scholarly journals Disintermediation in Social Networks: Conceptualizing Political Actors’ Construction of Publics on Twitter

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-285
Author(s):  
Scott A. Eldridge II ◽  
Lucía García-Carretero ◽  
Marcel Broersma

While often treated as distinct, both politics and journalism share in their histories a need for a public that is not naturally assembled and needs instead to be ‘constructed’. In earlier times the role of mediating politics to publics often fell to news media, which were also dependent on constructing a ‘public’ for their own viability. It is hardly notable to say this has changed in a digital age, and in the way social media have allowed politicians and political movements to speak to their own publics bypassing news voices is a clear example of this. We show how both established politics and emerging political movements now activate and intensify certain publics through their media messages, and how this differs in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. When considering journalism and social media, emphasis on their prominence can mask more complex shifts they ushered in, including cross-national differences, where they have pushed journalism towards social media to communicate news, and where political actors now use these spaces for their own communicative ends. Building upon this research, this article revisits conceptualizations of the ways political actors construct publics and argues that we see processes of disintermediation taking place in political actors’ social networks on Twitter.

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2225-2252
Author(s):  
E.V. Popov ◽  
V.L. Simonova ◽  
O.V. Komarova ◽  
S.S. Kaigorodova

Subject. The emergence of new ways of interaction between sellers and buyers, the formation of new sales channels and product promotion based on the use of digital economy tools is at the heart of improving the business processes. Social networks became a tool for development; their rapid growth necessitates theoretical understanding and identification of potential application in enterprise's business process digitalization. Objectives. We explore the role of social media in the digitalization of business processes, systematize the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises in the digital economy. Methods. The theoretical and methodological analysis of social networks as a tool for digitalization of company's business processes rests on the content analysis of domestic and foreign scientific studies, comparison, generalization and systematization. Results. We highlight the key effects of the impact of social networks on the business processes of the company; show that the digitalization of business processes should be considered in the context of a value-based approach, aimed at creating a value through the algorithmization of company operations. We determine that social networks are one of the most important tools for digitalization of company's business processes, as they have a high organizational and management potential. We also systematize the effects of social media on company's business processes. Conclusions. We present theoretical provisions of the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises, which will enable to model and organize ideas about the development of digital ecosystems and the formation of business models.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S Mosinger

Why do united rebel fronts emerge in some insurgencies, while in other insurgencies multiple rebel groups mobilize independently to challenge the state, and often, each other? I develop a diffusion model of rebel fragmentation in which participation in rebellion spreads, completely or incompletely, through networks of civilians and dissidents. Using this theoretical framework I hypothesize that two factors jointly determine whether a rebel movement remains unified or fragments: the rebels’ investment in civilian mobilization, and the overall level of civilian grievances. The theory predicts that widely shared grievances motivate the formation of many small dissident groups willing to challenge the regime. Given the difficulty of collective action between disparate opposition actors, an emerging rebel movement will tend towards fragmentation when popular grievances are high. Yet extremely high civilian grievances can also help rebels activate broad, overlapping civilian social networks that serve to bridge together dissident groups. Mass-mobilizing rebel groups, benefiting from the participation of broad civilian networks, are most likely to forge and maintain a unified rebel front. I test this theory alongside several alternatives drawn from cross-national studies of conflict using regression analysis. The quantitative evidence lends considerable credence to the role of rebel constituencies in preventing or fomenting rebel fragmentation.


Litera ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 38-55
Author(s):  
Rivaa Mukhammad Salem Alsalibi

The subject of this research is the specifics, forms and functions of interaction in social media groups between the representatives of ethnic communities. The goal consists in determination of the role of social networks in adaptation of ethnocultural communities of St. Petersburg. The research is based on the polling technique for acquisition of information on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral state of a person. The survey was conducted via distribution of questionnaires among the representatives of ethnic groups. The article also employs the method of systematic scientific observation over the social media groups, topic raised therein, as well as reading and analysis of the comments. The scientific novelty of this work consists in outlining of the nature, trends and development prospects of cross-cultural communications as the channel for ethnocultural interaction.  The main conclusions, which touch upon users from various ethnic communities who do not have enough experience in organization of activity of social media groups, demonstrate that it causes the loss of the sense of security, accumulation of prejudices and escalation of interethnic conflicts, as well as preference of the with restricted access, which contributes to lock down of the group and impedes adaptation in the accepting society. Stabilization of situation can be achieved by improvement of the quality of content posted in the social media, as well as level of their administration.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Castro Pires de Souza Chimenti ◽  
Marco Aurelio de Souza Rodrigues ◽  
Marcelo Guedes Carneiro ◽  
Roberta Dias Campos

Purpose Through a literature review, a gap has been identified regarding the role of competition as a driver of social network (SN) usage. This study aims to design to address this gap, seeking motivators for SN usage based on how SN consumption may be related to users’ experience of competition. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of competition in social media usage. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an exploratory qualitative approach, conducting a set of focus groups with young social media users. Data was analyzed with software. Findings Two new drivers for SN use are proposed, namely, competition and collective narrative. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study, and it does not seek to generalize results or quantify causal relationships among variables. Practical implications This paper offers SN managers a deeper understanding of key growth drivers for these media. Social implications This research can help society understand and debate the impacts of SNs on users’ lives, providing insights into drivers of excessive usage. Originality/value This paper proposes the following two SN usage drivers yet to be described in the literature: competition and collective narrative.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orpha de Lenne ◽  
Laura Vandenbosch ◽  
Steven Eggermont ◽  
Kathrin Karsay ◽  
Jolien Trekels

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87
Author(s):  
Nina Gorenc

The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-630
Author(s):  
Viktor P. Sheinov

Social networks are taking up more and more place in the daily life of modern people, becoming an integral part of our existence. At the same time, the role of social networks is constantly growing along with the rapid growth in the number of their active users. As online interaction for many has become more used than face-to-face communication, social networks have begun to seriously affect the way of life, communication, interests and psychology of people. The use of social networks is growing exponentially and has covered more than a third of the worlds population; therefore, researchers from different countries are actively studying social networks. Considerable empirical data has been accumulated that requires generalization and understanding, which is the purpose of this review. We found positive links between social media addiction and depression, anxiety, stress, neuroticism, emotional problems, low self-esteem, cyber-victimization, physical health problems, mental disorders, loneliness, procrastination, smartphone and internet addiction, and infidelity in relationships. Negative links were revealed between social media addiction and life satisfaction, academic performance of schoolchildren and students, labor productivity and commitment to the organization of its employees, social capital, and age. The main reason for social media addiction is the need for communication, and women are generally more active in social networks than men. This review provides only those links of social media addiction that have been established in a number of studies conducted in different countries. The presented results were obtained abroad using foreign language questionnaires that determine social media addiction. The lack of such a reliable and valid tool among Russian-speaking psychologists has become a serious factor hindering the conduct of similar domestic research. With this in view, the author developed a specially designed social media addiction questionnaire.


Author(s):  
Irina N. Lipilina ◽  

Throughout 2020 youth protests did not stop in Thailand. They began as a reaction to the dissolution by the Constitutional Court of the New Future party, which is aimed at a youth audience. After the introduction of antiepidemiological restrictions street demonstrations stopped, but the activity of their participants shifted to social networks. In a digital space that is less subject to government censorship, the protest agenda has expanded and escalated significantly. As soon as the ban on demonstrations was lifted, the performances continued, but with more drastic demands, which were originally formulated on social networks. This article examines the impact of social media on the radicalization of youth protest in Thailand.


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