/PRNewswire/ -- Georgia's top public and private companies scored a D for social media engagement in 2009, according to a new study by Wunderkind Public Relations, an Atlanta-based communications strategy and services company. The Social Media Engagement (SME) scorecard reflects the activity of corporations and their chief executives in social media channels for Georgia's top 25 public and top 25 private companies, as determined by revenue and published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle 2009 Book of Lists. Wunderkind Public Relations established a company's score based on its use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and a corporate blog.
"Clearly, there are corporations in the study that are effectively using social media marketing and networking on a daily basis, but the data shows the large majority of companies in Georgia are still evaluating social media as a business tool," said Steve McAbee, president and founder, Wunderkind Public Relations. "We expect this to change in 2010 as more companies seek to employ tools and technology to further extend their marketing budgets including social media, which provides businesses with an affordable content distribution option to supplement higher-cost initiatives."
Companies received a point for each of the five social media tools they employ, for a maximum score of five, where a perfect score is equivalent to an A grade. Data from the Georgia SME scorecard shows business-to-consumer (B2C) companies are more than twice as engaged with customers and prospects online than their business-to-business (B2B) counterparts. Private B2C companies had the highest SME score (3.2), followed by public B2C companies (3.0), public B2B companies (1.76), and finally private B2B companies (1.6). Omitting LinkedIn, a popular professional networking service, less than 20 percent of the companies researched appear to have an ongoing social media effort, though data was insufficient to conclude whether or not the channels were utilized with any frequency or as part of an integrated marketing plan.
Four Georgia companies received perfect scores: AGCO Corp., the Coca-Cola Company, Delta Airlines, and Infor Global Solutions. These companies utilize a variety of channels to create an interactive dialogue with customers, prospects and employees. On the other hand, thirty-one companies received a score of 2 or less, and all but one company is using some channel of social media. Data also concluded that public companies as a whole, whether B2C or B2B, are more engaged (2.36) than private companies (1.92).
Worldwide, companies are utilizing the emerging medium to strategically and methodically establish or reinforce their influence, reputation and brand within communities of existing and potential customers, prospects and other supporters. Most effective when integrated with more established marketing channels, social media is being embraced by companies of all sizes for its low-cost content distribution model and as a powerful catalyst for viral marketing. On social media sites, groups of individuals with different points of views are empowered to collectively determine the value or importance of content disseminated throughout the community. In most cases, users are given the editorial power to influence the visibility of content, providing significant insight to companies regarding their brand, products and services.
Highlights of the Georgia Social Media Engagement Scorecard:
-- LinkedIn is the most popular social networking service; 96% of all
companies have a LinkedIn page, followed by Facebook (42%) and Twitter
(38%)
-- Only 9 companies received a SME score of 4 or better
-- CEOs lack engagement with an average SME score of .26
-- 12 companies have a dedicated YouTube channel while only 7 have a blog
-- Only 1 CEO contributes to the company blog
Georgia CEOs Use LinkedIn More Than Other Channels
Among the chief executives of Georgia's top companies, data showed CEOs of private companies are more engaged than those of public companies, though almost all of that is attributed to their LinkedIn profiles. Thirty-two percent of private CEOs maintain a profile on LinkedIn, compared to only 16 percent of their counterparts in public enterprise. None of Georgia's top CEOs maintains a public-facing Facebook account.
Outside of Georgia, some CEO early-adopters, like Tony Hseih of Zappos, Virgin Group's Richard Branson, Guy Kawasaki of Garage Technology Ventures and AllTop, and Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems, are engaged with the public through a wide spectrum of social media tools from Twitter to blogs.
A new generation of corporate leadership is emerging and the C-suite is being occupied by an increasingly more digitally connected network. For B2C companies this means another touchpoint to the customer--a personal connection between company leadership and the consumer. In B2B circles, the rise of the social CEO means their customers, the executives who make purchasing decisions, will be dramatically more engaged and will seek to connect with vendors or research the brand's reputation through online channels.
