The promotional culture of social media and search platforms: an original article by Tom O’Regan and a commentary by Nicholas Carah

2021 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-82
Author(s):  
Tom O’Regan ◽  
Nicholas Carah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Accountability ◽  
Unique Form ◽  
Advertising Expenditure ◽  
Digital Platforms

As the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Digital Platforms Inquiry was at pains to point out, social media and search platforms now capture unprecedented shares of Australian media advertising expenditure. However, this loose collection of media forms and the advertising that supports them are some distance from traditional forms of media and advertising. While much has been written about these differences, the nexus between social media and search media forms and their advertising and promotional settlements had received comparatively little attention until the ACCC made it the front and centre of its inquiry. Our concern here is to take up the invitation the ACCC offers: to reorient our scholarly and public discussions of platforms towards the promotional culture of social media and search platforms. We consider the implications for advertiser-supported media, the unique form of advertising they have created and their challenge to public accountability.

A critical appraisal of diversity in digital knowledge production: Segregated inclusion on YouTube

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110348
Author(s):  
Kaiping Chen ◽  
June Jeon ◽  
Yanxi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Inclusion Phenomenon ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Digital Knowledge

Diversity in knowledge production is a core challenge facing science communication. Despite extensive works showing how diversity has been undermined in science communication, little is known about to what extent social media augments or hinders diversity for science communication. This article addresses this gap by examining the profile and network diversities of knowledge producers on a popular social media platform—YouTube. We revealed the pattern of the juxtaposition of inclusiveness and segregation in this digital platform, which we define as “segregated inclusion.” We found that diverse profiles are presented in digital knowledge production. However, the network among these knowledge producers reveals the rich-get-richer effect. At the intersection of profile and network diversities, we found a decrease in the overall profile diversity when we moved toward the center of the core producers. This segregated inclusion phenomenon questions how inequalities in science communication are replicated and amplified in relation to digital platforms.

The platform beat: Algorithmic watchdogs in the disinformation age

2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312110283
Author(s):  
Philip M Napoli
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Social Media Platforms

As digital platforms have come to play a central role in the news and information ecosystem, a new realm of watchdog journalism has emerged – the platform beat. Journalists on the platform beat report on the operation, use and misuse of social media platforms and search engines. The platform beat can serve as an important mechanism for increasing the accountability of digital platforms, in ways that can affect public trust in the platforms, but that can also, hopefully, lead to the development of stronger, more reliable, and ultimately more trustworthy, platforms. However, there are a number of tensions, vulnerabilities and potential conflicts of interest that characterize the platform beat. This article explores these complex dynamics of the platform beat in an effort assess the capacity of those on the platform beat to enhance the accountability and trustworthiness of digital platforms.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media in a B2B Scenario in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-300
Author(s):  
Krishanu Bhattacharyya ◽  
Bikash Ranjan Debata
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
The Social

Digitalisation is a global phenomenon that is a worthwhile proposition for the development of any nation’s economy. Social media contributes significantly to the development of an economy by the spreading and democratisation of information through global players, such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn etc. According to a Forbes report in 2017, these digital platforms create new ecosystems and business models for business owners and entrepreneurs. Whilst a report by Statista in 2020 states that there were 3.6 billion social media users worldwide and the number is expected to grow to 4.4 billion by 2025. Return on Investment (ROI) measurement of social media, which is a very important component for organisations to evaluate its success or effectiveness, remains a major challenge for organisations, despite number of attempts having been made by experts in the field. This study is aimed at understanding how the success and effectiveness of social media is measured in a B2B scenario. Various frameworks on social media ROI measurement are critically evaluated. Then, a tool for measuring social media ROI is developed, such that businesses will be able to evaluate their social media investments. The instrument covers 14 variables over four dimensions.  The results indicate that respondents perceived organic return as the most important dimension. It is also evident that brand testament is found the least perceived dimension for measuring the social media ROI.

