UN SDG influence maps:
Clean water

17th May 2021

 

Clean water

Primary influencer types: Activists

Network profile: Dispersed halos

A very disconnected and sparse map of discussions relating to clean water. We see very few influential accounts present - and even fewer interacting with other communities outside their own clusters. 

For the most part, the few accounts that do hold influence in these discussions are mostly one-sided, leading to a ‘halo effect’ with other accounts sharing their tweets, yet not engaging in discussion or adding anything new beyond that. In this map, halo effects are rather common, such as Isi Baehr-Breen (Deputy Communications Director to Rep. Ilhan Omar) in light purple, to the left of the map.

In these conversations, we’re mostly seeing activists, experts or individuals holding influence, rather than larger humanitarian organisations or renown figures. However, these individual accounts do not seem to generate much conversation or interactivity within their clusters. For example, there are a couple of doctors or health practitioners on the borders of this map, such as Aproko Doctor in red and Kate Ahmad in yellow. These small clusters don’t stretch further than the individual account of each. 

Towards the centre of the map, there’s a small influential account which advocates for safe drinking water for all in its bio. Surprisingly, we didn’t see more accounts that were purely focused on water access and sanitation causes.

There is a small interaction between political figures in India - namely the Cabinet Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel - which intersects with the account of a large oil and gas company in India. It’s not a significantly large interaction and stays mostly within the boundaries of those two accounts. 

Recommendations

Due to the lack of large influencers in this map, it would be possible for a new voice to carve out a position of authority. An institutional account or a campaigning organisation would be able to join the conversation in a natural way, while also being a valuable contributor to the discussion.

Next up

We’ll be creating more influencer maps on this topic and the other 17 Sustainable Development Goals over time, so stay tuned for the next update, and visit the maps section to explore the other topics. 

If you are interested in uncovering the key influencers and communities in a certain field or topic, get in touch to talk through your ideas.

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