Uganda social media tax furore could resurge

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mobile Money ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Over The Top ◽  
Post Online

Subject Uganda's social media tax. Significance Uganda in July began implementing a set of new taxes on internet-based services. These include a daily fee for use of ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) social media platforms (such as WhatsApp, Twitter or Facebook), and a tax on mobile money transactions. However, the measures have been fiercely opposed by the public and have drawn widespread condemnation as an infringement on freedom of speech. Impacts Nigeria is also mulling a social media tax; all sides will use the Uganda situation in ways that support their own views in that debate. Zambia’s government may use a proposed set of tough cybercrime laws to stifle dissent ahead of President Edward Lungu’s re-election bid. Tanzania will resist calls to reform new regulations requiring bloggers to pay for licenses to post online content.

How to strengthen the social media interactivity of e-government

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
xiaoling Hao ◽  
Daqing Zheng ◽  
Qingfeng Zeng ◽  
Weiguo Fan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Popular Government ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how to use social media in e-government to strengthen interactivity between government and the general public. Design/methodology/approach – Categorizing the determinants to interactivity covering depth and breadth into two aspects that are the structural features and the content features, this study employs general linear model and ANOVA method to analyse 14,910 posts belonged to the top list of the 96 most popular government accounts of Sina, one of the largest social media platforms in China. Findings – The main findings of the research are that both variables of the ratio of multimedia elements, and the ratio of external links have positive effects on the breadth of interactivity, while the ratio of multimedia features, and the ratio of originality have significant effects on the depth of interactivity. Originality/value – The contributions are as follows. First, the authors analyse the properties and the topics of government posts to draw a rich picture of how local governments use the micro-blog as a communications channel to interact with the public. Second, the authors conceptualize the government online interactivity in terms of the breadth and depth. Third, the authors identify factors that will enhance the interactivity from two aspects: structural features and content features. Lastly, the authors offer suggestions to local governments on how to strengthen the e-government interactivity in social media.

The state of social media engagement in Saudi universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norah Khalid Alsufyan ◽  
Monira Aloud
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Private Universities ◽  
The Other ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Engagement ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way that Saudi universities are engaging their audience via social media platforms by means of the five meaningful themes: visibility, branding, authenticity, commitment, and engagement. The study will answer the questions: how do Saudi universities exploit social media platforms to engage their target audience? What are the recommendations for Saudi universities toward maximizing the value of social media engagement? Design/methodology/approach A content analysis approach was used to study all Saudi universities (26 public, 11 private). Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter were the anticipated social media platforms in this study. Findings The results showed that Twitter is the most frequently used platform to communicate with audiences. While visibility in the anticipated social media platforms was high, the engagement was lacking. On the other hand, authenticity and branding in the anticipated social media platforms were medium, while commitment was low except on Twitter. In general, the private universities exceed the public universities in terms of visibility, branding, authenticity, commitment and engagement in the anticipated social media platforms, which indicates their attention on gaining their audience’s satisfaction, a dynamic of trust which will lead to maintaining current relationships or building new ones. Originality/value Since there are few studies in the field regarding social media platforms usage by Saudi universities, this study aims to understand how Saudi universities are utilizing social media platforms to engage their audiences and propose recommendations for how Saudi universities can build value from social media platforms.

“We are all in this together:” police use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochen Hu ◽  
Beidi Dong ◽  
Nicholas Lovrich
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Facebook Pages

PurposePrevious studies consistently indicate that police agencies tend to use social media to assist in criminal investigations, to improve police-community relations and to broadcast both crime- and non-crime-related tips promotive of public safety. To date, little research has examined what content the police tended to post on their social media sites during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachBy selecting the 14 most widely attended police agencies' Facebook accounts, the current study collects and analyzes a sample of 2,477 police Facebook postings between February 1 and May 31, 2020. By using a mix-method approach, the study addresses three research questions: 1) What kinds of messages did the police tend to post on their Facebook pages before and during this pandemic? 2) What types of COVID-related police Facebook postings were made? 3) How did the public react to COVID-19-related police Facebook postings?FindingsThe findings suggest that the police have come to believe that social media can be used as an effective police−public communicative tool in stressful times. The findings also suggest that social media platforms have become a routinized tool of police−public communications which can, to some appreciable extent, substitute for the in-person contacts traditionally relied upon in community policing.Originality/valueThis study of police use of social media explores the question of whether the use of these media can serve as an effective tool to connect the police with the public under circumstances where in-person contacts are greatly constrained. Some public policy implications emerging from the findings reported are discussed, along with implications for further research along these lines.