"We certainly aren't advocating that all CEOs jump on the social media bandwagon - there are too many variables for social media to be one-size-fits-all - but the extremely low adoption rate among CEOs in Georgia is interesting given the explosive growth of social media in 2009," said McAbee. "This medium can provide CEOs an open line of communication with customers, investors and partners to start a constructive, long-term and transparent dialogue. However, before the CEO becomes involved with social media, the brand itself should get it right."
In the wake of a worldwide recession, many companies have recognized how the broad use of online tools can help attract and retain customers and have embraced social media out of an appreciation for the power online customers wield over brands, corporate reputations and public opinion. Additionally, younger generations of workers and college students are well connected and digitally engaged, making social media an effective tool for talent recruiting. These factors, combined with social media's low cost of entry, demonstrate social media's growing importance and are among the reasons analyst firms predict social media marketing budgets will quadruple over the next five years.
"The Georgia study found the majority of companies are participating in one-way conversations where they have complete control," said McAbee. "The real impact social media can have on an organization will only be fully realized when a company engages with its audiences by monitoring and managing the online conversation and participating in two-way communication. We look forward to following the progress of social media usage among Georgia's businesses and updating the results in next year's study."
Additional Information:
-- Wunderkind Public Relations' Georgia Social Media Engagement Scorecard
SlideShare
-- Georgia Social Media Engagement Scorecard Methodology
-- Georgia Social Media Engagement Company Index
-- Whitepaper: Is Social Media Right for B2B Companies?
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Showing posts with label study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label study. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, October 5, 2009
Study Finds Racial Segregation a Strong Factor in Learning Disparities
Racial segregation in the schools is fueling the learning disparity between young black and white children, while out-of-school factors are more important to the growth of social class gaps, according to a study by Emory University sociologist Dennis Condron.
His findings were published in the October issue of the American Sociological Review.
Condron was perplexed by prior research showing that schools narrow the achievement gap among students of varying social classes while widening the gap between black and white students. To tease out possible reasons for this difference, he analyzed data from the Kindergarten Cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.
He found that between the fall and spring of first grade, black students' reading and math skills fall almost two months behind those of white students. After controlling for other factors, the data suggested that segregation of schools was a primary driver of this early black-white learning disparity. In contrast, out-of-school factors explained the growth of social class gaps.
"This research adds an important piece to the puzzle of when and why social class and black-white inequalities in academic achievement emerge," says Condron, assistant professor of sociology. "And I hope it raises awareness that social class and black-white achievement gaps come from different sources to some extent. We tend to speak of ‘the' achievement gap, but in reality different gaps probably have different sources and require different solutions."
His research also indicated that regardless of social class, black students are less often taught by certified teachers than are white students, and black students are far more likely than white students to attend predominantly minority schools, high-poverty schools and schools located in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The findings are "a reminder of a persistent problem," Condron says, decades after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka struck down state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students.
"De facto segregation remains high these days, with important implications for education," he says. "When it comes to both housing and schools, race trumps class as the central axis upon which blacks and whites are segregated. Real solutions to the black-white achievement gap lie far beyond schools and require changes to society more broadly."
Condron's study is the lead article in the October issue of the American Sociological Review, which also features two other studies of educational inequality.
A specialist in educational disparities, Condron is currently analyzing data on more than 80 countries to research the impact of economic inequality on countries' average achievement levels.
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His findings were published in the October issue of the American Sociological Review.
Condron was perplexed by prior research showing that schools narrow the achievement gap among students of varying social classes while widening the gap between black and white students. To tease out possible reasons for this difference, he analyzed data from the Kindergarten Cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.
He found that between the fall and spring of first grade, black students' reading and math skills fall almost two months behind those of white students. After controlling for other factors, the data suggested that segregation of schools was a primary driver of this early black-white learning disparity. In contrast, out-of-school factors explained the growth of social class gaps.
"This research adds an important piece to the puzzle of when and why social class and black-white inequalities in academic achievement emerge," says Condron, assistant professor of sociology. "And I hope it raises awareness that social class and black-white achievement gaps come from different sources to some extent. We tend to speak of ‘the' achievement gap, but in reality different gaps probably have different sources and require different solutions."
