scholarly journals Managing your online presence to boost your career: An introduction to social media as a tool

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 28-29
Author(s):  
Alexa Hime

Engaging with social media platforms is becoming increasingly important when managing your career and looking for your next steps. It is a great way of creating and maintaining useful links with those in your sector, leading to collaborations or even funding opportunities, and it is a quick and effective way of finding relevant information. As online information about people becomes easily accessible, it is often the first port of call for employers when seeking potential employees.

Author(s):  
Nampombe Saurombe

Archives serve as society's collective memory because they provide evidence of the past as well as promoting accountability and transparency of past actions. Appreciation of the archives should therefore result in citizens linking these records with their identity, history, civic duty and cultural heritage. However, research in east and southern Africa seems to indicate that very few citizens are aware of and use the archives. Social media platforms have been utilized to raise awareness about the archival institutions elsewhere. This study sought to find out whether the National Archives in east and southern Africa used social media to raise awareness about archives. The study involved 12 national archives affiliated to the East and Southern Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA) using a multi-method research strategy. The findings indicated that social media platforms were not a preferred option in outreach strategies, even though they were recognized as useful means to reach online information seekers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1063-1068
Author(s):  
Christian Tapking ◽  
Daniel Popp ◽  
Gabriel Hundeshagen ◽  
Khosrow S Houschyar ◽  
Valentin Haug ◽  
...  

Abstract Currently, patients seek healthcare information online. An up-to-date online presence is vital for success among the competition amid hospitals. Hospital websites have become an important medium to communicate with patients, provide information about certain diseases/conditions, and advertise healthcare services. This study aims to evaluate burn centers websites verified by the American Burn Association (ABA). The online presence of the 73 ABA-verified burn centers was evaluated according to criteria previously published by Benedikt et al. This included general information on burns, first aid, treatment at the burn unit, research, and education. ABA-verified burn centers were then compared with 48 German-speaking burn centers evaluated by Benedikt et al. Online information about patient care including treatment options and techniques was more often present in ABA-verified burn centers. However, this information was still provided in only half of the websites. Furthermore, ABA-verified burn centers more often used multimedia-based elements and social media platforms. On the other hand, German-speaking burn centers more often provided translations, general information (eg, staff and ward) about the burn center, as well as research and education. This study demonstrates that although many burn centers have well-designed websites, relevant burn-related information on patient care, research, and education is often missing or sparse. Today, most patients look for healthcare information online. Also, applicants for residency or fellowship programs tend to get a first picture of their potential employer on websites or social media. Keeping websites and social media up-to-date and informative can improve recruitment of patients and employees.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni A. Kyza ◽  
Christiana Varda

As access to news is increasingly mediated through social media platforms, there are rising concerns for citizens’ ability to evaluate online information and detect potentially misleading items. While many studies have reported on how people assess the credibility of information, there are few reports on processes related to evaluating information online and people’s decision to trust and share the information with others. This paper reports on the first part of a three-phase study which aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of citizens’ practices and needs in assessing the credibility of information shared online and co-create solutions to address this problem. Data were collected from three European countries, through a survey on misinformation perceptions, focus groups, follow-up individual interviews, and co-creation activities with three stakeholder groups. The data were analyzed qualitatively, using, primarily, a grounded theory approach. Results from the citizens’ stakeholder group indicate that personal biases, emotions, time constraints, and lack of supporting technologies impacts the credibility assessment of online news. Study participants also discussed the need for increased media literacy actions, especially in youth. Based on preliminary findings we argue that we need a diversified approach to support citizens’ resilience against the spread of misinformation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Brady ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel

Over 4 billion people now use social media platforms. As our social lives become more entangled than ever before with online social networks, it is important to understand the dynamics of online information diffusion. This is particularly true for the political domain, as political elites, disinformation profiteers and social activists all utilize social media to gain influence by spreading information. Recent work found that emotional expressions related to the domain of morality (moral emotion expression) are associated with increased diffusion of political messages--a phenomenon we called ‘moral contagion’. Here, we perform a large, pre-registered direct replication (N = 849,266) of Brady et al. (2017), as well as a meta-analysis of all available data testing moral contagion (5 independent labs, 27 studies, N = 4,821,006). The estimate of moral contagion in the available population of studies is positive and significant (IRR = 1.12, 95% CI = [1.06, 1.19]), such that each message is 12% more likely to be shared for each additional moral-emotional word. The mean effect size of the large, pre-registered replication (IRR = 1.15) better estimated the effect size of the available population of studies than the original study (IRR = 1.20). These findings reinforce the importance of replication and producing a pre-registered analysis to generate accurate estimates of effect size for future studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (64) ◽  
pp. 52-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Gutierrez-Leefmans ◽  
Christopher Patrick Holland

