From lords of war to leaders in society: How former Liberian warlords have used ‘old’ and ‘new’ media to self-reframe

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine O’Mahony ◽  
Jo Ellen Fair

The process of post-conflict reconstruction in Liberia involves an array of actors vying for power. Many of the key political and civic figures involved are former warlords, whose reigns of terror affected many they now work with and serve. By reframing themselves through social media these warlords have created new centers of power, embracing their new roles as public servants and renouncing past acts of terrorism. This article focuses on two of Liberia’s most notorious former warlords, Prince Johnson and Joshua Blahyi. Johnson, now Senator Johnson, was best known for swilling beer while he conducted the video-taped torture of President Doe. Joshua Blahyi, formerly General Butt Naked, who infamously drank children’s blood before running naked into battle, is now a born-again preacher with his own faith-based NGO. We argue that their use of social media has enabled them to reconstruct and reframe their ‘past lives’, ensuring these cannot become political liabilities.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Masłyk

Abstract The main purpose of this article is to present the results of research concerning the use of social media by companies from the SME sector in Podkarpackie Province. The article includes data obtained in the first stage of the study, which is a part of a research project on the use of social media in the area of creating the image of an organization / company as an employer.The survey covered the entire population of companies from the SME sector, which are registered in Podkarpackie Province (REGON database). The research phase, the results of which are presented in this article, mainly involved the analysis of data on companies from the SME sector in Podkarpackie Province in terms of their presence on the Internet (having an individual website, having company profiles on selected social networks). The results of the first stage of the study confirm that the companies see the potential of the online presence / functioning in social media (more and more companies have their own website, Facebook profiles). The dynamics of changes in this area is definitely not adequate to the pace of new media development. On the basis of preliminary results of further stages of the research, it can also be concluded that in the vast majority of cases, however, these are non-strategic and non-systematic activities.


Author(s):  
Ruth Grüters ◽  
Knut Ove Eliassen

AbstractTo understand the success of SKAM, the series’ innovative use of “social media” must be taken into consideration. The article follows two lines of argument, one diachronic, the other synchronic. The concept of remediation allows for a historical perspective that places the series in a longer tradition of “real time”-fictions and media practices that span from the epistolary novels of the 18th century by way of radio theatre and television serials to the new media of the 21st century. Framing the series within the current media ecology (marked by the connectivity logic of “social media”), the authors analyze how the choice of the blog as the drama’s media platform has formed the ways the series succeeded in affecting and mobilizing its audience. Given the long tradition of strong pedagogical premises in the teenager serials of publicly financed Norwegian television, the authors note the absence of any explicit media critical perspectives or didacticism. Nevertheless, the claim is that the media-practices of the series, as well as the actions and discourses of its followers (blogposts, facebook-groups, etc.), generate new insights and knowledge with regards to the series’ form, content, and practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-96
Author(s):  
Siti Ani Munasaroh

Abstract Social media is the main choice in establishing social interactions in cyberspace in this new media era. The Facebook application as one of the contemporary social media is widely used by Digital natives. As a creative generation in using technology, Digital natives use Facebook as a medium of communication today. Facebook users who are increasing and used continuously have formed a habit that eventually becomes a culture of communication. This research is a qualitative research with a constructivist paradigm that uses a virtual ethnographic research approach. Virtual ethnography is an approach that aims to observe behavior patterns, patterns of life and social relations in virtual life in cyberspace. This study is to determine the communication culture of Digital natives on the use of social media Facebook. And to find out the communication culture formed from the use of Facebook by Digital natives. Keywords: Culture, Communication, New Media, Facebook, Digital natives. Abstrak Media sosial menjadi pilihan utama dalam menjalin interaksi sosial di dunia maya pada era media baru ini. Aplikasi facebook sebagai salah satu media sosial kekinian banyak digunakan oleh Digital natives. Sebagai generasi kreatif dalam menggunakan teknologi, Digital natives memanfaatkan facebook sebagai media komunikasi saat ini. Pengguna facebook yang semakin meningkat dan digunakan secara terus menerus telah membentuk sebuah kebiasaan yang pada akhirnya menjadi budaya dalam berkomunikasi. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif dengan paradigma konstruktivis yang menggunakan pendekatan penelitian etnografi virtual. Etnografi virtual merupakan pendekatan yang bertujuan untuk mengamati pola-pola perilaku, pola kehidupan dan relasi sosial dalam kehidupan virtual di dunia maya (cyber) Penelitian ini hendak mengkaji tentang, perubahan dan budaya komunikasi Digital natives pada penggunaan facebook di era media baru, sedangkan Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah Untuk mengetahui budaya komunikasi Digital natives pada penggunaan media sosial facebook. Dan untuk mengetahui budaya komunikasi yang terbentuk dari penggunaan facebook oleh Digital natives. Kata Kunci : Budaya, Komunikasi, Media Baru, Facebook, Digital natives.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nadas Ramachandra Pillay

