Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Digital Divide In Social Media Prosumption: Proclivity, Production Intensity, And Prosumer Typology Among College Students And General Population, Louisa Ha, Gi Woong Yun

School of Media and Communication Faculty Publications

This paper examines the digital divide in social media prosumption. It compares college students’ and general population’s prosumption behavior in social media and proposes a set of measures of prosumption in online media settings with special emphasis on social media including prosumption proclivity, production intensity, and a prosumption index which can be used in future studies on social media and other usergenerated content sites. We classified prosumption behavior in a quadrant of four main types along the two dimensions of production and consumption. A polarized trend of prosumption was observed. Prosumption proclivity is a much stronger facilitator of social media …

Facing The Idea That Facebook Faces Us Towards Narcissism, Adam Forsberg

Masters Theses

Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has experienced tremendous growth and success, allowing users to communicate and share their life with people all over the world. Facebook is used to share information with others and allows users to show their friends what is happening in their lives. Erving Goffman developed face management theory as a way to explain how and why people preserve and maintain their public self image. This study applies Goffmans theory of face management to develop an understanding of how Facebook is used and specifically whether Facebook use influences narcissistic tendencies in its users. The researcher surveyed …

Use Of Peripheral Route Triggers To Test Buying Habits On Social Curating Sites, Kellie K. Brown

Communication Studies

Ecommerce has become an increasingly visual activity as images of product fill websites, social media, and social curation sites. The Elaboration Likelihood Model has often been used to examine and explain online purchasing behavior; however, this previous research barely touches on the use of peripheral cues. In analyzing the effect of peripheral cues on buying habits when searching social curation sites, statistical results from a survey conducted using women aged 18 to 34 in the San Luis Obispo area showed that these cues made no difference on the activity of a user. Regardless of their awareness to the visual cues, …

Cursing In English On Twitter, Wenbo Wang, Lu Chen, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Cursing is not uncommon during conversations in the physical world: 0.5% to 0.7% of all the words we speak are curse words, given that 1% of all the words are first-person plural pronouns (e.g., we, us, our). On social media, people can instantly chat with friends without face-to-face interaction, usually in a more public fashion and broadly disseminated through highly connected social network. Will these distinctive features of social media lead to a change in people's cursing behavior? In this paper, we examine the characteristics of cursing activity on a popular social media platform - Twitter, involving the analysis of …

Platforms And Activism: Sharing 'My Make It Possible Story' Narratives, Debbie Rodan, Jane Mummery

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Although livestock welfare issues were once barely visible to mainstream consumers, animal welfare activists now combine traditional public media advocacy with various media platforms to spread their campaign message as widely as possible. For instance, Animals Australia’s ‘Make it Possible Campaign’ has used billboards, print media, television, radio, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, website stories, and Twitter to make livestock welfare issues visible to consumers. Such variety of platforms make it possible for animal activist groups such as Animals Australia to not only hail and mobilise consumers in a way that was not possible previously, but also to attract supporters, advertise their …

Two Formulas For Success In Social Media: Social Learning And Network Effects, Liangfei Qiu, Qian Tang, Andrew B. Whinston

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper examines social learning and network effects that are particularly important for online videos, considering the limited marketing campaigns of user-generated content. Rather than combining both social learning and network effects under the umbrella of social contagion or peer influence, we develop a theoretical model and empirically identify social learning and network effects separately. Using a unique data set from YouTube, we find that both mechanisms have statistically and economically significant effects on video views, and which mechanism dominates depends on the specific video type.

Like Or Dislike: The Emotional Toll Of Being On Facebook, Lauren N. Weathers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined the relationship between affect changes or lack thereof when one logs onto Facebook or Yahoo!. Facebook was specifically chosen for examination in the current study due to its widespread use, its vast effect on society, and its unique features that allow users to obtain information and have social interaction at the same time. Yahoo! served as a control due to the fact that it is a highly popular site that has similar features of Facebook without having the social functions. Both sites allow users to observe news that is pertinent and of interest to them and …

Trayvon Martin And Election 2012 Social Media Messaging: An Analysis Of Framing, Rhetoric, And Media Types In Online Messages By Civil Rights Organizations, Riva Renee Brown

Dissertations

This content analysis study explored framing, rhetoric, and media types used by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Urban League, National Action Network, and ColorOfChange.org in website and social media messages posted during the Trayvon Martin case and Election 2012. It also examined the mainstream print news media coverage these civil rights organizations generated.

