"Marketing in the Metaverse" Spotlights Scott M. Graffius’ Research on the Half-Life of Social Media

Graffius, S. M. (2026, February 5). "Marketing in the Metaverse" Spotlights Scott M. Graffius' Research on the Half-Life of Social Media. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36544.39688
Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms
Scott M. Graffius is an authority on temporal dynamics across social media networks. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—offers a data-driven look at how long social media content remains active and relevant across major digital networks.
Specifically, the research measures the half-life of engagement: the time it takes for a post to receive half of its total engagement (such as likes, shares, and comments). This makes the work especially practical. Understanding post half-life can directly inform strategic and tactical decisions, including the frequency and timing of content publication.
Cited by Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), the French Ministry of Culture (Ministère de la Culture), Pinterest Inc., and PNAS, and many more, Graffius' research is recognized for its rigor, clarity, and ongoing relevance in digital informatics.
A visual from the now-current (2026) edition is shown below and details are available here.

"Marketing in the Metaverse" Book References Scott M. Graffius' Research
Marketing in the Metaverse: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Trends in Emerging Economies was added to the list of organizations featuring and relying upon Graffius' research.
The following description is from the publisher:
"This book offers a comprehensive exploration of marketing in the metaverse, a rapidly evolving digital frontier reshaping human interaction and economic systems. It provides an evidence-based analysis of how immersive virtual spaces are transforming brand-consumer engagement, with a special focus on emerging markets.
Readers will discover how technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are creating new paradigms for marketing strategies. The chapters delve into critical topics such as omnichannel convergence, value co-creation, and trust in virtual transactions, illustrated through sectoral case studies from banking to fashion. The book also addresses ethical considerations, such as privacy and digital well-being, advocating for a socially responsible approach to metaverse marketing.
This volume is essential for marketers, business leaders, and policymakers seeking to understand and leverage the metaverse's potential. It offers actionable insights for market entry and customer engagement, while also serving as a valuable resource for students and educators interested in digital transformation. By bridging theoretical exploration with empirical insights, this book equips readers to navigate the future of marketing with confidence and responsibility."
Excerpts from the book appear below.

About the Metaverse
The metaverse represents a shared, immersive, and persistent digital universe that blends the physical and virtual worlds, enabling users to interact through avatars in three-dimensional environments powered by technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, the concept envisions a successor to the current internet. It is one where people can socialize, work, play, learn, shop, and conduct business in seamless, lifelike digital spaces that continue to evolve even when users are offline.
Unlike isolated apps or games, the ideal metaverse emphasizes interoperability, allowing digital assets, identities, and experiences to transfer across platforms, often supported by decentralized ownership via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies.
With massive investments from companies like Meta, early hype peaked around 2021. Around the end of 2025, the overall vision shifted toward more practical applications, such as spatial computing for collaboration, education, and enterprise use, rather than a single unified world dominated by VR headsets.
Despite high costs, limited mainstream adoption, and pivots toward AI and wearables, the metaverse continues to influence how digital and physical realities converge. It presents transformative yet grounded opportunities for connection and innovation.
Bibliography
Manyanga, W., Redda, E., Nyagadza, B. (2026). Effect of Metaverse Marketing on Digital Brand Engagement: Evidence from the Banking Sector in Zimbabwe. In: Bashar, A., Nyagadza, B., Wasiq, M. (eds), Marketing in the Metaverse: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Trends in Emerging Economies. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-02365-0_6


About Scott M. Graffius

Scott M. Graffius is a strategic transformation leader who drives AI, Agile, and broader business and technology initiatives to deliver measurable value across projects, programs, portfolios, and PMOs. He is an expert in the teamwork tradecraft of both human and human-AI teams, including the “exotic team dynamics” that emerge. He is also an authority on the temporal patterns of social media, including the half-life of audience engagement.
He’s a practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and keynote speaker who’s taken the stage at 96 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
He’s delivered over $2.3 billion in value for Fortune 500 companies and other leaders in technology, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, and beyond.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities use Graffius and feature his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections provide additional information on his experience, contributions, and influence.
Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, his first book, earned 17 awards.
- Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, his second book, was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority.
- Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum, his third book and his first work of fiction, was released in April 2025. The book trailer is on YouTube.
International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on tech (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops. Graffius has conducted 96 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), and more.
With an average rating of 4.81 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The speaker engagement request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BMC Software,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University - Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- Dropbox,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- Gartner,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute - Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- MSN,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College),
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark - Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University - Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway - Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Soccer,
- US Tennis Association,
- Verizon,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
- Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition.
- The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition.
- The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition.
Additional details are here.
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Acclaimed Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft

Graffius is a renowned authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development. First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams. Its adoption by esteemed organizations such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others, highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence. In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development."
The 2026 edition of Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms

Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems. Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture (French Ministry of Culture), Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management through his leadership, research, writing, and real-world impact. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Discover Scott’s Books
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions — Deliver Products in Short Cycles with Rapid Adaptation to Change, Fast Time-to-Market, and Continuous Improvement
- Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
- Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.












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How to Cite This Article
Graffius, S. M. (2026, February 5). "Marketing in the Metaverse" Spotlights Scott M. Graffius' Research on the Half-Life of Social Media. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36544.39688

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36544.39688

Content Acknowledgements
Names, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.
Marketing in the Metaverse: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Trends in Emerging Economies is the property of its contributors, Palgrave Macmillan, and Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
This article by Scott M. Graffius uses limited excerpts from Marketing in the Metaverse, attributed and used under fair use for news reporting and analysis.
"Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.

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- Virtual and Augmented Reality
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- #DigitalStrategy
- #SpatialComputing
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Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.

Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.

