Alexandra Samuel | Data Storyteller, Wall Street Journal Contributor and Author of Work Smarter with Social Media

Alexandra Samuel

Data Storyteller, Wall Street Journal Contributor and Author of Work Smarter with Social Media

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Alexandra Samuel
Biography

Dr. Alexandra Samuel ia Harvard-trained social scientist who uses data storytelling to help audiences navigate the transition to a digital world. How can we fight digital distraction and reclaim our productivity? How can we robot-proof the next generation? How can we get our customers' attention amidst the clamor of social media? Combining groundbreaking research with innovative approach to data storytelling, Samuel answers questions like these in her widely-read and influential stories for The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review and The Atlantic.

A contributor to The Wall Street Journal and the data journalist behind flagship reports like Forbes' annual World's Most Influential CMOs, Alex uses data storytelling to challenge the conventional wisdom on tech, business and society. As one of social media's founding innovators, the author of Work Smarter with Social Media (Harvard Business Review Press) and a Harvard Ph.D., she has the authority to map out digital trends using original data -- and the passion to show audiences what those trends mean for their own work and organizations.

A sought-after tech commentator, Alex writes for The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review, The Verge, The Atlantic, Today's Parent and The National Observer, and she is the digital columnist for JSTOR Daily. Her data-driven reports on topics like the sharing economy, customer analytics, social media purchasing and digital parenting have been featured in publications like Forbes, Fast Company and Entrepreneur. Tune into NPR or the CBC for a story about digital wellness, social media marketing or family technology, and you may catch Alex summing up the situation with one of her witty one-liners; her TEDx talks have been covered by Slate and The Atlantic.

Alex's work as a data storyteller is grounded in more than twenty years of experience in the tech sector. As the former VP Social at software company Vision Critical, she commanded the company's work integrating social media into its customer intelligence platform for Fortune 500 brands. Samuel also co-founded Social Signal, one of the world's first social media agencies, before serving as the founding director of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University. And as the Research Director for the Governance in the Digital Economy program, she worked with Don Tapscott to help governments from around the world address the impact of the digital revolution.

Alexandra holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University, where her dissertation was the first comprehensive study of hacktivism (politically motivated computer hacking).

Alexandra Samuel
Featured Videos

Current: Hacking Parenthood: The 3 Worlds of Digital Parenting

Time 12:52

More Videos From Alexandra Samuel

Hacking Parenthood: The 3 Worlds of Digital Parenting
Time 12:52
Social Media Adoption and Policy Formation
Time 06:35
What Can 'Star Trek' Teach Us About Our Work Life?
Time 08:35
Hacking Parenthood
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Telling Stories with Data

Whether you’re dealing with big data or smaller, more manageable “little data”, you need to be able to not only understand and learn from it, but tell effective stories with it. In this talk, Samuel shares the secrets of her success as the tech industry’s leading data storyteller: The approach to data visualization that landed her company a feature spread in the Harvard Business Review.The research design that made her report the go-to authority on the sharing economy. The storytelling strategy that made her the go-to data journalist for Forbes’ prestigious report on the World’s Most Influential CMOs. Through this behind-the-scenes account, audiences will learn the steps to developing an effective data storytelling strategy, from data gathering and visualization to media and social media engagement

The data code
The new rules of customer data

From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to Europe’s new privacy policy directive, companies are grappling with increasing sensitivity and pressure when it comes to how they handle their customers’ data. But that doesn’t mean brands need to forgo the insight that comes from really knowing their customers; it just means they need a strategy that respects customers’ privacy and autonomy. In this talk, Alexandra Samuel shares the principles and practices that allow businesses to make effective, respectful use of customer data. Building on her experience developing innovative social media data strategies for some of the world’s leading brands, she maps out the best practices that give companies the insight they need — without betraying their customers.

Hacking Parenthood
What 10,000 North American families know about our digital future

From boardrooms to classrooms, children’s growing use of technology has ignited debate over the addictive power of screens and the best way to prepare kids for a digital future. In this talk, Alexandra Samuel addresses the controversy with the same data that has driven her widely discussed stories for The Atlantic, JSTOR Daily and The Wall Street Journal: An original survey of more than 10,000 North American parents that uncovered three distinct digital parenting styles. Countering speculation with hard data, Alex shows what these three different styles mean for the future of business, education and society.

How to robot-proof the next generation

You don’t have to worry about the Terminator to wonder how today’s kids and young adults will fare in the world of work. Between the rise of artificial intelligence and the shift towards a gig economy, economists and policy-makers now fret over the coming “end of work”. But that doesn’t mean employers, educators, families or governments need to give up on the next generation. Building on her research on how tens of thousands of North Americans are navigating the collaborative economy and their own household technology choices, Alexandra Samuel maps out the robot-proofing strategies that will ensure today’s young people become tomorrow’s successful managers, entrepreneurs, and employees.

Alexandra Samuel
Featured Books

Work Smarter with Social Mediaby Alexandra Samuel

Work Smarter with Social Media

by Alexandra Samuel
The Atlanticby Alexandra Samuel

The Atlantic

by Alexandra Samuel
Getting The Right Work Doneby Alexandra Samuel

Getting The Right Work Done

by Alexandra Samuel
Democracy Onlineby Alexandra Samuel

Democracy Online

by Alexandra Samuel
Being More Productiveby Alexandra Samuel

Being More Productive

by Alexandra Samuel

Alexandra Samuel
Featured Reviews

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Alexandra Samuel

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