His research also indicated that regardless of social class, black students are less often taught by certified teachers than are white students, and black students are far more likely than white students to attend predominantly minority schools, high-poverty schools and schools located in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The findings are "a reminder of a persistent problem," Condron says, decades after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka struck down state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students.
"De facto segregation remains high these days, with important implications for education," he says. "When it comes to both housing and schools, race trumps class as the central axis upon which blacks and whites are segregated. Real solutions to the black-white achievement gap lie far beyond schools and require changes to society more broadly."
Condron's study is the lead article in the October issue of the American Sociological Review, which also features two other studies of educational inequality.
A specialist in educational disparities, Condron is currently analyzing data on more than 80 countries to research the impact of economic inequality on countries' average achievement levels.
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Monday, September 28, 2009
Texas Leads Nation in Public School Bible Literacy Courses
Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, and South Carolina are runners-up
As the 2009-2010 school year begins, more than 350 schools in 43 states nationwide will be teaching courses on the Bible, according to new data from Bible Literacy Project. The organization publishes "The Bible and Its Influence," the only student textbook designed for public school courses on the Bible. Texas schools have adopted the course in large numbers this year -- more than 50 schools there are teaching the course this fall, in accordance with 2007 legislation mandating that school districts teach about the Bible in the 2009-2010 school year.
Texas is not the only state with widespread use of the groundbreaking textbook. "More than 10% of Georgia public high schools and more than 5% of public high schools in Alabama, Indiana, and South Carolina are using 'The Bible and Its Influence,'" said Chuck Stetson, Bible Literacy Project's Chairman of the Board.
The importance of academic study of the Bible was recently underscored by a "USA Today"
column, "Teach the Bible? Of Course," which argued that "Students who want to do serious study of Western civilization need to know the Bible. They need to know the Bible, even if they do not believe the Bible." In February, the United Kingdom's (atheist) Poet Laureate Andrew Motion called for public school education about the Bible, saying he had struggled to teach Milton's "Paradise Lost" to undergraduates because they had no concept of the fall of man.
John Keeling, a teacher in Whitehouse, Texas, agrees. "Biblical imagery, allusions, references and influences permeate the culture in which we live," Keeling said. "Not to know the basic stories and characters of the Bible is to be at a distant disadvantage when it comes tounderstanding the world around you." Keeling says using "The Bible and Its Influence" helped him respect the First Amendment and the religious viewpoints of his students when teaching about biblical texts in his classroom last year.
During this school year, Bible Literacy Project will be attending 18 conventions nationwide to reach school board members, English teachers and curriculum developers with information about the textbook.
Because only seven states remain in the organization's quest to be utilized in all 50 states,
Bible Literacy Project is offering a free class set of textbooks for the first public school in Delaware, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming ready to teach the course. "When one school implements the course, we quickly make contact with neighboring schools who want to try it too," said Stetson. "We welcome the opportunity to show these remaining states the strength of our program."
To further demonstrate the importance of Biblical literacy, Bible Literacy Project has unveiled a quiz at quiz.bibleliteracy.org/quiz (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102731359056&s=13633&e=001JwLroPRA4gqU_nDiYcUvn31dmrkXlz11kDWezAz2U96gX0T4QpBpf4wYWtHRcJHZ
7tceee4H3pARNZDi3Wy1yUllj2orfR7Fg1g32QIiYagQaCRMiYRhet5POWcOKsgQ) revealing the impact of Biblical characters and narratives on everyday life.
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Arts Across Georgia
As the 2009-2010 school year begins, more than 350 schools in 43 states nationwide will be teaching courses on the Bible, according to new data from Bible Literacy Project. The organization publishes "The Bible and Its Influence," the only student textbook designed for public school courses on the Bible. Texas schools have adopted the course in large numbers this year -- more than 50 schools there are teaching the course this fall, in accordance with 2007 legislation mandating that school districts teach about the Bible in the 2009-2010 school year.
