Welcome to the Social Intelligence Lab
We’re a global community dedicated to advancing the value of social and internet data as a source of insight.
What do we mean by social and internet data? As more people interact with each other, build relationships and share ideas online, they leave behind a treasure trove of information that can be used to learn more about humanity. By analysing social media, forums, online review sites, podcasts, blogs and more, we can learn more about how people behave, what they consume and how they communicate with each other.
At The SI Lab, we help social listening professionals at brands and organisations use social and internet data to make strategic business decisions based on a deep understanding of people and society. We guide them in building processes and toolkits to help uncover insight in a thoughtful and responsible way.
Our journey from beginning to now
Jillian's journey began in 2007 when her work as a Research Assistant using social data to study volunteer voices sparked a lifelong passion. That curiosity led her to become the UK's first doctor of social media, researching how online content credibility shapes purchase decisions. She then spent years as a consultant helping major brands like Manchester City FC and Vanquis Bank turn social intelligence into smarter marketing strategy.
In 2019, driven by a desire to connect an underserved community of social listening professionals, Jillian founded The Social Intelligence Lab as a passion project. What started as a blog and expert panel series has grown into a global community — hosting virtual events reaching 40+ countries, launching Tech Demo Day, and most recently bringing 200+ professionals together in person at the Observe Summit in London. Today, the SI Lab is the definitive home for social intelligence practitioners worldwide.
Social listening as a discipline
Social listening transforms raw conversation into actionable intelligence. It's the practice of monitoring, analyzing, and responding to what people say across digital channels to understand sentiment, identify trends, and inform strategy that moves business forward.
Our core pillars
Connect
For social intelligence professionals there are few opportunities for mentorship and connection. It can feel like you’re working in isolation. That’s why we created this community. To bring people doing the same work together.
Educate
We know that many social listening professionals lack specialised training. Whatever your experience, you’ll find a wealth of information in our resource centre that will help you use social data analytics in your work.
Grow
As the value of social and internet data is realised within organisations, the demand for specialists is going to grow. The SI Lab is here to help you prepare for each stage of your career, from our Growth Certification to our dedicated jobs board.
The SI Lab team
Check out our upcoming events
Webinars, panels, tech demos, and our flagship Observe Summit — built for people who work with social and internet data.
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Register your interest
The challenge social listening professionals face is that few people do what we do, so our work is often misunderstood. And because there is no roadmap for companies to follow to create a social intelligence function, we’re unsure whether we can embrace our work as a legitimate professional discipline.
The SI Lab community is a space where like-minded professionals can share their experiences and discuss new ideas together via strategy sessions and peer-to-peer learning events. Because our work is too important to wait for others to understand it.
