SOCIAL MEDIA AS A DESIGN RESOURCE
Influence and Potential Impact WITH ALL OF THE ATTENTION TOWARDS THE INTERNET, BLOGGING , AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, HOW MUCH OF THIS ONLINE INFORMATION IS INFLUENCING OPINIONS , PERCEPTIONS , AND PURCHASING RELATED TO THE FIELD OF
INTERIOR D ESIGN ?
Social Media as a Design Resource
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
1
TERMINOLOGY
4
OBJECTIVE & STRATEGY
5
SURVEY RESULTS
6
OBSERVATIONS & CONCLUSIONS
15
BIBLIOGRAPHY
18
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
20
Jennifer R. Lea MID510 – Research Methods Harrington College of Design November 19, 2009 For additional information regarding this report please email at: jenrlea@gmail.com
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INTRODUCTION| According to eMarketer.com, by the year 2011, one-half of all internet users, nearly 105 million people, will use social networking regularly- just in the U.S. (eMarketer 2007). The New York Times reported that 52 percent of people polled in December 2008 actually consulted a blog before making a purchase (Vandam 2008). Technorati now reports that there are over 133 million blogs, almost 133 million more than there were just five years ago. YouTube and other video sharing sites have sparked similar widespread participation in the production of online video. Over 10,000 hours of video are uploaded to the web every day. In the past six months more material has been uploaded to YouTube than all of the content ever aired on major network television. (Michael Wesch 2009) Consumers across the five countries spend anywhere from 11 to 19 hours per week using the Internet for JUST personal reasons. (Deloitte LLP 2009) With all of the attention towards the internet, blogging, and use of social media, how much of this information online is influencing the opinions, perceptions, trends, and purchasing related to the field of interior design? Are there differences between the “general public” versus those in the interior design or architecture industry?
What relationship is there to those
who subscribe to written design publications and those who view design blogs or design “tweets”? What are the demographics of those who read design blogs? How often are design blogs read and for what reason? What are the correlations between commonly read blogs? To what extent do we rely on information from the internet over written publications and television?
Do we
prefer our design information to come from other types of media rather than the internet? The effects of other types of media have been shown in studies, for example, evaluating the correlation between film media and design preference as well as the impact of design-related television shows on student
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perceptions of the interior design profession. Currently, there has been some research performed in the area of internet and social media, but not specifically as it relates to interior designers and interior design related information. This specialized information could give insight on any impact or influence it is having on both the general public as well as those in the profession. Social Media has spread into the interior design and architecture professions, however, according to some recent articles, not as much as it should. Interior design curriculums are increasingly now including coursework in the area of communication media which inherently signifies an acknowledgement of the potential importance on the profession. Do those in the interior design or architecture industry follow social media? If so, what type(s) of information are they seeking? Do they utilize social media for their own advertising or marketing? According to a panel discussion between Decorati and Robert Allen at ADAC about online social networking (Decorati, Inc. 2009), some of the reasons designers should engage in social networks include interacting with (potential) customers and building a brand. David Bassett, founder of Ava Living says that with social marketing you “engage with people you don’t know, represent your knowledge and personality and build a fan base that extends your reach to new potential clients.” Mary Knackstedt in Marketing and Client Relations for Interior Designers, also indicates that blogs are becoming increasingly important as they can position designers as experts in particular areas and are inexpensive tools with which designers can stimulate the interest of potential clients. (Knackstedt 2008)
D UE TO THE “TRENDY NATURE” OF S OCIAL MEDIA , THERE ARE MANY GRAPHICS , COMICS , AND QUOTES AVAILABLE ON THE WEB .
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TERMINOLOGY|
Social Media is defined as online tools and utilities that allow for communication and collaboration of information online.
Included in this technology (but not limited to) are blogs,
social/professional networking sites, and “consumer content distribution sites” (including podcasting/video casting and photo-sharing). (Newson 2009) The term Blog is derived from “web log”.
Blogs are essentially websites with Video Sharing
information organized in date order (most recent first) and that usually link to information
Photo Sharing Blogging
contained on other websites. A Blog is much like an “online journal.”
