Turning News Into Knowledge

In a rapidly-evolving world packed with self-proclaimed social media gurus, ninjas, rock stars, titans, evangelists, experts, consultants and online marketing whizzes, you might be excused if you thought the traditional media had lost its influence.

After all, many will confidently tell you just that – that mainstream media is dead or dying, having been mortally wounded by legions of citizen journalists not beholden to the pressures of advertisers or friends in high places.

They may even claim that prominent social media users have replaced media professionals as the new agenda-setters. And in some cases, especially among some trending topics, that could even be true.

But here’s the thing: In topics where actual news is involved, it’s not true at all.

Instead of killing traditional media, as this TechCrunch post (about Osama Bin Laden) along with a series of MediaMiser reports have shown, social media has rather become an amplifier of traditional media and its journalists (while at the same time allowing everyone else a chance to voice their opinions too).

The reasons for this are simple, in my view: the traditional media – at least most of it – is still viewed as a trusted source and one that’s relatively objective. Bloggers and Twitter users with hundreds of thousands of followers, while wildly popular, just don’t have that same level of trust with the public (some do, but it’s a small minority).

Just take a look at the influence ratings derived from some of our recent reports such as Keystone XL: A social media and online news analysis (January 2012), our infographic on January’s Liberal Convention, or our December 2011 report on the Beyond the Border initiative, in which seven out of the top ten and four of the top five influencers were either media outlets or journalists.

These journalists and outlets might not even have as many followers as others, but that doesn’t seem to matter – their message still gets disseminated farther than anything Lady Gaga has to say. This is similar to what a New York Times writer found when he did a similar analysis.

All this should be taken in context, of course; while driving web traffic and interest certainly helps build and maintain credibility, it doesn’t necessarily pay the bills. Online advertising is still in many ways in its infancy, while readerships and viewerships in many cases still seem to be dropping. while print media, especially, has considerable challenges ahead. It likely will never be as profitable as it was during its heyday.

But it should cheer media outlets and journalists somewhat to know that, rather than being replaced by social media, they’re in fact dominating it. And for good reason.

This just in, fans of the NHL: the ladies dig Joffrey Lupul.

That’s at least what we’ve discovered after analyzing tweets mentioning the Toronto Maple Leafs sniper during our analysis of the All-Star Weekend in Ottawa.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' Joffrey Lupul. (photo by Getty Images)

Twitter sentiment around Lupul ran extremely high over the weekend: according to our analysis, the 29-year-old forward garnered a brand rating of 41.3. That’s certainly not as high as Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks or the Senators’ Daniel Alfredsson, but higher than other stars such as Zdeno Chara of the Bruins or Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin (see our player brand report, minus Lupul’s results, here).

The good vibes toward Lupul were flowing for a variety of reasons, from his remarkable comeback story after a long layoff following back surgery to his good-natured response during the All-Star Draft after being lustily booed by the Ottawa faithful. Even his “jersey tug” move at the beginning of the All Star Game itself provoked positive feedback.

But one of the most common comments we discovered, when drilling down into tweets about Lupul, was a little more base in nature.

Essentially, the girls think he’s really hot.

Here are just a few examples of the, shall we say, more congenial tweets surrounding the Leafs’ rejuvenated winger during the All-Star Weekend and beyond:

Published: 2012-01-28 23:37:03 User: rebeccaelliott9Tone: Positive

@MapleLeafs: Here is Joffrey Lupul speaking after the skills competition #NHLAllStar#Leafs http://t.co/MDcvK4cg? he’s soo damn sexy!

Published: 2012-01-29 20:21:43 User: KTBarnes3

Tone:  Positive @shahirj yeah #teamchara!!! Lupul is a babe!

Published: 2012-01-28 21:56:20 User: Krys04Tone:  Positive

Yep def HOT!!! RT @MapleLeafs: Here is Joffrey Lupul speaking after the skills competition #NHLAllStar #Leafs http://t.co/wlrAGfio

Published: 2012-01-29 18:50:37 User: marina_lekocajTone: Positive

saw this one comming #TeamChara lupul you babee <3

Published: 2012-02-07 19:34:40 User: wilmalex4Tone: Positive

#10sexiestmales Carey Price, Karlsson, Jamie McGinn, L. Couture, Adam Gregory, Iginla, Patty Caine, Lupul, Toews, Brian Elliot! hot!

 Published: 2012-02-07 16:09:28 User: chantelvalliereTone  Multiple

#10sexiestmales sidney crosby, kris letang, joffery lupul & all hockey players <3

But it’s not just about the tweets mentioned above – far from it. The study of Joffrey Lupul’s brand during All-Star Weekend is, rather, a great example of how anyone can rejuvenate themselves in the public eye if they do and say the right things.

Check out this tweet from @DaNucklhead, a self-proclaimed “die-hard Canucks fan”:

Published: 2012-02-06 20:37:27 User: DaNucklheadTone:  Positive 

All star draft & weekend made me a fan of Lupul. He relished playing the villian for the Ottawa crowd. Loved it #confessions

This tweet is even more remarkable considering the extent to which many Canucks fans dislike the Leafs.

But to think that just last year, Lupul was considered by some to be a “throw in” in the trade with Anaheim that brought him to Toronto – essentially, a guy perhaps even on his way out of the league thanks to some bad luck and medical complications.  Now, however, he’s a superstar (and rightfully so).

Compare that with the seemingly downward spiral of Alexander Ovechkin, one of the NHL’s money superstars for the past several years, and it becomes apparent just how fragile – but, at the same time, repairable – player brands in professional sports really are.

And of course, having the ladies on your side always helps.

It seems too often those involved in data analysis rely on only science when conducting a study. Which is fair enough, in some cases – science is, after all, a crucial part of any analysis.

As well, it seems there’s usually a heavy emphasis placed on process, methodology and even on the academic or scientific credentials of those conducting the study.

An ice sculpture at the 2012 All-Star Game at Scotiabank Place.

I certainly don’t want to take away from the importance of this. However, the coolest and most valuable analysis comes from determining the nuances of an issue and not just the numbers.

This is what I call “the art of analysis.”

In my opinion, the best results are derived from multiple data sources. When overlaid on top of one another patterns begin to emerge and real insights can be gleaned. Indeed, those looking to conduct the most valuable analysis need to get up close and personal with the information, and even more granular with the data to understand its nuances.

A good example of this was our recent report on the Keystone XL debate in the United States. After doing a deep dive into the data, we discovered that most opponents of the pipeline used the term “tar sands” when describing its proposed energy source. Supporters, on the other hand, typically used the term “oil sands.”

But sometimes even the data doesn’t give up the nuances. Sometimes, you may have to go directly to the source.

For example, we at MediaMiser recently conducted a report on the personal brands of various players at the NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa. Some of us were at the festivities at Scotiabank Place or watched them on CBC, and just being there gave us further insights into the data once we got back to the office.

Understanding those nuanced issues – such as the fact that the jokester Carey Price was a fan favourite, while Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin (who skipped the game) was clearly not – gave the report that extra edge. Having passion in what you are analyzing is extremely important, so much so that sometimes you need to completely immerse yourself in the issue.This helps spur truly great analysis.

There’s of course always the risk of not seeing the forest through the trees without a strong science-based foundation, which is why the science is also extremely important. After all, you don’t want to fall into a trap of being influenced by something coincidental.

But without paying attention to those nuances, you could be missing key insights. It’s the nuances that can help transform analysis simply from something credible, to something that people can’t live without.