Engaging Destination Stakeholders in the Digital Era: The Best Practice of Italian Regional DMOs

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariapina Trunfio ◽  
Maria Della Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Destination Marketing ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Index

This article examines the underinvestigated topic of how destination marketing organizations (DMOs) engage stakeholders in destination management and marketing through leverage on off-line tools, official destination websites, and social media platforms. Building on a significant body of literature and advances in quantitative and qualitative research, we provide three methodological tools: two scales assessing DMO stakeholder engagement off-line and online and a social media index measuring tourist engagement. Our results confirm that in Italy regional DMOs are capitalizing on the digital platforms and off-line participatory tools to enhance stakeholder engagement in destinations’ decision making. Theoretical and managerial implications for destination management in the digital era are suggested.

scholarly journals COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
K. S. Meena
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

scholarly journals PERCEPTION OF INDIAN YOUTH ON DIGITAL ACTIVISM: MOTIVATION, BARRIERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuhu Sharma ◽  
Aniruddh Verma ◽  
Pranav Sangwan ◽  
Siya Kohli ◽  
Tanvi Chakravarty
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Youth Participation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Digital Activism ◽  
Effective Utilization ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Prime Objective ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Use Of Social Media

The present study draws insights from primary research, examines the existing literature on the subject and uses case studies, with a prime objective to understand the use of social media by youth for digital activism. Thereafter, the paper provides recommendations for effectively leveraging digital platforms to encourage youth participation and activism. This research paper looks at the forms of Digital activism and the ways in which the youth have leveraged digital activism to voice their issues, highlighting their motivations and challenges. To get better insight into the barriers and motivations of youth participation in digital activism, multiple stakeholder conversations and survey of Indian youth within the age group 15-25 years (93 respondents) was conducted to gauge their perception on digital activism. Primary data was collected using an online survey from 93 respondents through a structured questionnaire. Results of this study showed that close to 76.09% of the sample does not engage in digital activism, despite 93.5% of them having a social media presence.

scholarly journals Making fans go "GAGA": intimacy, identity and brand building through Twitter

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura D’angelo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Social Medium ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Fan Identification ◽  
Brand Building ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Lady Gaga

While the use of digital platforms has harmed some aspects of the music industry, it has also created new opportunities for artists to prosper in terms of marketing, branding, communication and to ultimately become cultural entrepreneurs. Twitter in particular is a social networking service (SNS) that is ideal for studying fan celebrity interactions, as it is a safe space for celebrities to market, brand and communicate with fans through strategic discourse in an informal environment. With SNS such as Twitter, fans now have the opportunity to build seemingly intimate relationships with celebrities, becoming cocreators of content. Widely acknowledged for her unparalleled relationships and interactions with fans on Twitter, singer Lady Gaga, has achieved success and long term viability amidst digitalization through her strategic use of online platforms to not only promote and strengthen her brand, but to build intimate relationships with her fans. Lady Gaga exemplifies how the digitalization of the music industry and growth of online platforms drive artists to take on new roles as entrepreneurs marketers and as conversationalists with fans. As such, this paper presents a review of the extant literature of studies that have explored the connection between celebrity brand building and representation on social media and how fan identification, interaction and intimacy are forged via social media discourse. This is followed by a qualitative discourse analysis of 904 tweets and retweets collected from Lady Gaga’s Twitter account from May 31st, 2015 until April 31st, 2016. This analysis serves to develop an understanding of how language is being used actively, persuasively and to isolate patterns in Lady Gaga’s Twitter discourse. This includes key terms, phrases and overall frequency of these. In analyzing how Lady Gaga uses strategic discourse on Twitter, we can build a greater understanding of how this social medium is used to build intimacy with fans. From this knowledge, both artists and marketers can emulate this model for effective brand management on social media, particularly on Twitter.

Fashioning Multiplatform Masculinities

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 645-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Draper ◽  
Andrea M. McDonnell
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Personal Style ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Representational Practices ◽  
Multiple Audiences ◽  
Technological Affordances ◽  
Men And Masculinity

Scholarly interest in the potential of personal style blogging to intervene in fashion media’s gendered norms has focused on women and femininity. To assess the implications for men and masculinity, this article examines gay male bloggers’ self-representational practices. Through interviews and textual analysis, we find their uses of different digital platforms reproduce and confront the heteronormativity of men’s fashion media in ways that speak to their status as bloggers in the industry. Specifically, their desire to demonstrate recognizable forms of fashion expertise keeps their blogs disciplined by industry norms of masculinity even as the need to self-brand encourages queer self-expression across other social media. We thus argue the ways in which bloggers embrace platforms’ technological affordances to engage multiple audiences are central to theorizing how their labor produces different discourses and depictions of masculinity. This builds on arguments made by gender and sexuality scholars to explain the significance of gay men’s fashion.