On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman, a 28 year old White and Hispanic male, fatally shot Martin, a 17 year old Black male, in Florida. After authorities did not charge Zimmerman with the teenager’s murder, these organizations drafted petitions and staged rallies …

Hashtag Politics: The Polyphonic Revolution Of #Twitter, Bud Davis

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

Social media has revolutionized how citizens communicate and interact with each other. President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign notably demonstrated just how impactful online interconnectivity could be in reaching out to key demographics. More specifically, Twitter has become increasingly popular in achieving communication with constituents while enabling voters to become citizen journalists and active participants in the political process. This paper seeks to trace the evolution of Twitter as a political resource and determine what influence it has in enhancing and inhibiting political communication. By drawing on Kristeva’s concept of intertextuality, I argue that Twitter’s unique functionality contains the potential …

Crisis Response Coordination In Online Communities, Hemant Purohit

Kno.e.sis Publications

During recent crises, citizens (sensors) are increasingly using social media to share variety of information- situation on the ground, emerging needs, donation offers, damage, etc. In such an evolving ad-hoc community, how can we extract actionable nuggets from the social media streams to aid relief efforts? This doctoral consortium presentation summarizes a framework to analyze social data and manage information to assist coordination by focusing on three important questions to answer: Whom to coordinate with, Why to coordinate and How to coordinate, with exemplary insights for needs and availability from the recent disaster events.

The Virtual Bulletin Board: A Feminist Critique Of Pinterest, Alexandra B. Davila

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Trends And Implications: The Use Of Facebook In The Professional World, Elisa E. Minamide

Graphic Communication

The recent trend of connectivity through the Internet has served as a spark for the social media era, resulting in a number of social websites such as Xanga (social blogging site),MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many others. Facebook specifically has become an everyday norm in the lives of most young adults. With the societal shift towards a digitally orientated lifestyle, there is an increased interaction between friends, family, and non-acquaintances via social networking sites like Facebook. As a result, the manner in which users portray themselves online becomes influential for new friends viewing their pages. Similarly, professional companies are now …

A Quantitative Survey: Are Twitter Advertisements Effective For College Students?, Christia J. Brockman

Communication Studies

Social Media websites are rapidly being overrun by advertisements, but is this blitz of advertising destroying the social media experience? Twitter, one of today’s most popular social media sites, increased its revenues from $45,000,000 in 2010 to $259 million in 2013. This exponential growth is surprising given the large portion of Twitter users who are between the ages of 18 to 25 with lower annual incomes. In analyzing whether advertising on Twitter is effective on college students, statistical results from a survey conducted among college students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, reveal that Tweeters in this sample …

The Tweet's The Thing: Exploring The Intersection Of Social Media And Broadway, Hilary Sutton

Masters Theses

In 2009 the little known Broadway musical Next to Normal rose to fame through the aid of an unprecedented Twitter campaign conducted by Situation Interactive, a digital marketing agency. The Next to Normal Twitter account gathered over one million followers throughout a six-week campaign in which the Situation Interactive team joined forces with the book writer and lyricist of Next to Normal to recreate the plot in one hundred and forty-character snippets. By analyzing the data collected the researcher cultivates a collection of best practices for running a successful Twitter marketing campaign for a live experience.