This study seeks to examine the exponential growth of social media technology as a key component in recent American political campaigning, as well as its use and impact on the larger disciplines of marketing and branding. Adopting the approach of a case study with the focus firmly on the current American president, Barack Obama, the study identifies the key media and technologies used in the build-up to the 2008 American presidential elections in order to unpack and understand how such media channels, technological platforms and patterns were successfully utilised. References are also made to the concepts of ‘branding’ and ‘super branding’ in the discussion, and to the myriad ways in which social media has helped create and roll-out what has since become commonly known as ‘brand Obama’. To provide a framework for the discussion and in order to further understand the rapid growth and proliferation of social media on the political campaigning landscape, a comparison is made with the 2004 American presidential election campaign. This, it is posited, will assist us understand the drivers of new media technologies especially as they are used to create and impact positively on the growth of political super brands.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1209-1233
Author(s):  
Hanna Kontu ◽  
Alessandra Vecchi

The importance of social media is evident as millions of people use it to connect with others, share content, and discuss different topics (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010; Kim & Ko, 2010). Although it is clear that social media is powerful and ubiquitous, many fashion brands have been reluctant or unable to develop strategies and allocate resources to effectively engage with the new media. The goal of this chapter is to critically review the literature that explicitly addresses the adoption, application, and impact of social media by fashion brands. In particular, the purpose of this chapter is to provide a critical assessment of the adoption of social media amongst three well-established fashion brands in order to identify the importance of social media as a strategic marketing tool and to propose a number of alternative social media strategies for fashion brands. Such a critical assessment is necessary since, as demonstrated by the research findings, implementing these strategies will allow brands not only to survive, but also to create new competitive advantages and thrive in the new global fashion business environment.


Author(s):  
Cesar Pereira da Mota ◽  
Pedro Isaías

Despite the fact that the branding of football is not a new phenomenon, the emergence of new media has provided the means and the opportunity for the widespread promotion of football club's brands. At the same time, the growing popularity of social media among football fan has empowered them to express their opinions and has granted them unlimited resources for information search and exchange. This chapter aims to examine the relationship that exists between Real Madrid's digital marketing actions and its promotion as a brand and the loyalty of its supporters. An online questionnaire was distributed among sports and football fans in order to identify their profile, their preferred communication channels, their use of social media and their knowledge about Real Madrid.


Author(s):  
David Valle-Cruz ◽  
Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazan

In this chapter, the authors show two case studies of the use of social media in municipal governments: Lerma, a small municipality with a significant growth, and Metepec, an important municipality of the State of México. The purpose of this chapter is to provide empirical evidence of how social media improves government to citizen relationship and promotes e-participation in municipal governments. The results are based on semi-structured interviews applied to public servants and a survey to evaluate e-government services by citizens. So, the citizen perception is contrasted with public servants' interviews. Citizens consider that electronic procedures and services implemented by their municipalities do not generate value. The efforts of governments should focus on avoiding corruption, making governments transparent, opening data, and properly managing the privacy of information.


Author(s):  
Janet Aver Adikpo ◽  
Patience Ngunan Achakpa-Ikyo

In the changing media and health landscapes, health communication requires more ways to improve and sustain new practices for health advocacy. The same way global population is soaring, people are becoming more urbane, and these vicissitudes are accompanied by the need to access new forms of media to meet information needs. This chapter assesses social media relevance as an alternative tool for health communication and clearly established that social media holds an integral locus in the day-to-day activities of the people, the same way it has for health communication. The growing concern is for stakeholders who are government and non-government agencies actors like traditional rulers, faith-based organisations, and international bodies to adopt the use of social media as an alternative for health communication in Nigeria.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-215
Author(s):  
Ratan Kumar Roy

Politics online is a significant phenomenon today in Bangladesh given the reach of internet, resulting in the proliferation of the use of social media and online activism. The intertwined dynamic of digital drive and mediated politics can be traced in other parts of the region of South Asia as a burgeoning spectacle. In this context, the instance of Bangladesh with regard to online activism provides distinctive clues to fathom the nature of mediated politics. This paper examines a social media-driven youth protest, Shahbag Movement in 2013 to unravel the interactive dynamics between new media, traditional media and social movement. Bringing in the empirical cases, in the ultimate analysis, it delves deeper into the conceptual aspects of media practices, mediation and mediatisation.


First Monday ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazan ◽  
Andrea L. Kavanaugh

The use of social media by public administration has been growing steadily, and fostering important transformations in organization, costs, citizen interaction and efficiency. Citizens are increasingly more informed about government activities, performance, and claims solutions. Citiizens and non-profit organizations are in greater communication with each other about government planning and response to complex and collective problems. Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and WhatsApp, as well as related tools, such as commenting, liking, tagging and rating, change the distribution of information, power and resources. The growing maturity of public officials in the use of these tools not only creates new opportunities, but also engenders problems. Many politicians, public officials and public servants are seeking ways to adapt their daily operations and practices to make effective use of social media for interaction with non-governmental organizations and with citizens and to provide information and services more efficiently. The papers in this special issue on social media and government capture the current state of some of these opportunities and problems.


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