Digital Commons Network^™

Two Worlds And In Between: Becoming Goth In The Virtual Spaces Of Tiktok, Marlie Unger

Honors Projects

This research explores how the initiation processes of goth subculture have changed with the introduction and implementation of social media. Using a textual analysis of social media content from TikTok, this research identifies themes present in the virtual community that provide greater insight about how someone becomes goth and the factors which influence the transformation. I highlight the importance of subcultural capital in its creation of a social hierarchy and the goth status of members which fall under the categories of "elder goth," "seasoned goth," and "baby bat." Furthermore, this research examines how commodification, education, and gatekeeping influence the lines …

An Exploration Of Best Practices For Personal Branding On Social Media In The Fashion Industry, Danielle Brickner

Honors Projects

The purpose of my project was to evaluate the personal branding tactics that are used to be successful on Instagram in the fashion industry. Social media is a growing tool for influencers and brands. Since its creation in 2010, Instagram has become one of the most popular platforms, specifically for the fashion industry as it is centered around photos. This project explores how authenticity, creating a target audience, and utilizing content activities plans can impact one’s success on Instagram. Throughout the project, I used these three criteria on a fashion-oriented Instagram account to determine how these factors can impact post …

Paid Advertising: Understanding How Ad Format And Visuals Impact Ad Link Clicks And Conversions, Samantha Ensinger

Honors Projects

Limited research exists that effectively describes what format of ads (photos, videos, graphics, or GIFs), receive the most link clicks, the most adds-to-cart, and the most conversions. There is even less research available that describes the extent to which the visual structure of advertisements, such as chosen colors, imagery, text, and duration impacts ad performance. This study sets out to address and help close this research gap by creating and testing multiple advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.

Determining The Best Practices Of Social Media For A Small Business: A Case Study On The Salt Cave Of Perrysburg, Michelle Timms

Honors Projects

This study is about finding the best social media practices for a small business. I used The Salt Cave of Perrysburg, which is located in Perrysburg, Ohio, as my testing subject for the implementation of the social media practices that were found through primary research, such as surveys and waiver forms, and secondary research, such as previous research papers, textbooks, and previous surveys. Through primary and secondary research, this paper will describe how to research and then implement the best practices for a small business. With the research I have found, I then implemented those findings to The Salt Cave …

Functionally Intense Training (F.I.T.) Multimedia Rebranding Package, Kaitlin Manger

Honors Projects

Branding and social media outreach to customers is essential to small businesses that are looking to grow their business and attract new members. This paper covers the development and production of a multimedia rebranding package that was produced for the high-intensity, CrossFit-like gym in Wapakoneta, Ohio, owned and operated by Steve Knapke, Functionally Intense Training. This gym has been open since 2013 but has no consistent social media content or branding content for the business. This project includes the deliverables of 10 videos, 20 photos, 5 graphic design templates, a new logo, and new branding guidelines. Along with the final …

Exploring Popular Music's Affect On Popular Culture Through The Media Format Of A Podcast, Alicia Kobasic

Honors Projects

This project covers the development of a podcast titled "The Podcast" where topics relating to popular music and popular culture and how they affect one another are discussed. The project discusses existing research into the topics as well as the development process of the podcast. It delves into each episode and what was learned through the research into the episode and how the episode was recorded and shared. it also talks about the effectiveness of a podcast as method for delivering research.

Changes In Body Image, Eating Behaviors, And Exercise During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Megan Gressley

Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic transformed many different aspects of life as many individuals were sent home from school or work and were confined within their homes. Within restricted life, individuals experienced changes in their social lives, eating habits, and day-to-day routine. Within this research study I chose to examine how individuals' lives changed directly from the year before the Covid-19 pandemic to the first year of domestic shutdown. A sample of BGSU undergraduate students responded to a survey questioning them on their behaviors, feelings, and attitudes among these time periods. Results showed that individuals experienced significantly more disordered eating within the …

Space Science And Social Media: Automating Science Communication On Twitter, Maia Williams

Honors Projects

This project analyzes how social media is used to engage general audiences in astronomy and space science, as well as ways to improve engagement through automation. Tweets from five space science organizations were sampled. The engagement rate for each tweet was calculated from the number of interactions it received. Accounts that tweet more per day had more followers, and accounts with more followers received more interactions. This project also investigated how to build a Twitter bot to automate science communication. Using NASA Application Programming Interfaces, a Twitter bot was written in Python to tweet images taken by the NASA Mars …

The New Wbgu: A Social Media Marketing Strategy, Brittany Line

Honors Projects

This project looks to find the most effective ways of growing and engaging a social media audience for WBGU-FM. Included in this is strategy used to interact with more people, an analysis of what elements were effective, and ways to increase content. Social media holds growing importance in promoting and connecting with an audience. This project is needed because recently, WBGU-FM has not been frequently or effectively using their social media platforms to connect with the community. As the shift of WBGU-FM’s purpose takes effect to focus on more community aspects of radio, it is important to have multiple ways …

Best Practices For Voter Engagement Within Higher Education, Alyssa Tomins

Honors Projects

It is imperative that higher education institutions learn more about how to recruit members of younger generations to participate in future elections. Young people have historically voted at low rates, but that trend has started to change in recent years as more resources are being devoted to voter engagement among young people. This leads to the interest of understanding what best practices and strategies have academic institutions utilized to advance voter engagement on their campuses. This qualitative study analyzes these best practices and strategies at 84 colleges and universities, all of whom are members of The Andrew Goodman Foundation Vote …

Stand For The Small: How To Effectively Brand And Market Your Small Business On Social Media, Erika Glover

Honors Projects

This document is a resource intended for female entrepreneurs who own or are looking to launch their own small business. The focus of this resource is to help business owners understand and apply strong social media marketing tactics to their small businesses. The document draws on passions, mission, and brand identity to help the user visualize the long term vision of their company's image. This is achieved by providing research and information on social media marketing in the following categories: target audience, gaining customers, brand goals, mission, visuals, voice, platforms, hashtags, analytics, and a pep talk.

The final element of …

Music & Media: A Senior Recital & Honors Project, Kayla Luteran

Honors Projects

Music & Media: A Senior Recital & Honors Project is a cross-media marketing strategy. The main purpose of this project was to develop visually appealing, informative graphic elements and branding to effectively promote a musical performance. This is interdisciplinary in nature and includes written and oral communication.

While many music students post about their senior recital on social media or place flyers, they do not develop a thorough methodology for generating buzz about their event. Although musical preparation is of utmost importance for a performance, I believe that time should be spent on all aspects of planning the recital. With …

Fact Vs. Faction: Polarization In The Information Age, Noah Finberg

Honors Projects

How can individuals in the contemporary media and political environment form better political beliefs? In chapter one, this thesis considers what it means to say American politics is polarized. It evaluates the extent of polarization in American politics. And it presents original evidence that suggests that just as the public and members of Congress have polarized, so too has American political discourse. Through the lens of political psychology, chapter two investigates how America’s polarized politics has influenced the quality of individuals’ beliefs. Chapter three explores the role that the media plays in encouraging or minimizing the biased information processing practices …

Juries And Social Media: Northwest Ohio's Response To This Phenomenon, Erica Lunderman

Honors Projects

The 21^st century is an era in which the dependence on technology is at an all-time high. The availability of information on social networking sites has recently sparked a debate in regards to jury impartiality. Over the last few years states such as Florida, Michigan, and New York have received scholastic attention for making changes to local jury instructions to ensure defendant’s rights of an impartial jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Federal national jury instructions addressing juror social media usage has also drawn attention. Little, however, scholastic attention has been directed towards Northwest Ohio. This project will look …