What does social intelligence mean to you?
I see “Social Intelligence” as a form of digital anthropology. It’s all about understanding our cultures and communities in this digital age. We live in a world where technology and the internet are changing what it means to be human, and through social intelligence or “digital anthropology”, we can better understand these changes in our communities, our audiences and our general world.
What motivates you in your work? What makes you want to keep working in social intelligence?
When I think about the biggest problems in the world today, they are ultimately underpinned by the values, needs and behaviors of people. Social intelligence and digital anthropology are focused on understanding people in the digital world, and gaining insights into their motivations. These kinds of insights can help us better serve the people and communities around us. I’m motivated by the potential of how this field can help us build a more equal and ethical world by simply understanding each other more clearly.
What do you think makes you successful in your work?
Curiosity and an unwavering commitment to experimentation are essential to my work. I’m focused on how we can build awareness, opportunity and fresh ideas in the field of digital anthropology. This means spending a lot of time in a liminal space of possibility. I believe there are emerging methods and still to be discovered approaches to understanding people and cultures online, all of which can have a profound impact on how we live in – and how we build – the digital world. I’m excited by these discoveries as well as how we can turn our field – and the field of social intelligence – into an essential part of public and private sector organizations.
What are the key skills that have contributed to your success?
Key (hard earned) skills over my career include:
-Deep Insight Discovery: Gathering research data is easy, but unlocking hidden insights is hard. The word “insight” is often misunderstood in my experience. It’s not just finding correlations, or a chart or stat. It’s a memorable nugget of human truth that boils down a lot of big and thick data to the deeper human motivation. This is the kind of insight that sparks impactful change in a business or organization, but it requires tenacity, curiosity and context to identify it.
-Storytelling: As a leader, it’s my job to inspire others around what could be, and when working in the realm of innovation and digital anthropology, this means using storytelling to illuminate the future for the world of today. In general, the ability to tell a complex story simply, and awaken belief in others, is critical. Not many people will read a 50+ page report, so I try to boil my insights and ideas down to short memorable stories. It is simply the kindest way of engaging anyone to join you on a journey.
-Relentless Experimentation: I love that famous quote by Mark Twain, “It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just isn’t so.” This is a constant reminder to me to always de-risk and experiment with insights and ideas. Working in digital anthropology and exploring new ideas and methods is often about constant learning and being brave enough to try something new. I try to keep myself humble, curious and experimental as much as possible. I find the most interesting ideas, collaborations and approaches flow naturally from these mindsets.
What makes social data special compared to other data sources?
Social data is a completely raw form of human expression. It’s real unaided thoughts and feelings that are not influenced by a research setting. This makes social data more revealing and less biased as it’s unprompted and thus closer to the truth. Social Data also allows for more forms of creative expression, allowing new types of insights and understanding into people and cultures and identities.
What does being a social intelligence pioneer mean in the context of your work?
In my work, I’m focused on innovations in digital anthropology and directing more attention and opportunities toward this field. In terms of being a pioneer in social intelligence, this means working with digital anthropologists and interdisciplinary experts across the data and human sciences to uncover and promote new methods and tools for understanding people and cultures in the digital world. This also includes engaging leadership teams across the public and private sector to re-imagine the role of social intelligence and digital anthropology within their organizations. So many organizations want to be “human-centered” in their design and strategy, but for that to work, digital anthropologists and social intelligence leaders need a seat at the decision-making table, right alongside data scientists.
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