Social Media Challenges in Citizen Participation in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 124-143
Author(s):  
D.I. KAMINCHENKO ◽  

Modern digital technologies contribute to the emergence of new forms of social and political activity. One of these forms of participation is flash mob. Flash mobs are able to activate society for mass participation in various political events, which indicates the relevance and necessity of studying flash mobs as a modern form of citizen participation in social and political processes. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the flash mob from the standpoint of the intersection of several factors: technological, identification and motivational. The research methodology at the theoretical level is made up of the theory of the information society and the concept of “network identity”, on the empirical level - the method of sociological survey with the subsequent compilation of contingency tables. As a result of the study, it is established how widespread the practice of participation of active users of social media in various flash mobs is. Based on the data on the most significant opportunities for using social media, an interim conclusion is made about the existing motivational attitudes of the participants in flash mobs. Through the use of several determinants of network identity, a number of its properties are identified and considered, which are manifested in the communicative space of social media. It is established that the factor of participation / non-participation in the flash mob is not decisive in the manifestation of the properties of network identity.


Author(s):  
Daniel J. Seigler

Based on the importance of citizen participation and the collaborative potential of online social media tools, this study tests four proposed influences on administrators who are deciding whether or not to adopt these tools to engage citizens. A survey of 157 department managers from large U.S. cities shows that 82% report using some form of social media to engage citizens and that perceived organizational influences and administrator preconceptions have the strongest impact on the respondentsʼ decision to adopt social media. Possible explanations for the results are that the use of online social media in the public sector may be following a similar path of adoption as earlier forms of e-government or managers may be operating in a rational environment when deciding whether or not to adopt online social media tools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Rizky Pamuji ◽  
Ismiarta Aknuranda ◽  
Fatwa Ramdani

Citizen participation in collect and distribute information increase the role of the citizen involvement in local issues and increasing the benefits of society for the government and the environment. The contribution of citizens can be useful in helping to deal with environment problems and assist certain parties in meeting data needs, this is commonly referred to as citizen science. In its development, citizen science involvement in providing information began to involve social media as a platform for sharing information. In this study we try to explore citizen science of Indonesia, we conduct case study exploring how citizen in Indonesia used social media such as Twitter in response to one of the country’s worst disaster in 2018 namely Lombok Earthquake. By analyzing these user generate message we may know what the response of Indonesian citizen during event and understand more about citizen science in Indonesia through social media including its role and contribution. The information also may assist local communities in obtaining up-to-date information, providing assistance according to needs of the populace and use to manage and plan disaster relief both during and after the event.


Author(s):  
Collen Sabao ◽  
Tendai Owen Chikara

The chapter examines and discusses the role and communicative potential of social media based platforms in citizen political participation and protests in Zimbabwe specifically focusing on the #thisflag movement on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. #thisflag is a social media-based platform that rose to challenge the Zimbabwean government over the political and economic decay as well as rampant corruption characterising the country contemporarily. While a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean politics, the impact and communicative potential of social media as an alternative public sphere was recently tested in nationwide protest stayaway organised through the Facebook and Twitter movement under the #thisflag handle/brand. This chapter discusses the manners in which such social media platforms impact national politics in Zimbabwe as well as globally, specifically looking at the #thisflag movement as a case study.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1071-1091
Author(s):  
Raimundo Díaz-Díaz ◽  
Daniel Pérez-González

Some governments have proven social media's potential to generate value through co-creation and citizen participation, and municipalities are increasingly using these tools in order to become smart cities. Nevertheless, few public administrations have taken full advantage of all the possibilities offered by social media and, as a consequence, there is a shortage of case studies published on this topic. By analyzing the case study of the platform Santander City Brain, managed by the City Council of Santander (Spain), the current work contributes to broaden the knowledge on ambitious social media projects implemented by local public administrations for e-Government; therefore, this case can be useful for other public sector's initiatives. The case studied herein proves that virtual social media are effective tools for civil society, as it is able to set the political agenda and influence the framing of political discourse; however, they should not be considered as the main channel for citizen participation. Among the results obtained, the authors have found that several elements are required: the determination and involvement of the government, a designated community manager to follow up with the community of users, the secured privacy of its users, and a technological platform that is easy to use. Additionally, the Public Private Partnership model provides several advantages to the project, such as opening new sources of funding.


