Graham Brown of mobileYouth http://www.mobileYouth.org

1. wtf ?
#londonriots

2. Graham Brown"
www.mobileYouth.org
My name is Graham Brown and
I’m an author and co-founder of
mobileYouth. "
"
Since 2001, I’ve been studying
how youth use technology for
both marketing clients and social
projects. My approach is Social
Thinking – understanding how
technology and brands are Social
Tools within their lives. The
#londonriots is a good example of
how these tools can be used
equally destructive and creative
means.
#londonriots

3. if you like this presentation "
don’t forget to favorite it here

4. #londonriots: wtf?

5. 8/8 London 2011: Unprecedent levels of
rioting and disorder"
Why did this happen?

6. …but as we’ll find
out later, there was
a second story
being told that
unearthed the
positive side of
both social action
and technology

7. So the first story:
what the media focused on
h at ?
1. unprecedented damage
w
2. “random” rioting
3. theft and vandalism not politics

8. Mobile phones and clothing stores
experienced most damage

9. 1. economic social backdrop
2. school vacation
3. messaging & social media
4. historic flashpoint

10. Riots were de-centralized, leaderless and
seemingly spontaneous

11. #londonriots: what role did social media play?

12. Social media played a key role in on-the-
ground coverage of the riots

13. Social media key to forming and shaping
opinions

14. Riots did not reflect a wider sentiment of
dissent in the general public on Twitter

15. What role did BBM play in the riots?

16. BBM (Blackberry Messenger) was a key tool
for rioters to organize and communicate
activity in small, decentralized groups

17. BBM allows distributed, decentralized and
anonymous communication within groups

18. BBM trumps SMS because unlike SMS
messaging can be organized into discrete
groups which allow social dynamics to emerge

19. Whereas Facebook is more open, identifiable
and traceable to outsiders

20. BBM preferred technology for youth because
a) can organize as groups
b) discrete (vs open) communication platform

21. A potential PR headache for Blackberry and
maintaining its executive image

22. #londonriots: a tale of two cities

23. 3 Key Characteristics of Social Action
1. Highly decentralized, bottom-up,
self-organizing, leaderless and
often appearing “random” "
2. Driven by 2 key Social Drivers: "
a) the need to belong and "
b) the need to be significant"
3. Facilitated by a combination of
technology and events that
precipitate a feeling of injustice

24. #londonriots: a tale of two cities"
Part 1: Social drivers as Destroyer

25. Social Drivers as Destroyer
1) The need to belong
Peer group reinforcement, social currency

26. Social Drivers as Destroyer
1) The need to belong
It’s “us versus them”

27. Social Drivers as Destroyer
2) The need to be significant
Infamy is better than
anonymity

28. Social Drivers as Destroyer
2) The need to be significant
The need to “reclaim” or
regain control of your
Social Space

29. Social Drivers as Destroyer
2) The need to be significant
Status symbols"
Sense of power
from being in
control

30. Social Drivers as Destroyer
2) The need to be significant
Strong populist
statements in reaction to
a sense of powerlessness

31. Amazon UK sales 24 hrs
after riots highlight how
violence can be the knee-
jerk reaction to
insignificance (note:
these aren’t rioters but
ordinary citizens)
Social Drivers as Destroyer
2) The need to be significant

32. #londonriots: a tale of two cities"
Part 2: Social drivers as Creator

33. The creative response to
threat is the social huddle
Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong

34. #riotcleanup

35. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Empathy: not everyone
empathizes with the rioters

36. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Social groups easily defined
by a common enemy

37. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Little trust in the ability of centralized
authority to either protect or clean up
community. Londoners turn to Social
Media to do it themselves

38. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Communities respond in
a highly motivated and
decentralized manner

39. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Twitter key tool to
facilitate self-
organizing activity

40. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong

41. Communities self-
organize without
centralized input
Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong

42. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Neighbours you’ve never spoken to before

43. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong
Communal giving in
contrast to stealing

44. Social Drivers as Creator
1) The need to belong

45. “Look at what I’m doing”
Social Drivers as Creator
2) The need to be significant

46. Moments captured and
shared: social currency
Social Drivers as Creator
2) The need to be significant

47. Reclaim the streets
Social Drivers as Creator
2) The need to be significant

49. Social Drivers as Creator
2) The need to be significant
Community
empowerment through
collective strength

50. Social Drivers as Creator
2) The need to be significant
Positive esteem and
wellbeing from sense
of collective strength

51. Communities also use social media to self-
organize to self-police

52. Unlike traditional methods, social media
provides self-organizing communities with
immediate tools to respond

53. #londonriots: conclusion

54. Social media did not create the riots"
Social drivers created the riots, media merely
transmitted them between likeminded people

55. Technology is agnostic – neither good nor bad"
Technology merely accentuates our existing social
and psychological conditions whether those
conditions be destructive or creative

56. Limiting technology, therefore, will also limit our
capacity for acts of kindness and altruism. "
The problem lies with the people not their tools

57. Graham Brown"
www.mobileYouth.org
My name is Graham Brown and
I’m an author and co-founder of
mobileYouth. "
"
Since 2001, I’ve been studying
how youth use technology for
both marketing clients and social
projects. My approach is Social
Thinking – understanding how
technology and brands are Social
Tools within their lives. The
#londonriots is a good example of
how these tools can be used
equally destructive and creative
means.
#londonriots

58. THE MOBILEYOUTH 2013 REPORT
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mobileYouth:
tracking youth & mobile culture since 2001
MOBILEYOUTH
youth marketing mobile culture since 2001

59. THE MOBILEYOUTH 2013 REPORT
http://www.mobileyouth.org
MOBILEYOUTH
youth marketing mobile culture since 2001