Sentiment of the public: the role of social media in revealing important events

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoda Daou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Topic Detection ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Detection Algorithms ◽  
Diffusion Of Information ◽  
Context Specific

PurposeSocial media is characterized by its volume, its speed of generation and its easy and open access; all this making it an important source of information that provides valuable insights. Content characteristics such as valence and emotions play an important role in the diffusion of information; in fact, emotions can shape virality of topics in social media. The purpose of this research is to fill the gap in event detection applied on online content by incorporating sentiment, more specifically strong sentiment, as main attribute in identifying relevant content.Design/methodology/approachThe study proposes a methodology based on strong sentiment classification using machine learning and an advanced scoring technique.FindingsThe results show the following key findings: the proposed methodology is able to automatically capture trending topics and achieve better classification compared to state-of-the-art topic detection algorithms. In addition, the methodology is not context specific; it is able to successfully identify important events from various datasets within the context of politics, rallies, various news and real tragedies.Originality/valueThis study fills the gap of topic detection applied on online content by building on the assumption that important events trigger strong sentiment among the society. In addition, classic topic detection algorithms require tuning in terms of number of topics to search for. This methodology involves scoring the posts and, thus, does not require limiting the number topics; it also allows ordering the topics by relevance based on the value of the score.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-12-2019-0373

What makes people engage in civic activism on social media?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyehyun Hong ◽  
Yeuseung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civic Activism ◽  
Opinion Expression ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Impact

PurposeGiven the profound impact of social media on civic activism, as demonstrated by the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements, the current study aimed to examine the factors that influence the public to engage in civic activism on social media platforms.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the responses from 4,316 social media users who participated in the 2018 American Trends Survey (Wave 35) conducted by Pew Research Center. The dataset was analyzed using hierarchical regression.FindingsThe results suggest that respondents who were younger, female, White and liberal were more likely to participate in activism-related behaviors, such as using hashtags, changing profile pictures and participating in groups with shared interests in political and social issues. Respondents' engagement in online civic activism increased particularly when they had a strong motive for expressing and sharing their opinions. In contrast, external online political efficacy – the belief that social media influences policymaking and decision makers – was not significantly associated with activism engagement on social media.Originality/valueThis study identified key demographic characteristics of social media users who participate in online civic activism. In addition, the findings extend previous lines of inquiry by examining and assessing the impact of external online political efficacy and opinion expression motive. We conclude that individuals engage in civic activism on social media mainly because they find it important to express views on political and social issues and to find others who share these views, as opposed to thinking that social media can be used to exert influence on policy decisions.

Kim Kardashian: the Leader of the Influencers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laila Fariha Zein ◽  
Adib Rifqi Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Armenian Genocide ◽  
The Public ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Global Commerce ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
International Issues ◽  
Global Influence

In today’s world, it is easier and easier to stay connected with people who are halfway across the world. Social media and a globalizing economy have created new methods of business, trade and socialization resulting in vast amounts of communication and effecting global commerce. Like her or hate her, Kimberly Noel Kardashian West as known as Kim Kardashian has capitalized on social media platforms and the globalizing economy. Kim is known for two things: famous for doing nothing and infamous for a sex tape. But Kim has not let those things define her. With over 105 million Instagram followers and 57 million Twitter followers, Kim has become a major global influence. Kim has travelled around the world, utilizing the success she has had on social media to teach make-up master classes with professional make-up artist, Mario Dedivanovic. She owns or has licensed several different businesses including: an emoji app, a personal app, a gaming app, a cosmetics line, and a fragrance line. Not to be forgotten, the Kardashian family show, ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ has been on the air for ten years with Kim at the forefront. Kim also has three books: ‘Kardashian Konfidential’, ‘Dollhouse’, and ‘Selfish’. With her rising social media following, Kim has used the platforms to show her support for politicians and causes, particularly, recognition of the Armenian genocide. Kim also recently spoke at the Forbes’ women’s summit. Following the summit, Kim tweeted out her support for a recent movement on Twitter, #freeCyntoiaBrown which advocated for a young woman who claimed to have shot and killed the man who held her captive as a teenage sex slave in self-defense. Kim had her own personal lawyers help out Cyntoia on her case. Kim has also moved beyond advocating for issues within the confines of the United States. As mentioned earlier, she is known for advocating for recognition of the Armenian genocide. In the last two years, her show has made it a point to address the Armenian situation as it was then and as it is now. Kim has been recognized as a global influencer by others across the wordl. We believe Kim has become the same as political leaders when it comes to influencing the public. Kim’s story reveals that the new reality creates a perfect opportunity for mass disturbances or for initiating mass support or mass disapproval. Although Kim is typically viewed for her significance to pop culture, Kim’s business and social media following have placed her deep into the mix of international commerce. As her businesses continue to grow and thrive, we may see more of her influence on international issues and an increase in the commerce from which her businesses benefit.

