ListenLogic Threat Advisory Warns of Heightened Risk of Violence According to Social Media Data

Philadelphia, PA – November 4, 2011 – The ListenLogic Social Listening Intelligence Center (SLIC) today elevated the ‘Occupy’ threat advisory level for large U.S. corporations to “High” for the upcoming November 5^th weekend.  Ongoing ListenLogic analysis of several million online posts has identified a significant increase in support for key Occupy events during the November 5^th weekend, as well as increases in:

• Threats made by protesters, with a 25% increase during the past week alone; of the threats, nearly 70% target police. The other most commonly targeted groups include: politicians (10%), corporate executives (8%), and reporters (3%).
• Interest in online Occupy videos depicting acts of violence, destruction, and/or arrest activity. Over 80% of Occupy-related videos viewed on YouTube for the 30-day period ending November 4^th include such acts.
• Posts ‘by’ protestors who have been actively involved in marches stating that they will avoid weekend activity because of the potential for violence or harm.
• Calls for violent action, flash mobs, and vandalism

Currently, there are over one million posts per day online regarding the Occupy movement.  ListenLogic analyzed this social media activity to identify events of growing popularity and concern set to take place during the November 5^th weekend.  These include:

• Bank-Focused Flash Mobs: Occupy protesters are organizing flash mobs to convene at branch banks in the U.S. and Canada beginning the afternoon of November 4^th.  While officially deemed, “Dance on the Banks,” increases in bank-related arrests, as well as vandalism of bank signs, windows, and ATM’s suggest that mob activity may turn violent.
• Nov. 5Bank Transfer Day/Move Your Money Day: Designed to encourage people to switch their accounts from “big” banks to local credit unions. On Facebook alone, over 75,000 users have joined related Facebook groups. Marches to bank branches are being organized throughout the U.S.
• Nov. 5 Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfires Day: Annual commemoration of anarchist Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the English parliament.  Guy Fawkes masks are used by Occupy protesters to symbolize anarchist intentions and, more recently, to maintain anonymity while being destructive. Occupy protesters with anarchist intentions are planning bonfires in city streets throughout the country.
• Nov. 5 Operation Foxhunt: Hacktivist group, “Anonymous” and others have threatened to shut down Fox News in support of the Occupy movement.

“The Occupy movement is now targeting a wider range of banks and corporations because of their high profile and/or geographic proximity to Occupy protests.  November 5^th has historically been an important date for anarchists worldwide because of its connection to Guy Fawkes and street bonfires. The addition of Bank Transfer Day, Operation Fox Hunt, Dance on the Banks, and several other activities has the potential to create a ‘perfect storm’ this weekend that could escalate into further hostility,” explained Vincent Schiavone, ListenLogic co-founder & chairman.  “As ListenLogic continues to monitor this situation with a real-time SLIC for its clients, we feel it is necessary to elevate the threat level so that the public and all of corporate America are aware of the alarming social activity we are witnessing.”

Throughout the country, Occupy protesters have planned marches in cities from L.A. to Philadelphia and Atlanta to Denver to take place this weekend.  In many of these cities, protesters have already engaged in civil disobedience, vandalism, and occasional confrontation with police, with over 3,000 protesters having been arrested to-date.  Nationally, Occupy organizers are citing recent arrests and headlines in Oakland to rally protesters with calls for violence and civil disobedience.  While the official mandate of the Occupy movement remains peaceful non-violence, more militant elements have been increasingly turning toward violence and vandalism.  Tens of thousands of people are planning to participate in Occupy protests this weekend.

Because of the evolving risks of this situation and the need to understand potential threats of the Occupy movement, ListenLogic has setup a publicly-available Occupy Threat Center that will provide current threat level assessments, geographic social media activity, and a current news feed. This public resource will provide continuously updated information on this issue.

Occupy Threat Center: www.listenlogic.com/threatcenteroccupy

Media Note: Social intelligence, privacy, and information security expert, Vincent Schiavone, is available to provide press interviews, further details and examples, and ongoing analysis of the Occupy movement.  Media representatives should contact Matt Donaruma at mdonaruma@garfieldgroup.com.

About ListenLogic

ListenLogic is the leading social business intelligence company helping Global 1000 companies manage risk, engage with customers and drive innovation. Our Social Listening Intelligence Center (SLIC) provides enterprises with real-time risk, threat, crisis and influencer monitoring of critical issues that emerge from social media.  ListenLogic Social CRM and Structured Data Stream products intelligently classify the social media firehose for real-time customer engagement and marketing outreach. ListenLogic Social Analytics and Insight products deliver deep understanding of consumer attitudes and preferences to help drive product and marketing innovation.  For further information, visit www.listenlogic.com | http://www.listenlogic.com/blog, or @listenlogic on Twitter.

