"What they talk about when they talk about Social Listening." Invited talk for symposium on Governance of Social Listening in the context of Serious Health Threats, University of Hong Kong.

Description

Talk Title:
What They Talk about , When They Talk about Social Listening

Abstract:

From research strategies to tools to job titles, “social listening” seems to be the rage these days, yet few people seem to be able to agree on what the term means. How is social listening like and unlike older concepts like market research, data mining, and digital surveillance? In what sense are geographically disconnected users on digital platforms “social,” and in what sense is the practice of using artificial intelligence tools to search for keywords online a form of “listening”?

In this talk, I consider three domains where social listening practices are deployed, taught, and debated in very different ways: advertising, public security, and public health. I begin by outlining the definitions, tools, and beliefs about social listening that seem to overlap (or else, diverge slightly) between practitioners in these domains. Next, I consider a few contested ‘hot button’ issues between domains, considering why this is so.

I close by discussing what public health stands to gain (and what it may lose) by developing ethical guidelines for social listening that prioritize a commitment to community care and service, as opposed to prioritizing a marketing directive for increased sales (or money-saving), or political directive for increased national (or local) security.

Period	23 Sept 2023
Event title	Governance of Social Listening in the context of Serious Health Threats
Event type	Conference
Location	Hong Kong, Hong KongShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International