82% would rather see a live video than another type of social media post.

Marketers are responding to this interest in turn. In a May 2016 survey of marketers from Social Media Examiner, 50% of marketers planed on creating live video on Facebook Live and Periscope, and 50% were interested to learn more about live video. We predict even higher numbers for 2017, as live video continues to grow. Have you utilized live video in your personal life or for your business?

The Best Free Online Survey Tools

When you are looking to conduct some original market research on your services, products, customer satisfaction or website, a survey will often be the first step. Fortunately, now you can chose between dozens of free and paid online survey options. Choosing the right survey tool for you also depends on what you are trying to accomplish. How important are aesthetics? Do you need integration with Facebook or email? Do you have respondents - or will you need a service to find them? Will you need to download your data for reporting purposes?

In order to narrow down the field a little bit - here are some of my favorite online survey services with free options:

• Google Forms: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/ For this free survey tool, you will need a free Google account, but it is a great place to start for most survey needs. Making Google surveys may require a little more legwork, but there are plenty of tutorials, and the surveys are highly customizable (especially if you know HTML). Another huge plus is that there are unlimited responses, surveys and downloadable results, which is not true on most other free sites. 

• Typeform: https://www.typeform.com/ Typeform has some of the nicest, sleekest surveys around (see an example below). If you put a premium on appearance, Typeform is the way to go, with its professional looking surveys - which are called "typeforms" on the site. For the free plan you receive 100 responses a month and 10 fields per typeform. Response data can be sent to other apps, through Zapier.

• KwikSurveys: https://kwiksurveys.com KwikSurveys may just offer the most for free, with unlimited surveys and responses, but with little customization. KwikSurveys also has integration with popular social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. You do have the ability to download your data with this free site.

• Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ Survey Monkey may be the granddaddy of all survey sites. Though it is not the prettiest, we think it gets the job done. Creating SurveyMonkey surveys requires little know-how, and it easy to scale to paid plans. In the free version you are limited to 10 questions and 100 responses. One drawback is that you can't export/download your results.

If you are looking for more responses or a more robust experience, and are willing to pay, SurveyGizmo is a good option. PCMag has a breakdown of some other paid survey sites and their features. What survey tools have you used for yourself or for your company?

What does social media use look like worldwide?

Being based in the US, it's easy to stay in the American social media bubble, but from time to time I like to see what is going on in the global social media space. For companies that have the potential to work internationally, or already are international, keeping up with worldwide social media trends is absolutely essential.

Internet use worldwide continues to grow, according to Hootsuite and We are Social's "Digital in 2017" report, half of the world's population now has access to the internet. However, the percentage of internet users is still highest in North America and Europe (though East Asia has the most internet users, numerically). Following on the heels of greater Internet use, social media is also growing across the globe, and is now at 34%, or over 2.5 billion users. An interesting finding is that most people worldwide access social media through their mobile phones - a staggering 91%.

So what are the most popular social media channels? Some are names you might recognize readily, but others are more local. Perhaps unsurprisingly, messaging apps are among the most widely used social networking tools. According to Statisa, Facebook is first in active users worldwide (as of January 2017), followed by the messaging apps WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The top 5 is rounded out by 2 Chinese messaging apps: QQ and WeChat. Worldwide, The Global Web Index found that the average internet user in 2016 has 7 social media accounts, up from just 2.5 in 2012.

Though the sheer number of social media users in China sometimes obscures other regional social media networks, there are may robust non-English social media networks that have taken root. Hootsuite has a nice roundup of some of the most popular social messaging apps and networks including VK in Russia, Tuenti in Spain and Line in Japan. Vincos looked at the use of social media networks worldwide, excluding messaging apps, to give a different picture of the most used social networks in each country. Here, Facebook appears more dominant worldwide, with notable exceptions being VK in Russia and QQ's social network Q Zone in China. LinkedIn and Instagram were also more popular than Facebook in parts of Africa.

To drill down even more specifically, I recently came across a great report for those interested in the non-profit sector. Non-Profit Tech for Good surveyed nonprofits across the globe about the internet and social media use. Do you make use of any non-US based social media networks? Does your organization?

