While all hype in these modern times is focused around social networks – I can’t help but wonder about how email fits into the mix. Certainly, some user types and certain contexts would be more likely to result in an email than others. I think this begs for attention. The forgotten share…

Yep, a post about the old school art of emailing…

According to a recent post on Techcrunch around 13% of users are sharing content over email, second only to Facebook. (Published 16^th Feb, 2010)

Furthermore a recent study by the Pew Institute titled “Understanding the Participatory News Consumer” reports that 75% of news consumers had experienced receiving news via email. (Published 1^st March, 2010)

Why?

Last month the New York Times published an article titled “Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome”. The article reveals details of an extensive study which focuses on what content is most frequently emailed from the New York Times site via a partnership with  researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (Reported: 8^th Feb, 2010). While clearly a bit of a thin share on the New York Times part (commercially protected findings), they do disclose a few gems…

Essentially people were likely to share hot content (20% from the home page), and that they are more likely to share positive content over negative. By contrast 30% of the content that was shared during their six month study was from the science section.

In short, it is thought articles that changed or challenged the sharers view of the world around them was more likely to be shared because people are seeking an emotional communication when they share articles. Apparently awe and anxiety are great motivators for wanting a shared experience. #contentstrategy

Introducing an email share tracking tool

Recently, at work we stumbled upon Tynt Tracer via copying and pasting. It’s a service and analytics tool which appends an article / page’s url to whatever the user copy and pastes. It makes sharing so much easier for emailers, bloggers and IM users to name a few. It also supplies site owners with analytics around how many copies have taken place and how many visitors actually click through on those specific shares (via copy & paste actions). When the receiver of a Tynt enhanced link clicks on an attribution link they will also see the original text highlighted in page and in context. Genius!

Network share of the share

A few days ago another outstanding piece of share statistical intrigue hit the rounds:

Five New Studies Show Facebook A Marketing Powerhouse, from the Social Media Examiner highlights Facebook’s  impressive dominance on all data accounts.

The question however, remains…

Which social networking sites (or email shares) are the most affective in terms of traffic outcomes (click throughs, not only shares)?

Which sites/ activities deliver the most page impressions after arrival (quality of traffic)?

Which sites/ activities deliver the most time on site once users visit via a social network (engagement).

Can someone do this bit of work for me?

Have you been thinking about the email share? Or is it a forgotten art of the share?