scholarly journals Journalists’ Use of Social Media to Infer Public Opinion: The citizens’ perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dubois ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Jenna Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Journalistic Practice ◽  
Media Data

Journalists increasingly use social media data to infer and report public opinion by quoting social media posts, identifying trending topics, and reporting general sentiment. In contrast to traditional approaches of inferring public opinion, citizens are often unaware of how their publicly available social media data is being used and how public opinion is constructed using social media analytics. In this exploratory study based on a census-weighted online survey of Canadian adults (N=1,500), we examine citizens’ perceptions of journalistic use of social media data. We demonstrate that: (1) people find it more appropriate for journalists to use aggregate social media data rather than personally identifiable data; (2) people who use more social media are more likely to positively perceive journalistic use of social media data to infer public opinion; and (3) the frequency of political posting is positively related to acceptance of this emerging journalistic practice, which suggests some citizens want to be heard publicly on social media while others do not. We provide recommendations for journalists on the ethical use of social media data and social media platforms on opt-in functionality.

scholarly journals Journalists’ Use of Social Media to Infer Public Opinion: The Citizens’ Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dubois ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Jenna Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Journalistic Practice ◽  
Media Data

Journalists increasingly use social media data to infer and report public opinion by quoting social media posts, identifying trending topics, and reporting general sentiment. In contrast to traditional approaches of inferring public opinion, citizens are often unaware of how their publicly available social media data are being used and how public opinion is constructed using social media analytics. In this exploratory study based on a census-weighted online survey of Canadian adults ( N = 1,500), we examine citizens’ perceptions of journalistic use of social media data. We demonstrate that (1) people find it more appropriate for journalists to use aggregate social media data rather than personally identifiable data, (2) people who use more social media are more likely to positively perceive journalistic use of social media data to infer public opinion, and (3) the frequency of political posting is positively related to acceptance of this emerging journalistic practice, which suggests some citizens want to be heard publicly on social media while others do not. We provide recommendations for journalists on the ethical use of social media data and social media platforms on opt-in functionality.

Journalists’ Use of Social Media to Infer Public Opinion: The citizens’ perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dubois ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Jenna Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Journalistic Practice ◽  
Media Data

Journalists increasingly use social media data to infer and report public opinion by quoting social media posts, identifying trending topics, and reporting general sentiment. In contrast to traditional approaches of inferring public opinion, citizens are often unaware of how their publicly available social media data is being used and how public opinion is constructed using social media analytics. In this exploratory study based on a census-weighted online survey of Canadian adults (N=1,500), we examine citizens’ perceptions of journalistic use of social media data. We demonstrate that: (1) people find it more appropriate for journalists to use aggregate social media data rather than personally identifiable data; (2) people who use more social media are more likely to positively perceive journalistic use of social media data to infer public opinion; and (3) the frequency of political posting is positively related to acceptance of this emerging journalistic practice, which suggests some citizens want to be heard publicly on social media while others do not. We provide recommendations for journalists on the ethical use of social media data and social media platforms on opt-in functionality.

Journalists’ Use of Social Media to Infer Public Opinion: The citizens’ perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dubois ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Jenna Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Journalistic Practice ◽  
Media Data

Journalists increasingly use social media data to infer and report public opinion by quoting social media posts, identifying trending topics, and reporting general sentiment. In contrast to traditional approaches of inferring public opinion, citizens are often unaware of how their publicly available social media data is being used and how public opinion is constructed using social media analytics. In this exploratory study based on a census-weighted online survey of Canadian adults (N=1,500), we examine citizens’ perceptions of journalistic use of social media data. We demonstrate that: (1) people find it more appropriate for journalists to use aggregate social media data rather than personally identifiable data; (2) people who use more social media are more likely to positively perceive journalistic use of social media data to infer public opinion; and (3) the frequency of political posting is positively related to acceptance of this emerging journalistic practice, which suggests some citizens want to be heard publicly on social media while others do not. We provide recommendations for journalists on the ethical use of social media data and social media platforms on opt-in functionality.

Social Media to Social Media Analytics

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Kumar ◽  
Pooja Nanda
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Media Data

With the amplification of social media platforms, the importance of social media analytics has exponentially increased for many brands and organizations across the world. Tracking and analyzing the social media data has been contributing as a success parameter for such organizations, however, the data is being poorly harnessed. Therefore, the ethical implications of social media analytics need to be identified and explored for both the organizations and targeted users of social media data. The present work is an exploratory study to identify the various techno-ethical concerns of social media engagement, as well as social media analytics. The impact of these concerns on the individuals, organizations, and society as a whole are discussed. Ethical engagement for the most common social media platforms has been outlined with a number of specific examples to understand the prominent techno-ethical concerns. Both the individual and organizational perspectives have been taken into account to identify the implications of social media analytics.