Refresh. Create. Inspire. The Mission, Vision And Values Behind The Coca-Cola Company And The Digital Marketing Strategies Of The "Open Happiness" Campaign, Sara Svendsen

Masters Theses

Due to the influence of Coca-Cola on advertising, digital marketing, and marketing strategies, the present rhetorical analysis seeks to show the many aspects of digital media in the Company's present "Open Happiness" campaign. The study of the campaign seeks to show that the Company mission statement, Company values and the vision of The Coca-Cola Company are implemented into all of the different facets of the Open Happiness campaign, and in the context of Mood Management Theory, exude the overall theme of the campaign, happiness. The parts of the campaign that were analyzed were focused on the YouTube channels of The …

Unleashing The Power Of Social Media Marketing Within Non-Profits, Through The Lens Of Social Cognitive Theory, Kerah Kemmerer

Masters Theses

While many organizations still struggle to effectively incorporate the present-day promotional framework of social media marketing, research reveals that non-profit organizations are lagging even further behind when it comes to the implementation of effective social media and interactive marketing strategies. The interactive marketing strategy model incorporates technology and media-based tactics designed to enhance marketing strategies within any industry. In this project, the primary researcher explored why non-profits are struggling to incorporate these specific strategies, and considered it through the lens of social cognitive theory. The purpose of this project was to focus on a specific non-profit organization and apply the …

The Relationship Between Facebook™ Activity And Academic Performance Among African American Students, Eric Brubaker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This non-experimental, regression study examined the relationship between Facebook^TM activity and academic performance for an African American sample population. The study was conducted at a large, four-year, private university in the Mid-Atlantic. All undergraduate, African American students enrolled in the College of General Studies, School of Health Sciences, and School of Education comprised the sample population. Volunteer participants completed a Facebook^TM Activity Survey, which is an instrument used to collect semester grade point averages (GPAs), time-use of Facebook^TM, multitasking information, type of Facebook^TM activities, and demographic information. The results of the survey were analyzed using …

Commentary: Changing The Channel: Public Health Communication In The 21st Century, Anna Goodman Hoover

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

This commentary asserts the need for research examining the use and efficacy of social media as a tool for meeting public health stakeholders’ information needs. The author points to several potential research questions for the field, situates studies addressing these questions within the PHSSR Research Agenda, and introduces the work of Harris et al. that is included in this issue of Frontiers. The commentary closes with a call for horizontal stakeholder communication that supports evidence-based decision-making.

An Exploration Of Social Media Use Among Multiply Minoritized Lgbtq Youth, Alfie Leanna Lucero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study responds to a need for research in a fast-growing and significant area of study, that of exploring, understanding, and documenting the numerous ways that multiply marginalized LGBTQ youth between the ages of 14 and 17 use social media. The primary research question examined whether social media provide safe spaces for multiply minoritized LGBTQ youth to express and explore issues of sexuality and gender. In addition, the study explores and categorizes multiple ways that the participants interact with social media and makes comparisons to prior work with more general populations. The study provides descriptions of the participants in terms …

The 2008 Us Presidential Election And New Digital Technologies: Political Campaigns As Social Movements And The Significance Of Collective Identity, Stephanie Takaragawa, Victoria Carty

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The growing role of the Internet social networking sites (SNS) has served as a flash point for debate about the democratization of information, particularly in light of their perceived roles in the 2008 presidential election. This horizontal sharing of information undoubtedly facilitated the revival of the youth vote and volunteerism in many ways mimicking traditional grassroots approaches. While the role of the Internet SNS in mobilization efforts and information-sharing cannot be overstated, its effectiveness in creating a new “public sphere,” or transforming traditional electoral campaign strategies and communicative practices must be closely examined before generalizations about the democratization of media …

The Mouse Who Ruled His Kingdom: An Agenda Setting Analysis Of The Walt Disney World Company, Jacob Overbey

Masters Theses

People are seeking their news in more social environments, but very little research has been conducted on agenda setting and online environments. This thesis examined the agenda setting relationship between an organization on Twitter, @WaltDisneyWorld (i.e., The Walt Disney World) and public opinion on Twitter. The relationship was examined using Twitter's database of tweets to measure public opinion on Twitter. Since the news media is losing steam on the ability to break news, and social media is growing rapidly, this study tested the value of the agenda setting theory on social media. To this end, this thesis qualitatively examined the …

Facebook As An Instructional Tool In The Secondary Classroom: A Case Study, Stephanie Hunter-Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to describe how social media networks impact secondary students when utilized as an instructional tool . The problem this study seeks to address is exploring the roles that social media play in the lives of high school students and the experiences they encounter by utilizing these networks academically and socially. A case study approach was utilized to evaluate the impact of technology integration via social media networks in a secondary English classroom. The focus of the study was to determine the academic and social impact the social media network, more specifically Facebook, has on …