Texas is not the only state with widespread use of the groundbreaking textbook. "More than 10% of Georgia public high schools and more than 5% of public high schools in Alabama, Indiana, and South Carolina are using 'The Bible and Its Influence,'" said Chuck Stetson, Bible Literacy Project's Chairman of the Board.
The importance of academic study of the Bible was recently underscored by a "USA Today"
column, "Teach the Bible? Of Course," which argued that "Students who want to do serious study of Western civilization need to know the Bible. They need to know the Bible, even if they do not believe the Bible." In February, the United Kingdom's (atheist) Poet Laureate Andrew Motion called for public school education about the Bible, saying he had struggled to teach Milton's "Paradise Lost" to undergraduates because they had no concept of the fall of man.
John Keeling, a teacher in Whitehouse, Texas, agrees. "Biblical imagery, allusions, references and influences permeate the culture in which we live," Keeling said. "Not to know the basic stories and characters of the Bible is to be at a distant disadvantage when it comes tounderstanding the world around you." Keeling says using "The Bible and Its Influence" helped him respect the First Amendment and the religious viewpoints of his students when teaching about biblical texts in his classroom last year.
During this school year, Bible Literacy Project will be attending 18 conventions nationwide to reach school board members, English teachers and curriculum developers with information about the textbook.
Because only seven states remain in the organization's quest to be utilized in all 50 states,
Bible Literacy Project is offering a free class set of textbooks for the first public school in Delaware, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming ready to teach the course. "When one school implements the course, we quickly make contact with neighboring schools who want to try it too," said Stetson. "We welcome the opportunity to show these remaining states the strength of our program."
To further demonstrate the importance of Biblical literacy, Bible Literacy Project has unveiled a quiz at quiz.bibleliteracy.org/quiz (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102731359056&s=13633&e=001JwLroPRA4gqU_nDiYcUvn31dmrkXlz11kDWezAz2U96gX0T4QpBpf4wYWtHRcJHZ
7tceee4H3pARNZDi3Wy1yUllj2orfR7Fg1g32QIiYagQaCRMiYRhet5POWcOKsgQ) revealing the impact of Biblical characters and narratives on everyday life.
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Arts Across Georgia
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
CSI:Mayo Clinic
Researchers Find Two Popular Television Shows Inaccurately Portray Realities of Violent Crime
Researchers at Mayo Clinic compared two popular television shows, CSI and CSI: Miami, to actual U.S. homicide data, and discovered clear differences between media portrayals of violent deaths versus actual murders. This study complements previous research regarding media influences on public health perception. Mayo Clinic researchers present their findings today at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting in San Francisco.
Previous studies have indicated television influences individual health behaviors and public health perceptions. Timothy Lineberry, M.D., a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic, says "We make a lot of our decisions as a society based on information that we have, and television has been used to provide public health messages."
Researchers chose to compare the crimes on CSI and CSI: Miami to real homicides because of the shows' combined audiences of more than 43 million viewers annually. They sought to determine how representative the portrayal of violent death crimes on the two series compared with data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Violent Death Reporting System.
When researchers compared the shows to the CDC data, they discovered the strongest misrepresentations were related to alcohol use, relationships, and race among perpetrators and victims. Previous studies of actual statistics have shown that both perpetrator and victim were often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs when the crime occurred, differing from what the shows portrayed.
Also, CSI and CSI: Miami were more likely to have described the victim and the attacker as Caucasian, which is misrepresentative. Finally, according to the CDC data, homicide victims typically knew their assailant; however, the television series were more likely to have portrayed the perpetrator as a stranger. All of these findings were significantly different when compared to the data.
Dr. Lineberry says, "If we believe that there is a lack of association with alcohol, that strangers are more likely to attack, and that homicide doesn't represent particular groups of people, it's difficult to create public health interventions that the general public supports."
Other authors contributing to this study included Christopher Janish and Melanie Buskirk, both from Mayo Medical School.
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