Navigating the online world of lifestyle health information: an adolescent perspective (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Raeside ◽  
Si Si Jia ◽  
Julie Redfern ◽  
Stephanie R Partridge
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Virtual Focus Groups ◽  
Online Lifestyle

BACKGROUND Adolescence is a critical life stage characterised by an interplay of biological, social and environmental factors. Such factors influence lifestyle health related trajectories, including dietary behaviours, physical activity levels, body weight and sleep hygiene. Generation Z (born 1995-2015) are the most internet-dependent and technologically savvy generation in history with increasing rates of smartphone ownership in both developed and developing nations. Gaps exist in our understanding of what online platforms adolescents are using and the barriers and facilitators of these platforms to seek lifestyle health information. OBJECTIVE We evaluated adolescents’ perceptions on the use of contemporary digital platforms (websites, social media platforms and smartphone apps) to seek information or advice related to lifestyle heath. METHODS Virtual focus groups were held via Zoom teleconference between July to August 2021. Eligible participants were 13-18 years, living in Australia and had searched for online lifestyle health information in the previous three months. For this study, lifestyle health information referred to key behaviours and risk factors for chronic disease, namely, diet, physical activity, weight management and sleep. Participants were recruited through an existing database of research participants and networks of the research team. Focus groups were analysed using the Framework approach, where data is systematically searched to recognize patterns in the data and manage, analyse and identify themes. Focus group audio files were transcribed verbatim and independently coded by two researchers (RR, SJ). Through an iterative and reflexive process, a final coding matrix was agreed on by all researchers and used to thematically analyse the data. RESULTS Five focus groups were held (n=32, mean age 16.3(1.4), 18/32, 56% female, 13/32, 41% spoke language other than English at home). Thematic analysis revealed participants searched for information both actively (e.g., on Google or YouTube) and passively (e.g., scrolling social media and using existing apps preloaded to their smartphone such as Apple ‘Health’, Samsung ‘Health’ or ‘Google Fit’ apps). Participants identified that the most helpful information was well-organised in terms of aesthetic appeal and layout, came from a credible and reliable source (e.g. any sponsorships disclosed) and expressed the need for the information to be relatable. Mixed views were reported for the application of lifestyle health information found online. Some participants reported behaviour change, while others noted that certain advice was hard to maintain and incorporate into their lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the abundance and complexity of lifestyle health information online for adolescents. Adolescents in the digital age seek access to information that is appealing, credible, relevant and actionable for lifestyle health behaviours. To appeal to the needs of adolescents, future interventions for adolescents relating to lifestyle health must consider co-design methodological approaches. Furthermore, the regulation of lifestyle health information available online warrants further investigation.

Social Media as Technologies for Asynchronous Formal Writing and Synchronous Paragraph Writing in the South African Higher Education Contex

2014 ◽  
pp. 213-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaka Chaka
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Incidental Learning ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Class Schedule ◽  
Bachelor Of Education

This chapter reports on a study—conducted in 2011—that employed two social media networks, Facebook and MXit, as educational tools at one university in South Africa. MXit is a South African-based social networking application. The study involved a cohort of second year Bachelor of Education in English undergraduate students at this university as its participants. The latter were required to utilize Facebook and MXit to engage in both asynchronous formal writing and synchronous paragraph writing, respectively. All this took place outside participants’ tutorial class schedule. In this study, participants were able to produce asynchronous formal writing samples in varying degrees using Facebook. Similarly, they were also able to produce synchronous written paragraphs using MXit even though some paragraphs displayed a high degree of linguistic textisms. Other affordances that these two social media technologies offered the participants in this study are: anytime, any day, and anywhere asynchronous and synchronous learning; asynchronous and synchronous feedback; virtual incidental learning; socially situated online learning; and Presence Awareness Learning (PAL). In conclusion, the study suggests that there are further affordances that these two social media technologies can offer higher education. These are: supplemental teaching and learning; cloud storage for teaching and learning materials (in the case of Facebook); virtual platforms for revision; digital platforms for micro-teaching and micro-learning (in respect of MXit); and value-added platforms for just-in-time mobile teaching and learning.

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