About Vincent Schiavone

Vincent Schiavone, ListenLogic co-founder and executive chairman, has been involved in social business intelligence, privacy, and information security since 1996.  Prior to ListenLogic, Vince was the Co-founder and Chairman of Turntide Inc., an anti-spam technology company, which was acquired by Symantec Corp., co-founder and Principal of InfoSec Labs, an information security company, which was acquired by SafeNet. Vince was also a founding board member of The International Association of Privacy Professionals.

‘Occupy’ Movement Threat Extends Beyond Wall St. to Target Big Business, According to Social Media Data

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6, 2011. Via The Street & PRNewswire

The ListenLogic Social Listening Intelligence Center (SLIC) today issued a threat advisory to large US corporations after identifying the heightened potential for violence and/or malicious cyber attacks.  Social media patterns similar to those witnessed prior to flash mobs and other violent forms of protest are occurring with increasing frequency.

Because of the evolving risks of this situation and the need to understand potential threats of the Occupy movement, ListenLogic has setup a publicly-available Occupy Threat Center that will provide current threat level assessments, infographics including a timeline of the movement sine its July 13th inception, geographic social media activity, and a current news feed.  This public resource will provide continuously updated information on this issue.

Occupy Threat Center: www.listenlogic.com/threatcenteroccupy

“Based on our tracking, the Occupy movement is now being actively influenced by the social media efforts of an increasingly diverse group of organizations.  Clearly, the activists know how to use social media to provoke action, but the actions they provoke cannot be controlled.  This is the greatest threat,” explained Vincent Schiavone, ListenLogic co-founder & chairman.  ”While ListenLogic operates a dedicated real-time SLIC for its clients, we also feel it necessary to provide certain information to the public and to all of corporate America due to the alarming social activity we are witnessing.”

The SLIC analysis of over one million social media posts in the U.S. indicates significant increases in:

• Social media activity from Occupy supporters and activists promoting physical destruction and violent action
• Direct and specific threats from Occupy “hacktivist” groups against specific financial and law enforcement targets
• Funding and support from national labor unions including the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Transit Workers Union, United Auto Workers, and the United Federation of Teachers
• Support from community organizations, including MoveOn.org, ACORN, and Rebuild the Dream
• Social media posts, videos and images specifically targeting an expanding list of corporate entities and the wealthy, specifically 1) all financial institutions that issue mortgages, foreclosures, and student loans and 2) all corporate entities that received bailout money or government subsidies, pay high executive salaries or bonuses, or are perceived to be paying exceedingly low taxes.

Occupy began to “go viral” on social media following the arrest of over 700 people in New York this past Saturday.  Each day since, the volume of social comments has been steadily increasing.  ”At this rate, we are confident in predicting that the Occupy movement will go global,” adds Schiavone.

The physical size and amorphous composition of the Occupy movement continues to grow, as does the number of websites and facebook pages calling for local action.  Social media conversations surrounding the movement have now spread to over 400 cities and protests have been planned in over 100 U.S. cities.

Media Note: Social intelligence, privacy, and information security expert, Vincent Schiavone, is available to provide press interviews and ongoing analysis of the Occupy movement.  Media representatives should contact Matt Donaruma at mdonaruma@garfieldgroup.com.

About Vincent Schiavone
Vincent Schiavone, ListenLogic co-founder and executive chairman, has been involved in social business intelligence, privacy, and information security since 1996.  Prior to ListenLogic, Vince was the Co-founder and Chairman of Turntide Inc., an anti-spam technology company, which was acquired by Symantec Corp., co-founder and Principal of InfoSec Labs, an information security company, which was acquired by SafeNet. Vince was also a founding board member of The International Association of Privacy Professionals.

According to a new report from global strategy and consulting group Bain & Company, early adopters of social media have been able to capture real economic value from their activities. These social business pioneers were among the first to implement social media into their organizations on a large scale investing anywhere from $750,000 to $10,000,000 a year in social programs.  As a result, they have slowly but surely answered the popular social media question of ROI.

So, what is the ROI?

Bain & Co. report that a key indicator of social media return is customer loyalty. Customers who engage with companies over social media typically spend 20% – 40% more with those companies than other customers. Additionally, Bain & Co. also found that customers who engage with brands via social media demonstrate a deeper emotional commitment to the companies. Social media is quickly becoming a cornerstone for companies to engage with and retain their customers for both advocacy and customer service.

The strategy of early adopters

Contrary to popular belief, social media doesn’t apply to the ‘Field of Dreams’ principle, building it is not enough. You need to consistently provide value to your customers if you expect them to engage and interact with your brand.