The 6 Best Free Resources for Market Research

Taking the first step as a new business is sometimes the hardest. So where can you start? My advice is to start by doing a little market research to better understand your target market before you really get going. Market research is vitally important because it can help you answer questions that inform your business decisions related to: the location of your target market, what products/services to offer, potential customers, your target market’s characteristics, and relevant industry trends.

One of my favorite hidden secrets is that some of the best resources for market research in the US actually come from the US government itself. Much of the market research data in governmental databases is culled from the census or other large scale public surveys - and it is free! If you are trying to understand your target audience, especially if you have a physical location, or a targeted geographic area, doing some market research could do a world of good.

Before you start researching on government websites you should first find your NAICS code. This number corresponds to your industry and is used in many governmental and commercial databases, so it is great to have in advance. You can look up your industry's NAICS number here. Now you're ready to go! Though there is a wealth of information on government websites, weeding through the resources came be somewhat overwhelming, so I have pared down the potentially massive list to my 6 favorites.

1. US Small Business Administration: The Small Business Administration is the best place to take a deep dive into the different resources available. This page has a comprehensive list of information from various governmental departments on business, the economy and demographics.

2. American Fact Finder:  This is a free site with that allows you to search US Census, American Community Survey, and Economic Census data by zip code.

3. US Census Map: Here you can explore an interactive, visual map of the 2010 census by population, age, ethnicity, race and household size. See below an example of age breakdowns for a census tract outside of Philadelphia.

4. US Census QuickFacts: This is the same information provided in the previous resource, however, you can have it presented as a map, list or chart, and compare different zip codes, counties and cities by 2010 census data.

5. Industry Snapshot: This is a great place to learn more about your specific industry. You can search by NAICS code to see revenue and growth by industry, by location.

6. Bureau of Labor Statistics: On this site you can search employment rates and industry trends by state and metro area (here I have highlighted the Midwest).

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with options. All of these sites have a wealth of information that is helpful to businesses at all stages, but especially to those who are starting out (or when you are deciding to add a new service area or product). What are your favorite market research resources?

How often should I post to social media?

One of the most common questions I get asked at New Median is "How often should I post to social media?" It's a great question, but a tricky one. Figuring out the optimal social media posting frequency is truly a moving target (similar to deciding what times of day to post). How often you post depends mostly on the social media channel itself. Twitter, for example, has such a high volume of posts that it will "allow" a greater volume of posts per day, whereas LinkedIn has far fewer posts, so it would seem out of place to be post extremely frequently. So let's dig in.

According to Buffer, each social media platform has a sweet spot for posting, which has been summed up in an easy-to-understand infographic by SumAll (as seen below):

• Twitter – 3 times per day, or more
• Facebook – 2 times per day, at most
• LinkedIn – 1 time per weekday
• Google+ – 3 times per day, at most
• Pinterest – 5x per day, or more
• Instagram – 1.5 times per day, or more
• Blog – 2x per week

These suggested posting frequencies are corroborated by Social Media Week and Adobe. However, these recommendations are not one-size-fits-all, and they may differ on a few other factors, including how much of a following you have. Perhaps counterintuitively, HubSpot found that posting less frequently (1-5 times a month) on Facebook was actually much more beneficial to pages with less than 10k likes, in terms of engagement. You also don't want to overdo it on the Tweets, even though Twitter is more crowded than Facebook, since tweeting too much is one of the top 3 reasons people unfollow brands on Twitter. Snapchat, being much newer, doesn't have as many set benchmarks yet, but Tom Roy suggests at least 1 Snapchat story a day.

Beyond recommendations for each site, how often you want to post on each network depends on your own time commitment and resources. If you don't have the time to post 5 times a day on Twitter, don't! Moreover, if you have started a posting schedule, stick to it: don't post 5 times a day one week. and go silent the next. A great way to increase your efficiency is to schedule your posts ahead of time - you don't have to always post live. A great boon to keeping up a consistent posting schedule is using a social media scheduling tool like Buffer or Hootsuite. Facebook also allows you to schedule posts on Pages. No matter how often you choose to post, quality is more important than quantity. Above all, these suggestions are only recommendations, and you should be sure to monitor your own engagement statistics and adjust your schedule accordingly. So, what is your sweet spot for posting frequency?