Author(s):  
Geane C. Alzamora

The newscast “Especial 9-N,” produced by TV3 (Catalonia) in association with TV3's news channel 3/24, presents transmediatic components by combining multiplatform journalistic coverage and citizen participation in online social media. The program aired on November 9, 2014, the date of the non-binding referendum on the sovereignty of Catalonia, held by Generalitat, the regional government. This chapter discusses in what measure the editorial strategy adopted optimized social engagement with the news and favored the circulation of broadcast journalism on online social media. The analysis was based on the systematic observation of the program and its records on online social media, to assess the nature and the intensity of the communicational activity. It was concluded that TV3's institutional identification with aspects related to the region's sovereignty, in the context of significant social mobilization around the theme, fostered transmedia circulation and social engagement with the news story.


Author(s):  
Essien Essien

The advent of the social media revolution in contemporary time has had a phenomenal impact in almost every area of human endeavor in many societies. However, social media has some credibility burden that could hinder its effective use and also produce unintended consequences such as political propaganda, and other unwholesome activities as it affects politics and governance. This study sought to assess the nexus between social media, political scandal and good governance in Nigeria. It also assessed the success or otherwise of the institutional counter-measures in checkmating the excesses of social media. Situated within the framework of reputation repair and social responsibility theories, the paper acknowledges that the conventional mass media has ties with the political and economic forces in the society, thus, are somewhat incapacitated in rising to the societal challenges. Consequently, the paper presents the social media as a veritable alternative, arguing that social media tools have what it takes to serve as a platform for citizen participation in governance.


Author(s):  
Asdrúbal López Chau ◽  
David Valle-Cruz ◽  
Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazán

One of the pillars of connected government is citizen centricity: an approach in which citizen participation is essential. In Mexico, social networks are currently one of the most important means by which citizens express their needs and provide opinions to the government. The goal of this chapter is to contribute to citizen centricity by adapting the methodology of sentiment analysis of social media posts to an expanded version for crisis situations. The main difference in this approach from the normally accepted one is that instead of using pre-defined classes (positive and negative) for sentiments, the authors first determined the different data categories and then applied them to the classic process of sentiment analysis. This approach was tested using posts on Mexico's earthquake in 2017. They found that needs, demands, and claims made in the posts reflect sentiments in a better way, and this can help to improve the government-citizen connection.


2020 ◽  
pp. 772-786
Author(s):  
Collen Sabao ◽  
Tendai Owen Chikara

The chapter examines and discusses the role and communicative potential of social media based platforms in citizen political participation and protests in Zimbabwe specifically focusing on the #thisflag movement on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. #thisflag is a social media-based platform that rose to challenge the Zimbabwean government over the political and economic decay as well as rampant corruption characterising the country contemporarily. While a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean politics, the impact and communicative potential of social media as an alternative public sphere was recently tested in nationwide protest stayaway organised through the Facebook and Twitter movement under the #thisflag handle/brand. This chapter discusses the manners in which such social media platforms impact national politics in Zimbabwe as well as globally, specifically looking at the #thisflag movement as a case study.


2021 ◽  
pp. 73-98
Author(s):  
Hyunjin Seo

This chapter offers a detailed analysis of online and offline interactions and information exchanges that took place in organizing candlelight vigils in 2016–2017 that contributed to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Interactions between agents and affordances resulted in the nation’s first removal of a president through impeachment processes. Key agents—in particular, journalists, social media influencers, citizens, activists, news organizations, and civic organizations—interacted to produce, share, and amplify cognitive and affective content resulting in massive citizen participation in candlelight vigils for 20 consecutive weeks. It provides an in-depth analysis of these and related issues based on interviews with journalists, activists, citizens, government officials, and technology company representatives and experts. The interview data are triangulated using analyses of news reports and social media posts.


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