Opportunities for Qualitative Analysis of Social Media Platforms in Dietetic Research and Practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Meghan Lynch ◽  
Irena Knezevic ◽  
Kennedy Laborde Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Online News ◽  
News Article ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Article Comment

To date, most qualitative knowledge about individual eating patterns and the food environment has been derived from traditional data collection methods, such as interviews, focus groups, and observations. However, there currently exists a large source of nutrition-related data in social media discussions that have the potential to provide opportunities to improve dietetic research and practice. Qualitative social media discussion analysis offers a new tool for dietetic researchers and practitioners to gather insights into how the public discusses various nutrition-related topics. We first consider how social media discussion data come with significant advantages including low-cost access to timely ways to gather insights from the public, while also cautioning that social media data have limitations (e.g., difficulty verifying demographic information). We then outline 3 types of social media discussion platforms in particular: (i) online news article comment sections, (ii) food and nutrition blogs, and (iii) discussion forums. We discuss how each different type of social media offers unique insights and provide a specific example from our own research using each platform. We contend that social media discussions can contribute positively to dietetic research and practice.

Understanding the Role of Online Media Platforms in Airport Capital Projects and Community Outreach

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812199347
Author(s):  
Max Z. Li ◽  
Megan S. Ryerson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Capital Projects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Project Phases ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Common Content

Community outreach and engagement efforts are critical to an airport’s role as an ever-evolving transportation infrastructure and regional economic driver. As online social media platforms continue to grow in both popularity and influence, a new engagement channel between airports and the public is emerging. However, the motivations behind and effectiveness of these social media channels remain unclear. In this work, we address this knowledge gap by better understanding the advantages, impact, and best practices of this newly emerging engagement channel available to airports. Focusing specifically on airport YouTube channels, we first document quantitative viewership metrics, and examine common content characteristics within airport YouTube videos. We then conduct interviews and site visits with relevant airport stakeholders to identify the motivations and workflow behind these videos. Finally, we facilitate sample focus groups designed to survey public perceptions of the effectiveness and value of these videos. From our four project phases, to maximize content effectiveness and community engagement potential, we synthesize the following framework of action items, recommendations, and best practices: (C) Consistency and community; (O) Organizational structure; (M) Momentum; (B) Branding and buy-in; (A) Activity; (T) Two-way engagement; (E) Enthusiasm; and (D) Depth, or as a convenient initialism, our COMBATED framework.

Is Social Media a Digital Pulpit? How Evangelical Leaders Use Twitter to Encourage the Faithful and Publicize Their Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan P. Burge ◽  
Miles D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Natural Extension ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Political Language ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Commentary ◽  
Religious Communication ◽  
Theories Of Religion ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Social media is altering how some religious leaders communicate with their followers and with the public. This has the potential to challenge theories of religious communication that have been developed through the study of traditional modes such as sermons. This study examines how leaders in U.S. evangelicalism take advantage of the public platform provided by Twitter. Using over 85,000 tweets from 88 prominent evangelical leaders, we find that these leaders often use their social media platforms as a natural extension of their current modes of communication. More specifically, evangelical leaders use their account to encourage and inspire their followers, while also conveying information about upcoming personal projects such as tours and book releases. In a small number of cases, evangelical leaders do make reference to political issues, but those individuals are ones who have already built a brand based on political commentary. Speaking broadly, the usage of political language by evangelical leaders is rare. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this analysis advances theories of religion and communication.KeywordsTwitter – social media – evangelicals – leaders

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