Podcasts
Key Social Platforms
Common social/professional networking includes sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace.
Popular “consumer-
Micro Blogging
Message Boards
RSS
content distribution sites” sites include YouTube and Flickr. Related to digital/internet media is accessibility, organization, and sharing of sources.
Chat Rooms
Widgets Social
Networking
RSS Feeds (RSS – “really simple
syndication”) allow you to “subscribe to” information and/or sites and then “aggregate” it. Aggregation software and services allow you to view the information in one location. RSS newsfeed aggregator services generally notify you if there is new content available for viewing and/or show “headlines” or summaries of the subscribed to newsfeeds. Examples of RSS newsfeed aggregator services include Google Reader and My Yahoo.
There are also services available that allow you to directly
share/bookmark content from websites or blogs directly to your social media sites. Examples of these include Buzz, Del.icio.us and Digg.
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OBJECTIVE| The objective of this research is two-fold. The first component is to gather information to determine the extent the “general public” uses internet media for design and decorating information over other types of media including magazines (written publications) and television and which types of media they prefer. The second component is to analyze whether or not interior designers (or others in related professions) specifically are utilizing social media and in what ways.
RESEARCH STRATEGY| The research strategy to be employed will be a combination of a survey and actual research of existing internet sites and internet analytics. The survey distributed (see attached) is to gather general information on demographics, general internet and social media usage and whether or not social media is utilized as a design resource. Questions also ascertain what other (written) publications may be read, and design television shows watched to see if there are any relationships in the data. This survey will be used to assess both the “general public” and interior designers/architects (there is an additional set of questions for designers). In addition, four websites reviewed have reported what they consider to be the “Top” Home and Interior Design Blogs. Comparing these lists, there are a group of five blogs which seem to consistently be reported. (Figure 1) The sites reporting these lists included Padstyle.com, Blogs.com, Adamson’s and Kineda.com. These blogs identified will be reviewed to determine readership characteristics, keywords used, type(s) of author(s), stated purpose/tag line, citation sources, direct links to other websites/blogs, and recent topics.
Frequently Cited Blogs • Apartment Therapy • Decor 8 • Design Sponge • Freshome • Remodelista
The purpose of reviewing these blogs is to determine whether or not these are characteristic of design-type blogs and whether or not these blogs are followed
FIGURE 1. POPULAR DESIGN BLOGS
by those surveyed.
ABOUT THE SURVEY| An online survey was distributed utilizing Survey Monkey, an online survey service. Requests to complete the online survey were advertised through a current email contact list, via a Facebook post request, personal blog request, as well as through an International Interior Design Association (IIDA) newsletter and Facebook posting. Ultimately, there were 46 respondents who took the survey.
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SURVEY RESULTS Demographic Highlights
13% were male
87% were female
15 states represented
47% of respondents were from Illinois
46% of respondents were either in interior design or a related field
86.7% had Bachelor’s Degree or higher
27% had used the services of an interior designer
97% reported to use the internet at least daily
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States Represented by Survey
Respondents “Interior Design Style� Age Groups Represented
20-29 22%
Eclectic 35.6%
Modern 33.3%
30-39 31% 40-49 27% 50-59 16% 60+
4%
Traditional 24.4%
Contemporary 11.1% Other 8.9%
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BLOGS/NEWSFEEDS/TWEETS Out of the 41 respondents who completed the question regarding how many blogs or RSS/newsfeeds they subscribed to in general, 19 respondents indicated that they did not read or subscribe. Of the 22 who indicated that they did subscribe, the following chart shows that many read or subscribe to only 1. While art and architecture type blogs seem to be the most popular 27.5% of respondents said that they read design or decorating related blogs. 120
# Subscribed to
100 80 60 40 20 0 -20
0
5
10 15 # of respondents
20
25
Types of Blogs Read 35% 30% 25% 20%
27.5%
15% 10% 5% 0%
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Do subscribe to or read any interior design or home decorating Blogs, Tweets, or RSS/NewsFeeds?