The dramatic rise of social media platforms for individuals has attracted a lot of attention in the academic and business literature. Web 2.0 and social media technology has also been used to develop platforms for entrepreneurs and Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), which offer relevant information content and networking opportunities. Although there has been considerable growth and use in SME platforms there is a dearth of research into their strategy and operations. We take Zott and Amit’s activity-system approach, to analyse a theoretical sample of four leading UK SME platforms and develop causal maps of their business models. The theoretical contribution is to propose a general framework that features the dynamic nature of business models by describing and explaining the complex interactions and influences between the business model elements of business strategy, value proposition, end-user and Web 2.0. The paper also makes an empirical contribution by testing the activity-system approach and demonstrating its utility and validity in a new organisational context. Results show that user acquisition and retention strategies (part of the business strategy) enable both the platform´s value proposition and the revenue model, where partnerships and Web 2.0 technology play a key role in most cases. This has important implications for Marketing managers and for strategy theorists.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 199s-199s
Author(s):  
K. Chandan ◽  
A. Yadav ◽  
A. Chandra ◽  
R. Mehrotra

Background: Cancer is among leading cause of death (8.8 million) worldwide. Around 14.2 million new cases were recorded in 2012 and increasing each year. On the other hand there are about 2.8 billion users of different social media platforms (i.e., 37% of the world population). This tremendous power of social media can be used for disseminating effective information and communication on cancer prevention more efficiently (i.e., in less time to more people) to create awareness against the disease. Tobacco, alcohol and food industry have been using social media for aggressive advertising and marketing of their products. There is an urgent need to maximally use this medium of communication for advancing cancer prevention globally. Aim: To assess the role of social media in implementing effective health promotion strategies to advance cancer prevention. Methods: Extensive Web search has been done on the way social media (e.g., Facebook) is used for advancing public health communication and how it has been leveraged in the field of cancer prevention. Several Facebook pages and groups, YouTube channels were analyzed thoroughly. Various reports and articles on social media have been reviewed and analyzed. Results: Social media has been found very effective in terms of engaging greater number of population globally. Many Facebook pages and groups are available that provide information regarding specific cancer or provide support for cancer survivors. Several informative videos related to cancer prevention and survivors' stories are broadcast on various YouTube channels run by individuals, government, and nongovernment organizations. There have been many Instagram accounts on cancer but many of them don't provide relevant information on cancer prevention. However, genuine and relevant information are available through several Twitter handles. These social media platforms have very high penetration power. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter have monthly reach to more than 1871, 1000, 500 and 263 million users respectively. This large number of user base can become a great source of spreading information on various aspects of cancer prevention through a comprehensive social media campaign. Conclusion: Social media platforms improve outreach and can also help carrying the relevant preventive health messages on cancer prevention, not only for the cancer patient but the public at large. Social media will help in amplifying the messages to the global mass while motivating prevention and health promotion to achieve public health objectives.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Foued Khlifi

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of Web-based financial reporting and social media platforms on the proxies of information asymmetry in the Saudi Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach The sample of this paper consists of 133 Saudi listed non-financial companies for the year 2019. Web-based disclosure level was measured using 25 items, and the social media platforms examined in this study are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The information asymmetry proxies are measured using the relative spread and the time-weighted average bid-ask spread. Findings The empirical results have shown that there is a negative and significant relation between Web-based financial reporting and the adoption of social media platforms and the proxies of information asymmetry. Indeed, the relative spread and the time-weighted average bid-ask spread decreased with increased Web-based reporting levels. Among three platforms (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), the results show that only the use of Twitter as a channel for information disclosure has a negative and significant effect on information asymmetry proxies. Consequently, in the Saudi context, the authors demonstrate that the assumptions of the agency, stewardship and signaling theories are supported. Also, results reveal that the effect of information disclosure through websites and social media on reducing information asymmetry is stronger for large companies than small companies. Practical implications The paper provides new insights into the role played by websites and social media platforms in the reduction of the information asymmetry in the stock market. Consequently, investors and regulatory authorities in the Saudi financial market must give great importance to online information disclosure and its implications for lowering information asymmetry. This empirical study informs regulators in Saudi Arabia to conduct the better practice of Web-based and social media financial reporting and to regulate the current practice of information disclosure. Besides, the obtained results have the potential to convince firms’ managers to improve online information disclosure to benefit from the reduction in information asymmetry. Originality/value Unlike previous studies, this study investigates, simultaneously, the effect of Web-based and social media information disclosure on the proxies of information asymmetry in a developing economy. In addition, the hypotheses of this study are developed based on a set of theories (the agency, signaling and stewardship theories), to verify the applicability of these three theories in the Saudi context.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Lorini ◽  
Peter Salamon ◽  
Carlos Castillo

