Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why it Matters

Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why it Matters is about our urge to share  information and be social, and how this is enhanced and extended by a  new range of technologies. Alfred Hermida analyzes the way we frame and share news and information using social media, proving that what we’re  doing is something inherently human, though in new ways and in a new space.

Drawing on historical examples, real-world experiences and leading research, Hermida equips readers with the knowledge and insight to  successfully navigate the social streams of information that shape how  people view the world. According to Hermida, no one is immune to the impact of new media, whether they consider themselves an active social  media user or not. Every day 500 million messages are sent on Twitter  and 800 million people share four billion stories, links, photographs  and videos on Facebook.

In Hermida’s view, while journalists used to be the official channel  to distribute information with a certain level of trust, editorial  decisions are being transferred to friends and family via social media.  

Hermida believes that in this new world of media and information, we, as individuals, need some of the skills that journalists have been  trained with, to sort through the information.

“Social media and the ways in which people communicate with one another are evolving at an incredible rate,” says Tahir Ayub, Managing Partner, Markets and Industries at PwC Canada. 

“Understanding new media and its impact on the world, namely your customers and how they interact  with each other and your brand, is critical to business leaders making  informed decisions.”

Alfred Hermida is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He is a former BBC television, radio and online journalist, and was a founding news editor of the BBC News website in 1997. Through his research at  UBC, and his earlier work at the BBC, he has built an international  reputation as an authority on new media, with his work appearing in Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journalism Practice and Journalism Studies. He has also contributed to The Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London and NPR.

The 2015 finalists included:

Jacques Poitras, Irving vs. Irving: Canada’s Feuding Billionaires And The Stories They Won’t Tell, published by Viking Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

• Clive Veroni, Spin: How Politics has the Power to Turn Marketing on its Head, published by House of Anansi Press Inc.