What Kind Of #Communication Is Twitter? A Psycholinguistic Perspective On Communication In Twitter For The Purpose Of Emergency Coordination, Hemant Purohit, Andrew Hampton, Valerie L. Shalin, Amit P. Sheth, John Flach

Kno.e.sis Publications

The present research aims to detect coordinated citizen response within social media traffic to assist emergency response. We use domain-independent linguistic properties as the first step in narrowing the candidate set of messages for domain-dependent and computationally intensive analysis.

The Growing Use Of Social Media In Political Campaigns: How To Use Facebook, Twitter And Youtube To Create An Effective Social Media Campaign, Kaitlin Vonderschmitt

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A political campaign is carefully crafted for each candidate, to address their constituency and present the candidate and party in the best possible way. After the creation of the United States suffrage was limited to land owning white men, these men were involved in politics by reading local newspapers and visiting the politicians face to face. However as we fast forward to the 1930’s President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the radio to connect with the American public, and then in 1960’s Nixon and Kennedy’s debate introduced the mass-produced version of face-to-face politics through televisions all over the country we begin …

Social Media Networking Strategies For The Yale New Haven Center For Emergency Preparedness And Disaster Response (Ynh-Cepdr)/ Yale New Haven Health System Center For Healthcare Solutions (Ynhhs-Chs), Amanda Smith

Masters Theses

This paper investigates the uses and gratification of social media for both personal and organizational usage among employees at the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response/Center for Healthcare Solutions in New Haven, Connecticut. The purpose of this thesis is to assess and evaluate the relationship between YNH-CEPDR/CHS' usage of social media tools and the organization's employees' personal attitudes, beliefs and usage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Employees of CEPDR/CHS were surveyed regarding the function of social media for emergency management communication and the promotion of products and services. Results suggest that while employees generally agree …

Optimizing Social Media In Humanitarian Crisis Responses, Mark J. Mullaney

The Macalester Review

The social media boom has brought about a new age of communications and connectedness in our world. Just as the advent of televised news brought more attention to humanitarianism, social media has the capability to alter how humanitarian responses are viewed, coordinated, and executed. However, despite the vast potential of social media, humanitarian actors have been hesitant to fully incorporate it within their modus operandi. This essay explores the reasons for their skepticism and looks at cases where social media was put to good use during humanitarian crises. Using that information, we will argue that several measures can be …

Framework For The Analysis Of Coordination In Crisis Response, Hemant Purohit, Andrew Hampton, Valerie L. Shalin, Amit P. Sheth, John M. Flach

Kno.e.sis Publications

Social Media play a critical role during crisis events, revealing a natural coordination dynamic. We propose a computational framework guided by social science principles to measure, analyze, and understand coordination among the different types of organizations and actors in crisis response. The analysis informs both the scientific account of cooperative behavior and the design of applications and protocols to support crisis management.

Empowering Protest Through Social Media, Simon O'Rourke

International Cyber Resilience conference

Advances in personal communications devices including smartphones, are enabling individuals to establish and form virtual communities in cyberspace. Such platforms now allow users to be in continuous contact, enabling them to receive information in real time, which allows them to act in support of other members of their network. This paper will discuss some of the capabilities afforded by social media to protest groups focused on civil disobedience. Direct action protests are now a common sight at gatherings of world leaders, most notably the meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Seattle in 1999, the G20 meetings in Melbourne …

Effects Of Social Media On Human Emotion, Jackie Woods, Megan Potmesil

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

“What’S Happening” @Twitter: A Uses And Gratifications Approach, Corey Leigh Ballard

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The uses and gratifications approach places power in the hands of the audience and is a helpful perspective when trying to understand media usage, exposure, and effects. However, while the uses and gratifications approach has been applied regularly to traditional media, research explaining why people use new social media networks as well as the gratifications they obtain from them is scarce at best. This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the uses and gratifications approach as well as the current literature about social media networks. An argument is built within the thesis to study Twitter as one social media network …