Bain & Co. outlines a few key strategies that helped these social businesses take off:

1. Social media objectives should be matched to existing business objectives
2. Know your key customers, and target your efforts with them in mind
3. Build a cross-functional social media team to lead social operations
4. Monitor progress and measure results
5. Keep social media initiatives as nimble as possible, sometimes directions change

Key Takeaways

There are a few key learnings from this for any business looking to integrate their social activities and become a more organized and efficient social business.

1. It’s All About the Data – Without comprehensive data that can go across all facets of the organization, costs will always be higher and results will never be consistent.
2. Customers are Everywhere – Meeting customer appetite for brand response has extended past the reach of an owned Twitter or Facebook account. Customers are discussing your brand on their own walls, forums, and blogs.
3. Engagement Must be Scalable – Expect volumes of discussion and brand mentions to rise exponentially on social media. With this, the human cost of data sifting to uncover issues will grow without the proper infrastructure.

What should businesses do? Prepare themselves with better technology to capture more data from more sources and triage to the appropriate individuals and units.

A recent Forrester Research report by Josh Bernoff (co-author of Groundswell) states that we have moved from the Information Age to the Age of the Customer, where empowered customers are disrupting every industry. Josh states in his report that successful companies must become customer obsessed, mastering deep understanding and engagement with customers. At ListenLogic, we see examples of what Josh says occur every day. A recent CNN article looks at one dimension of the Age of The Customer, clearly illustrating the need for real-time listening and understanding of social customer data.

Social Media has changed business in many ways. Mobile devices, smartphones and iPads are now constant companions to over one billion consumers and they use them constantly to consume a constant stream of professional and social media data. Mobile consumers publish a constant stream of thoughts, opinions, reviews, recommendations, praises and complaints.

There are three key drivers that power the Amplification of Social Media in the Age of the Customer that brands need to understand:

• The average American has 634 ties in their social network (Pew http://bit.ly/lJdBPI). If a positive or negative issue resonates, it will travel from network to network and grow quickly and exponentially.
• The Press is always listening to social media, they have an insatiable appetite for controversy and publish 24/7. The bigger the brand and more negative the story, the more likely the Press will follow.
• Activists and individuals have learned how to “crank up” the Amplification to increase amount and velocity of spread. People have learned that what you post, where you post, and how you post makes a big difference. Carefully crafted messages posted to influential sites and posted to generally easy to monitor sites using company, brand, product, and stock symbol keywords and hashtags will be picked up quickly.

The most important thing for big brands to understand is that customer complaints amplified by social media will affect your brand and every brand with increasing frequency. It is a reality of the Age of the Customer. Some complaints will be false and intentionally malicious, some routine and minor, and a few will be embarrassing and damaging to your reputation and stock price. The response to these complaints can range from ignoring, to correcting, to apologizing. In every case a companies’ ability to quickly identify, understand, and respond appropriately is the key to minimizing the social spread and impact.

We hope you find the commentary and article helpful. Please feel free to contact me ListenLogic with any questions you may have. We would be happy to provide you and your team with an educational update on Best Practices Social for CRM and Social Reputation Management in the Age of the Customer.

As social media continues to become part of everyday life, market researchers are beginning to leverage social data in a multitude of ways. Focus groups, surveys, and panels will never be completely replaced, but social media is quickly becoming an affordable alternative for deep qualitative research.

Here are a few ways market researchers can leverage social media data for deep insight:

1. Consumer Segmentation

Consumers are talking online everyday, about everything, in massive numbers. This volume of data alone allows for a much deeper analysis into specific segments within the market than study groups.  Whether you are looking to identify emerging trends in a specific demographic segment (ie: Hispanic mothers between 25 – 34) or understand the path-to-purchase among a broader spectrum (ie: Males 25 – 49), with the right data and the right technologies, social media can provide incredibly insightful answers.

2. Customer Experience

Companies are placing a larger emphasis on customer experience. A great experience is what can set retailers apart in a world where e-tailers and big box stores are winning the price wars. Mobile social media adoption is providing a wealth of customer experience data.  Customers are now documenting their in-store experience in real-time on the social web in the form of Tweets and Facebook status updates.  Analyzing this data can help to understand how consumers view staff, merchandising, promotions, as well as in-store purchase triggers.

3. Competitive Intelligence

Consumers talk about brands all the time in social media.  From customer service to product performance.  Social market research makes it possible to identify correlations between a competitive brand within a target demographic (ie: What type of activities do females 18 – 34 who shop at a certain retailer often engage in?).  Social media provides deep insights into unmet needs and switching preferences which can help drive purchases away from competitors to your business.

Be sure to request our social market research whitepaper to find out more about how social media can work alongside your current research methodology.