Having missed the first one, I was glad to make it to the second MeasurementCamp this morning. Around 20 of us met above a pub in Soho to plot how we can work together to improve the measurement of social media. We identified three broad and popular issues at the start before splitting into groups to discuss those issues, each group reporting back on its findings at the end. Hopefully all our learnings will be added to the event’s Wiki and, with time, discussion and a little love, some useful insights will emerge.
The original aim was to develop open standards for measurement, in response to the difficulties caused by the myriad different methodologies and metrics currently being applied to this young industry of ours. Achieving this aim would be very useful but commitment, against no immediate gain, will be needed from everyone involved. These first two MeasurementCamps were lead primarily by Will McInnes but he pleaded with the group for abstinence from any kind of autocracy in future events; a truly open solution best being developed by a leaderless collective.
Just how well this captainless ship will steer itself I don’t know but I don’t think we need to worry for now – it’s nothing new that collaboration can be highly efficacious. Today’s event was insightful enough to justify itself in isolation – come along if it interests you – but longevity will take a little more than that. Over to the wiki then. I recommend looking through the group’s discussions so far and adding your own thoughts, even if all we get for the time-being is a broad cluster of disassociated musings. In time, this cloud of ideas could coalescent into some useful lumps.
It’s good to see RMM embracing this issue as evaluation is increasingly demanded by clients as well as being an obvious professional thing to do. But evaluation is one thing and measurement another. In the PR world, metrics provide the biggest junk science paradise since the invention of hair restorer and if anyone thinks you can accurately measure the effects of a communications program do please visit:
http://www.michaelbland.com/resources.html
and click on ‘PR Evaluation: Measuring the Marigolds’
While this paper has not gone down well with the PR world’s Evaluation Taliban, no one has so far refuted it scientifically.
I suspect similar concerns will apply to ‘measurement’ in the social media.
As for Ben wanting to make sense of what he does, I’ve been trying for 28 years.