<p>Social media has been described as a form of distributed cognition, a mechanism for understanding a situation using information spread across many minds. The interactions among people in social media are a form of collective intelligence, as they allow people to make sense of a developing event collectively. Social media users can contribute to creating a "sensor" for citizen-generated data that modelling or monitoring systems can assimilate during a crisis. Gaining situational awareness in a disaster is critical and time-sensitive. Social media presents the possibilities of a growing data source to help improve response in the early hours and days of a crisis. However, social media platforms may not provide the functionality of summarising the information that is useful for crisis responders.<br>SMDRM is a software platform that streamlines the processing of text and images extracted from Twitter in near real-time during a specific event. The data is collected using a combination of keywords and locations based on daily forecasts from the early warnings systems of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service such as EFAS, GloFAS and EFFIS (emergency.copernicus.eu) or triggered manually in case of earthquakes or not-forecasted events. Text is automatically "annotated" using a binary multilingual classifier trained on 12 languages and extended with multilingual embeddings. Simultaneously, a multi-class convolutional neural network labels relevant images for floods, storms, earthquakes and fires. The information that doesn't embed coordinates is geolocated in a two-step algorithm where location candidates are first selected using a multilingual named-entity recognition tool and then searched on available gazetteers. The last step of the SMDRM data processing is the aggregation of relevant information in spatial (administrative areas) and temporal (daily) units. Social media activity about an event can finally be distributed as a data map and visualised on a map server and made available to users.<br>SMDRM could offer timely information useful for reducing the hazard models' uncertainty and providing added-value information such as reports or descriptions of the situation on the ground or in the vicinity. Other stakeholders, such as research groups could access new data to complement the ones extracted from traditional sensors or earth observation. <br>The platform can adapt to cope with the varying workload as it uses scalable software containers. If the number of tweets is higher during an impactful event, the platform can use more containers to annotate them. SMDR code, together with the tens of thousands of annotated social media messages used for training its models, will be released as an open-source platform whose modules can be adapted to serve other research projects. We describe the platform's architecture and implementation details, and two use cases where images and text were used as a use-case to test the system's modules.</p>


Author(s):  
Ugochi Chioma Ekenna ◽  
Leonard Anezi Ezema

The COVID-19 outbreak opened a new scenario where social media use for school educational activities became imperative to teach online and to implement a current and innovative educational model. This chapter provides the most relevant information on types of social media, social media effect of COVID-19 on education, educational social networking, student privacy issues and education technology, safety measures for the use of social media in schools, role of social media and its importance in teaching and learning, application of social media platforms to education, numerous opportunities that social media offer to both students and educators, and challenges of social media in education.


10.2196/24353 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. e24353
Author(s):  
Shayna Mazel ◽  
Yaara Zisman-Ilani ◽  
Shannon Hennig ◽  
Deborah Garnick ◽  
Joanne Nicholson

Background Co-occurring substance use disorder is common among pregnant and parenting women with mental illness, but their engagement with and utilization of relevant services and treatment is low. Social media has the potential to convey benefits and facilitate engagement among this target group. Objective This study aimed to explore the reach and engagement of specific social media posts among pregnant women and mothers with substance use disorders. Methods Eighteen posts providing content related to substance use (cannabis, opioids, or alcohol), varying in type of content (informational or experiential) and target (policy-, practice-, or perception-related), were posted in a closed Facebook community page comprising over 33,000 pregnant women and mothers between May 2019 and October 2019. Results The overall level of reach of these Facebook posts ranged from 453 to 3045 community members. Engagement levels, measured via the number of likes, comments, or posts shared, varied based on the type of post content (ie, informational or experiential). Conclusions Participation in a virtual community via social media platforms can facilitate engagement among pregnant women and mothers with mental illness by communicating relevant information about substance use, as well as potentially promoting awareness of, access to, and engagement with treatment services.


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