Yes, 10%
Yes, 19%
Yes, 27%
No, 83%
No, 74%
No, 70%
N/A, 6%
N/A, 7%
N/A, 7%
Blogs
Tweets
RSS/Newsfeeds
Frequency of use of Internet Media Use by Reason
Design/Decorating Inspiration
Building or Remodeling Research a Keep up with Trends in the Ideas Design/Decorating Product Design Industry
DAILY J. Lea
OFTEN
OCCASIONALLY 9|Page
Social Media as a Design Resource
Social Media Use Never 5% Seldom 13%
Daily 48%
Occasionally 10%
Often 25%
Visit Frequency of Social Media Sites DAILY OR OFTEN
30% 28%
DAILY 15%
15% 10%
11% 5%
5% 3%
5%
3% 0%
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OFTEN
Blogs
YouTube
Flickr
0% 0%
MySpace
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Type of Internet Media Used as Resource Social Media Site
Blog
Specific Website
74%
73%
59%
19% 7%
15%
19%
4%
Design/Decorating Inspiration
56%
4%
Building or Remodeling Ideas
Research a Design/Decorating Product
19% 4% Keep up with Trends in the Design Industry
PREFERRED Internet Resource for Interior Design information Respondents #1 and #2 Choices
Designer/Builder Website
84%
Product/Manufacturer Websites
85%
Wikis (i.e. Wikipedia) Social Media Sites Blogs
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MEDIA COMPARISON
Media Source Preference and Credibility Comparison Preferred
Most Credible
73%
49% 35% 14%
Printed Publications
Internet Media
16%
14%
Television/Film
Media Used for Design Decision or Product Purchase 11.1% 37% 63% 88.9%
Yes No
60% 33%
Magazine
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TV Show
Social Media Site
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Interior Design Related Profession Social Media link on Website (n=11)
Do you have a website? (n=11)
No 18%
Yes 56%
No 27%
Yes 73%
N/A 27%
% who have Blog, Facebook, Twitter or Linked In profile for your business/profession (n=11) Linked In
100.0%
63.6%
36.4%
Blog
36.4%
% who Read or Subscribe to Design Related Social Media
Media Preference for Design Information (ID related professions)
(ID related Profession) Printed Publications 64.3%
29% 19% 14%
Internet Media 57.1% Blogs
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RSS/Newsfeeds
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Frequently Cited Blogs Five blogs (listed at right) were reviewed for readership data and a question was included on the survey to determine the familiarity of these sites by respondents. The majority of the survey respondents were not familiar with these popular design blogs (see chart below).
Remodelista Freshome Design Sponge DeZeen Decor8 Apartment Therapy
88% 94% 74% 64% 91%
Frequently Cited Blogs •Apartment Therapy •Decor 8 •Design Sponge •Freshome •Remodelista
69%
Tag Words of 5 Popular Interior Design Blogs
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OBSERVATIONS & CONCLUSIONS|
Survey participants are internet savvy with 97% reporting to use the internet at least daily and the other 3% often (more than once per week)
48% of survey respondents report to use some form of social media daily
In general, survey shows that printed publication media is preferred over other types of media and is also considered to be a more credible design information resource
89% of survey participants say they have not used information from a social media site in making a design related decision or product purchase
Popular blogs cited do not seem to be “popular” among this survey’s participants. Apartment therapy was the most familiar blog with 31% of those surveyed having at least recognized it
The preferred internet source of interior design related information was product or manufacturer websites (85% of respondent’s first and second choices).
Although a lot of information was acquired in this research study regarding social media and its use for interior design related information, further research is required to substantiate and elaborate on the findings. One research strategy that was not expanded upon as initially planned was the area of the 5 Popular Interior Design Blogs. Since most of the survey participants had not heard of these sites, expanding upon and comparing data did not seem applicable in this case. Many of these popular blogs cited have common characteristics including providing design ideas and product resources. Some general information gained about these blogs is included in the “Additional Resources” section of this report. Potential issues which could distort survey results include: a) the lack of a larger survey sample size b) need for more specific interior design related professionals for the industry specific research c) lack of knowledge by the survey takers of exactly what social media is and/or that internet resources they are using are actually a form of social media “in disguise” Areas of further research could include: a) Targeting those in the interior design profession with a specialized survey to address what they know about Social Media, if and how they use it and why or why not b) Design associations and publications which have social media links in addition to their traditional source – why they have both, what is the make-up of the subscribers, how they compare to other sites
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c) Credibility Study- what types of social media is seen as being credible and by who, how social media sites compare to vendor or client specific websites d) Study of blogs and sites who track consumerism to determine if people do make purchases or decisions based on their information and what benefits they derive from readership
UPDATE| There was a recent study just made available on November 16, 2009 by Business.Com titled the 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study (http://www.business.com/info/business-social-mediabenchmark-study).
