When the Data hits the Fan!

Jerusalem Marketplace by Simon Tanner  Research shows that “more than 90% of the conversations about products, services and brands that take place every day” happen offline or face-to-face [1]. Thus billions of product, services and recommendations conversations happen in this offline space and only a small percentage are currently happening in online spaces, whether driven by social media or commercial spaces. Even a small percentage of billions is a significant number, of course, but there remains considerable scope for growth in digital modes of community based discussion, sharing and recommendation. Especially in specialist areas where there is not currently a strong digital space for such conversations then promoting the building and delivery of communities that can share experience, knowledge and most importantly requirements, needs and recommendations could be an important innovation.

What can the digital humanities learn from the REF2014 results that gives the discipline a boost and holds out hope for all of us who ply our scholarly trade as digital humanists? Here I lay out 3 reasons to be cheerful in the midst of the detritus of the Research Excellence Framework (REF).