Social Media Relationships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umoloyouvwe Ejiro Onomake
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Multiple Relationships ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Media Data

Ethnography has been used to research various people and topics online, primarily using netnography and digital ethnography. Researchers and businesses employ digital ethnographic methods to access an assortment of social media platforms in order to learn about social media users. Researchers seek to understand relationships between social media users and organizations from both academic and practitioner perspectives. These organizations run the gamut from for-profit businesses, to nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and government agencies. The specific focus here is on social media research as it relates to businesses. Organizations make use of social media in a variety of ways, but chiefly to market to clients and to gather information on followers; the latter of which, in turn, helps them understand their target markets. While this social media data is both quantitative and qualitative in nature, the emphasis here centers on qualitative data, particularly the ways businesses interact with social media users. While some firms mainly use older forms of one-way marketing that solely focus on disseminating information, other firms increasingly seek ways to interact with customers and co-create products with clients. Additionally, social media users are creating their own communities, formed due to a shared interest in a brand. Companies strive to learn more about their customers through these groups. Influencers also play a role in the relationship between organizations and social media users by linking their own followerships to products and brands. In turn, influencers develop their own relationships with organizations through sponsorships, thus becoming brands themselves. Influencers risk losing their followerships when followers perceive them as no longer accessible or authentic. This change in perception can occur for a variety of reasons, including when followers believe that an influencer has prioritized brand alignment over building connections with followers. Due to multiple relationships with different brands and their followers, influencers must negotiate the ambiguity and evolving nature of their role. As social media and digital spaces develop, so must the tools used by anthropologists. Anthropologists should remain open to incorporating hallmarks of ethnographic research such as fieldnotes, participant observation, and focus groups in new ways and alongside tools from other disciplines, including market and UX (user experience) research. The divide between practitioners and academics is blurring. Anthropologists can solve client issues while contributing their voices to larger anthropological and societal discussions.

Social media analytics: how they support company public relations

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Tam ◽  
Jeong-Nam Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Media Data

Purpose In the midst of practitioners’ increasing use of social media analytics (SMA) in guiding public relations (PR) strategy, this paper aims to present the capabilities and limitations of these tools and offers suggestions on how to best use them to gain research-based insights. Design/methodology/approach This review assesses the capabilities and limitations of SMA tools based on industry reports and research articles on trends in PR and SMA. Findings The strengths of SMA tools lie in their capability to gather and aggregate a large quantity of real-time social media data, use algorithms to analyze the data and present the results in ways meaningful to organizations and understand networks of issues and publics. However, there are also challenges, including the increasing restricted access to social media data, the increased use of bots, skewing social conversations in the public sphere, the lack of capability to analyze certain types of data, such as visual data and the discrepancy between data collected on social media and through other methods. Originality/value This review suggests that PR professionals acknowledge the capabilities and limitations of SMA tools when using them to inform strategy.

Citizen Engagement and Social Media

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-43
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazan ◽  
Juan Carlos Montes de Oca Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Weekly Basis ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
High Level ◽  
Media Data

Social media has transformed election campaigns around the world. While it is difficult to determine to what extent social media influence voters' decisions, there is no doubt that social media platforms impact on candidate advertising and public debate during elections. This research, the methodological formulation of which is based on a case study, seeks to investigate the use of social media during political campaigns to collect signatures of support. In the elections of 2018, aspiring candidates for presidential election required a certain number of signatures of support in order to register as official candidates. We collected social media data on a weekly basis from the Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts of seven candidates and contrasted this data with the number of signatures validated by the electoral authority. We found no relationship between the level of support received and the use of social media in the case of any of the candidates. However, we observed candidates who did achieve the required number of signatures and who did receive official presidential candidate status as a result of their high level of visibility. This research contributes methodologically to the current literature and provides empirical evidence regarding independent candidates in Mexico.

Pandemic Management With Social Media Analytics

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-107
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Sabuncu ◽  
Mehmet Emin Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Virus Spread ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Spread Parameters ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Media Data ◽  
Public Concerns

Social media analytics appears as one of recently developing disciplines that helps understand public perception, reaction, and emerging developments. Particularly, pandemics are one of overwhelming phenomena that push public concerns and necessitate serious management. It turned to be a useful tool to understand the thoughts, concerns, needs, expectations of public and individuals, and supports public authorities to take measures for handling pandemics. It can also be used to predict the spread of the virus, spread parameters, and to estimate the number of cases in the future. In this chapter, recent literature on use of social media analytics in pandemic management is overviewed covering all relevant studies on various aspects of pandemic management. It also introduces social media data sources, software, and tools used in the studies, methodologies, and AI techniques including how the results of the analysis are used in pandemic management. Consequently, the chapter drives conclusions out of findings and results of relevant analysis.

Introduction of Social Media Platforms and Social Media Analytics for Social CRM

2019 ◽  
pp. 107-123
Author(s):  
In Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Crm ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Data

This chapter reviews customer relationship management, social media platforms, and social media analytics, and discusses how social media platforms and social media analytics are used to support social CRM. Social CRM emerged by integrating social media with customer relationship management. Social media offers companies an array of innovative ways to interact with their employees, customers, partners, and other stakeholders. As the user base of social media is growing rapidly, it is crucial for companies to understand their social media platforms, develop a plan to continually integrate social media with CRM, analyze social media data with social media analytics, and quickly respond to the needs of customers. To help CRM managers utilize social media analytics systematically, this chapter discusses various analytics methods and presents analytics processes for social media data.

Introduction of Social Media Platforms and Social Media Analytics for Social CRM

2018 ◽  
pp. 92-108
Author(s):  
In Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Social Crm ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Data

This chapter reviews customer relationship management, social media platforms, and social media analytics, and discusses how social media platforms and social media analytics are used to support social CRM. Social CRM emerged by integrating social media with customer relationship management. Social media offers companies an array of innovative ways to interact with their employees, customers, partners, and other stakeholders. As the user base of social media is growing rapidly, it is crucial for companies to understand their social media platforms, develop a plan to continually integrate social media with CRM, analyze social media data with social media analytics, and quickly respond to the needs of customers. To help CRM managers utilize social media analytics systematically, this chapter discusses various analytics methods and presents analytics processes for social media data.

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