This was a pretty comprehensive study derived from a survey of over 3000 North
American business professionals with additional “white papers” to follow to further explore certain issues uncovered.
This study focused on benchmarking the activities and perspectives of people already involved
with social media for business and did not assess, for example, how many businesses maintained a social media presence. Also of note is that study participants included from the architecture and design industries only accounted for approximately 1% of those surveyed. (Ben Hanna 2009) The study indicated that interest in Twitter as a business information resource is also growing as people find they can quickly gain access to relevant information and start new business relationships. A quote from a Business.com study participant states that “the people I follow (through Twitter) provide me with more relevant links and information than any other tool. It saves me time and helps me learn about new technologies or innovative ideas, as they are happening.” This study points out that Real Estate & Construction industry respondents stand out as more active users of social media as a business information resource than those from other industries. (Ben Hanna 2009) Although this is not directly connected to interior design, the industry relationship could indicate that designers and architects may want to be aware of their social media presence or lack thereof and how this could be another source of additional exposure available to them. A sample graph from the Business.com study is on the following page. This chart shows the top social media sites on which companies maintain profiles. What is interesting to note is the similarity of those ranked higher on the chart to those that have more popularity amongst participants in our research study - the most popular being Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter.
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Example Graph 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study (http://www.business.com/info/business-social-media-benchmark-study) J. Lea
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Adamson: The Complete Home Service. Top 15 Interior Design Blogs. http://www.adamsons.co.uk/top-interiordesign-blogs.asp. Ben Hanna, Ph.D. VP, Marketing R.H. Donnelley Interactive. "Business.com’s 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study." Business.com. November 2, 2009. http://www.business.com/info/business-social-mediabenchmark-study. Blogs.Com. 10 Popular Home and Interior Design Blogs. www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-home-andinterior-design-blogs/ (accessed October 2009). Chicago Home Interior Pros (C.H.I.P.s.). If you are going to follow, follow wisely... May 15, 2009. http://www.chicagochips.com/2009/05/if-youre-going-to-follow-follow-wisely.html. Decorati, Inc. "Decorati and Robert Allen Host Panel Discussion at ADAC: Online Social Networking." Decorati Access. May 8, 2009. http://access.decorati.com/2009/05/08/decorati-and-robert-allen-host-paneldiscussion-at-adac-online-social-networking/. Deloitte LLP. "Deloitte’s State of the Media Democracy Survey Select Highlights, Multi-National Third Edition." Deloitte. March 19, 2009. http://www.deloitte.com/assets/DcomUnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/us_tmt_State%20of%20the%20Media%20Democracy%20Third% 20Edition%20Highlights_011409.pdf (accessed October 2009). eMarketer. "Social Media Future Bright, Challenging: What's the best way to market to a billion users?" eMarketer. December 19, 2007. www.emarketer.com/articles (accessed October 2009). Granatstein, Lisa. "Arch Digest gets itself out of the house." Media Week 8, no. 24 (June 1998): 23-24. Iannucci, Lisa. "Designing Reality- Mass Media and Interior Design." The Cooperator: The Co-op & Condo Monthly. (accessed October 2009). Kineda. 40 Amazing Architecture and Interior Design Blogs. February 2, 2009. http://www.kineda.com/40amazing-architecture-and-interior-design-blogs/. Knackstedt, Mary V. Marketing and Client Relations for Interior Designers. John Wiley and Sons, 2008. Lisa K. Waxman, Stephanie Clemons. "Mixed Messages: The Impact of Design-Related Television Shows on Student Perception of the Interior Design Profession." IDEC- Deliberate Design, 2004: 32-33. Molloy Management. "Interior Designers need to use Social Media Presence ." Molloy Management Blog. August 15, 2009. http://www.molloymanagement.com/blog/?p=81. Newson, Alex. Blogging and Other Social Media. Burlington, VT: Gower Publishng, 2009. Online: a Division of Information Today Inc. EContent - Digital Content, Strategies & Resources. http://www.econtentmag.com/ (accessed 2009). Reilly, Shane. "To Designers re: Design Blogs, Get with it." Shane's Studio- Founder of Decorati and Interior Designer (Blog). September 26, 2009. http://shane.decorati.com/. Sapienza, Terri. "Design Magazines Find No Shelter From The Slump." The Washington Post (online). January 22, 2009. www.washingtonpost/com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/ (accessed October 2009).
