People are always in an endless search for the easiest and most effective ways to talk to their friends, loved ones, and colleagues. Social media platforms have successfully paved the way to a better and more convenient 24/7 messaging experience for users and subscribers.
Private messaging is the most popular method of communication that app developers and software designers have created and integrated with the latest technology to adapt to the needs of users. Everyone can say hi to their friends anytime and anywhere, without worrying about delayed sending or responses.
Moreover, it is also the developers’ responsibility to make sure that every user and subscriber can enjoy a safe and secure online community and experience while using instant messaging apps. This is when the need for chat moderators arises. Continue reading to know what chat moderation is and the crucial part that it plays in the era of instant messaging.
What is chat moderation?
It’s a branding protection strategy that companies and business owners practice to sort user-generated chat messages that are considered inappropriate. They’re carefully monitored and analyzed using Artificial Intelligence (AI) or human solutions to make sure that all users are consumers will have safe and pleasant experiences on social media platforms and communities, resulting in favorable customer behavior and increase in sales.
Businesses may choose to hire chat moderation teams, outsource moderation services from external providers, or purchase and install moderation software.
Why is it important?
It is important to protect a company’s branding and reputation against trolls who send inappropriate content using online platforms and chat software with the purpose of harming existing and potential consumers and users, defaming a business’ name, destroy a company’s image, and create a hostile environment between individuals and firms.
When offensive content plagues chat feeds, it could create an impression of unethical practices and lack of effort to keep a happy and secure online community for individuals who entrust their privacy and security to a company, and to those interested in their products and services. Such an impression of indifference might affect user experience and cause prospective clients to stop supporting a certain company.
Which Types of Content Should be Moderated?
Text
Text-based content in private chats should be monitored properly to avoid misunderstandings and use of offensive or abusive language to harass, bully, or threaten users. Aside from photos, some of the most offensive content posted and published on social media platforms is in text formats. Sending inappropriate messages to fellow users is a common case in online communities, most especially, in dating apps.
It is the chat mod’s responsibility to filter and flag any disturbing content sent by users to establish a trustworthy and peaceful online environment. A complete review and retrieval of chat history is necessary to moderate text-based content in apps and software.
Images
90% of information that we perceive and gets transmitted to our brains is VISUAL. Posting quality images on websites has its purpose. The goal is to stimulate and trigger the senses of potential customers and make products and services appear more attractive and exciting to purchase.
Website designers and developers take extra efforts to post the most proper images, but when some users or trolls misbehave, sensitive content that go against the community standards can be posted under comment sections, discussion and review threads. Some stubborn users also think that sending inappropriate images in private chat threads can make their actions “safe” from community guidelines and standards. Unwanted images may feature nudity, violence, self-harm, and anything that will make other users feel uncomfortable.
Audio
To send more realistic messages to their friends and loved ones, some chat apps allow voice messaging where users can talk over a microphone and say their messages to other users. When arguments and misunderstandings happen, some people can’t refrain themselves from using vulgar words which are considered inappropriate content.
Chat moderators review user-generated voice messages that contain explicit language aimed at bullying, harassing, insulting, or discriminating. They do this to ensure a safe and inclusive community for all users.
What is a chat moderator?
A chat moderator is a person who is responsible for monitoring online chat conversations to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations of the website. They typically monitor public chats, forums, or other online spaces to create a safe and welcoming environment for participants. Chat moderators can help make sure users are following guidelines and remain civil in their conversations. They may also block or delete any inappropriate content that violates guidelines.
What are the skills required for chat moderators?
Analytical skills
This is the most important skill for chat mods. Being able to analyze content in a deeper perspective and right judgment is a must. Since moderators’ tasks are guided by community and content guidelines, analytical skills are essential for them to make sure that the inappropriate content flagged is indeed inappropriate.
There are lots of digital content items that don’t look or sound offensive moderation software, but human content moderators think otherwise. Proper analysis paired with critical thinking is a key to giving users a pleasant online experience.
Keen attention to detail
Helpful to content managers and creators, a content moderator’s keen attention to detail is important for a company’s marketing team to create error-free content and posts on digital platforms like social media and websites. Informative and promotional postings without grammatical or spelling errors look more professional and customers will be more delighted in reading and viewing them.
Contextual Knowledge
It is not possible to properly review a single content or message without knowing its context. Contextual knowledge is important for content moderators to check user-generated content and its purpose. With this skill, they will be able to decide the proper sanction for the said poster and confirm if he/she created a content that is in line with community standards. This is highly applicable with sites posting adult jokes for entertainment purposes.
Tech savviness
With billions of users subscribed to social networks, the ability to handle and adapt to different technological advancements through chat channels, devices, apps, and software is crucial in every content moderation process. A content moderator should be able to run, handle, manage, and integrate technology in every stage of the review and moderation process. By doing so, content moderation companies can keep the balance between human skills and artificial intelligence.
What are the most common chat moderation tools?
- IP address banning
- Chat deletion
- Chat transcript/history export
What are the types of chat moderation?
Here are the types of chat moderation based on the mode of execution, period of moderation, and community guidelines:
Automated
This method relies on the help of AI-powered algorithms and tools to protect users from online bullies promoting harassment and abuse through private messages. Aside from speed in reviewing messages from hundreds and thousands of chat participants every day, another advantage of this method is it protects human moderators from the psychological trauma of reviewing disturbing content.
Many companies and business owners invest in AI-aided chat and content moderation to protect the business and strengthen its relationship with customers and other stakeholders.
Manual
This method is done by a dedicated employee or staff assigned to moderate web content. While this can be physically and mentally exhausting, companies tend to entrust human judgment more than technology-aided approaches. Frequent exposure to harmful content is one of the reasons why online moderator jobs require not just a college degree but a strong physical and mental disposition.
Pre – moderation
The content sent by a user will be carefully reviewed by chat moderators before it can be published for the public audience to view. Users who send content mentioning or involving self-harm, nudity, potential scam, and other inappropriate topics listed in the platform’s community guidelines and policies will not be allowed to post.
Post – moderation
A user’s sent content will be reviewed and if the topics mentioned above are involved, the chat or chat replies will be flagged and removed. This is also applicable to users who post spam links and irrelevant content that other people might find annoying or offensive.
Reactive
To fix the platforms’ user-generated content dilemmas caused by problematic users sending harmful content that go against the policies, this type of moderation aims to encourage users, or designated members of the community, to report and flag chats which they find gross or inappropriate for a social media platform. Reactive moderation is an interactive approach of moderators to maximize the opportunity to keep the platform’s reputation unscathed.
Distributed
In distributed moderation, moderators and users adopt a rating system in determining whether a user’s content is acceptable. Popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are known to rate user-generated content based on its viral impact, severity of harm, and likelihood of violation. Cyberbullying, stalking, money scams, and online threats are the most common offenses reported in social networking sites.
How much does a chat moderator get paid?
The average annual salary of a chat moderator in the United States is $36,469 per year.
Conclusion
Chat moderation plays a vital role in providing a pleasant and convenient online messaging experience for every user. If you are planning to hire a team of chat moderators, make sure that they are physically and mentally prepared for this challenging yet fulfilling task.
If you want to get AI assistance for chat moderation, make sure to choose an AI that matches your budget and needs, and can be easily integrated with various social media platforms. You may also want to consider outsourcing chat moderation services to save hiring and training costs.
Digital Minds BPO offers a wide range of services that can help you in maintaining a good online presence and digital footprint through user privacy protection and 24/7 technical support. Enjoy the best chat solutions for you and your customers: request a quote now!
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