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Shauna Corry, M.A., Jo Ann Asher Thompson, Ph.D. "Popular Film Media and Viewers Preference for Interior Design Characteristics- Is there a Relationship." The Journal of Interior Design (Interior Design Educators Council) 19, no. 2 (1993): 27-33. Technorati. http://technorati.com/. The Nielsen Company. Blog Pulse. http://www.blogpulse.com/. Vandam, Jeff. "Drilling Down: Blogs Find Favor as Buying Guides." New York Times Online. December 22, 2008. www.nytimes.com (accessed October 2009). Ward, David. "Home Design Coverage Still on Solid Ground." PR Week. March 16, 2009. www.prweekus.com. WhoLinksToMe.com. How popular is interiordesign.net? http://wholinkstome.com/url/interiordesign.net.
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APARTMENT THERAPY http://www.apartmenttherapy.com The Apartment Therapy Mission is helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.
Tags: therapy, apartment, sofa bed, design, bamboo bath mat, orla kiely, interior design, Electrolux, sofa, the kitchen, Arco lamp, furniture, apartments, chalkboard paint, fabrics, loft ladder, nyc apartments, west elm, deck tiles, magnetic paint, bathroom, platform bed, best towels, wallpaper, keep calm and carry on, eco friendly, bath towels, IKEA, shelving, tile, organizing, cabinet, shelf
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DECOR8 http://www.decor8blog.com/ Launched in January ‘06, decor8 is a design blog dedicated to sharing decorating ideas, interiors, independent art and design, products and services, and to inspire readers to live a more fulfilling, creative life. "Fresh finds for hip spaces"
Tags: decor8blog, design, design blog, decor8, decorating, blog, home accessories, ceramics, textiles, prints, patterns, apartment living, flooring, DIY, vintage, modern, contemporary, furniture, furniture design, photography, independent artists, fine arts, pro
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DESIGN*SPONGE http://designsponge.blogspot.com/
Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design run by Brooklynbased writer, Grace Bonney. Launched in August of 2004, Design*Sponge was declared a “Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials� (NY Times, 2008) and features store and product reviews, city, product, and gift guides, diy projects, before & after furniture and home makeovers, home tours, recipes, videos and podcasts, and trend forecasting. In addition, Design*Sponge is dedicated to covering student design, national and international design shows. The site is updated constantly throughout the day (with an average of 6-10 posts a day), and attracts a core group of devoted readers. Design*Sponge currently has 45,000 daily readers and over 40,000 readers reading via RSS.
Tags: design sponge, designsponge, design*sponge, grace bonney, bonney, grace, design, furniture, furniture design, graphic design, product design, brooklyn, independent, designer, designers, future perfect, reviews, articles
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FRESHOME http://freshome.com/
This blog provides inspiration, news, home tours, home gadgets, tips for improving your home, products to improve your home and more.
Keywords: interior design, home design furniture, bedroom, architecture, decor, living room, house, kitchen, bathroom
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REMODELISTA http://www.remodelista.com/
Daily remodeling and interior design website focused on interiors, furnishings, fixtures, and appliances. Asethetic favors "classic and livable" over "trendy and transient"
Tags: remodeling, remodeling ideas, home design, home decorating, home improvement, remodeling tips, kitchen remodeling, bath remodeling, bathroom remodeling, home fixtures, home light fixtures, design forum, home fixtures, interior decorating, modern furniture
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