scholarly journals Characterizing Topics in Social Media Using Dynamics of Conversation

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1642
Author(s):  
James Flamino ◽  
Bowen Gong ◽  
Frederick Buchanan ◽  
Boleslaw K. Szymanski

Online social media provides massive open-ended platforms for users of a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and beliefs to interact and debate, facilitating countless discussions across a myriad of subjects. With numerous unique voices being lent to the ever-growing information stream, it is essential to consider how the types of conversations that result from a social media post represent the post itself. We hypothesize that the biases and predispositions of users cause them to react to different topics in different ways not necessarily entirely intended by the sender. In this paper, we introduce a set of unique features that capture patterns of discourse, allowing us to empirically explore the relationship between a topic and the conversations it induces. Utilizing “microscopic” trends to describe “macroscopic” phenomena, we set a paradigm for analyzing information dissemination through the user reactions that arise from a topic, eliminating the need to analyze the involved text of the discussions. Using a Reddit dataset, we find that our features not only enable classifiers to accurately distinguish between content genre, but also can identify more subtle semantic differences in content under a single topic as well as isolating outliers whose subject matter is substantially different from the norm.

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 59-82
Author(s):  
Md Ashraf Ahmed, PhD Candidate ◽  
Arif Mohaimin Sadri, PhD ◽  
M. Hadi Amini, PhD, DEng

Risk perception and risk averting behaviors of public agencies in the emergence and spread of COVID-19 can be retrieved through online social media (Twitter), and such interactions can be echoed in other information outlets. This study collected time-sensitive online social media data and analyzed patterns of health risk communication of public health and emergency agencies in the emergence and spread of novel coronavirus using data-driven methods. The major focus is toward understanding how policy-making agencies communicate risk and response information through social media during a pandemic and influence community response—ie, timing of lockdown, timing of reopening, etc.—and disease outbreak indicators—ie, number of confirmed cases and number of deaths. Twitter data of six major public organizations (1,000-4,500 tweets per organization) are collected from February 21, 2020 to June 6, 2020. Several machine learning algorithms, including dynamic topic model and sentiment analysis, are applied over time to identify the topic dynamics over the specific timeline of the pandemic. Organizations emphasized on various topics—eg, importance of wearing face mask, home quarantine, understanding the symptoms, social distancing and contact tracing, emerging community transmission, lack of personal protective equipment, COVID-19 testing and medical supplies, effect of tobacco, pandemic stress management, increasing hospitalization rate, upcoming hurricane season, use of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 treatment, maintaining hygiene, and the role of healthcare podcast in different timeline. The findings can benefit emergency management, policymakers, and public health agencies to identify targeted information dissemination policies for public with diverse needs based on how local, federal, and international agencies reacted to COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaran Kanapathipillaii

<p>Social media such as Facebook has become an essential strategic tool for organisations. Facebook is a platform where a large pool of consumers would use to make purchase decisions. Organisations are designing and maintaining their Facebook account to expand their social networks and build relationships with the public. This research explains current situations regarding the influence of online social media technology with reference to Facebook on employees' work performance in Malaysia. The problem statement focuses on both the public and private sectors in Malaysia. Additionally, various literature was reviewed, indicating the relationship between social media (usage at work, sociability, and trust) and work performance. The mediating role of the organisational framework on the relationship between online social media technology (Facebook) and work performance was also scrutinised to formulate the research hypothesis. The findings of this research established a significant relationship between online social media (Facebook) and organisational framework and work performance. Conclusively, the hypothesis depicted that the organisational framework fully mediates the relationship between online social media technology (Facebook) and employees' work performance in public and private sectors in Malaysia. This study also verifies that both the public and private sector organisations that incorporate Facebook can enhance networking and information sharing, influencing employees' work performance, creating a stable organisational framework, generating value for customers, and improving employee relationships with all stakeholders. In conclusion, work performance can be heightened by a well planned and structured organisational framework. Additionally, through a well planned and implemented online social media technology such as Facebook, an organisation would have a smooth operating organisational framework and a workforce with enhanced performance.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0854/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


MedienJournal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-18
Author(s):  
Anna Zoellner ◽  
Stephen Lax

Digitalisation and the emergence of online media in particular have led to intense debates about its effects on what is now often called “traditional media” including broadcast media such as radio. Our paper investigates how radio stations’ expansion into online space has transformed radio production. Focusing on the relationship between station and listeners, it discusses the social media practices of radio producers and explores whether these new digital tools contribute to a shift towards a more participatory production culture. The paper draws on data from a multi-method case study investigation of local British radio stations that combined programme analysis, expert interviews and web analysis. The study highlighted a shared belief among producers in the importance and value of social media for achieving audience loyalty and engagement. Nevertheless –not least due to a lack of additional resources –their use of social media is mainly an extension of traditional journalistic and promotional tech niques. Its potential for listener involvement in the production process is not met and exchanges with the audiences remain in the digital realm without impact on the on-air listener experience.  


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meesha Gupta ◽  
Asif Ali Syed

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify, empirically analyze and validate the relationship between various social media marketing activities influencing the attitude of Indian consumers toward green products and their willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for them. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 536 respondents who not only use various social media channels for purchases and gaining information but also prefer and buy green products across India. Exploratory factor analysis was done for the refinement and validation of the questionnaire items, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationship among various variables. Findings The findings of the empirical study confer consumer’s attitude toward green products being shaped by four main social media marketing activities, namely, word of mouth, interaction, entertainment and customization, whereas trendiness was found to be insignificant toward predicting consumer’s attitude. The positive attitude so formed has a significant and positive impact on the willingness of consumers to pay a premium price for green products. Originality/value This research takes a lead in analyzing the construct WTP a premium for green products because this has been comparably less explored in Indian context. As spending a little extra by Indian consumers is a super sensitive issue, studying their willingness is therefore an important construct to be taken into account.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-71
Author(s):  
Lidwina Mutia Sadasri

Information dissemination in the media, specifically social media, is one of the critical channels of information related to the COVID-19 outbreak sought by the public. The information presented has been related to accurate and reliable situation reports and false information in various forms, not only text-based but also audio and visual. The chaos of data, coupled with a central response that seemed unprepared, shaped the Indonesian community’s perceptions of the COVID-19 outbreak. This fact related to the massive number of internet users in Indonesia is one aspect of the government’s decision, in this case BNPB (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana; officially National Disaster Management Authority), to engage strong social media influencers. The government collaborated with some influencers to enable public engagement through online social media platforms in the context of COVID-19—two of them being @dr.tirta and @rachelvennya. The platforms also gained more visibility after being appointed COVID-19 influencers. They updated information about COVID-19 on their social media accounts with picture posts and Instagram stories, either individually or in collaboration with others. This study aims to analyse the practice of the Indonesian government’s agency using micro-celebrity to deploy a risk communication frame and the delivery of the message by a celebrated person.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirosha Elsem Varghese ◽  
Eugenio Santoro ◽  
Alessandra Lugo ◽  
Juan J Madrid-Valero ◽  
Simone Ghislandi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The use of technology and social media among adolescents are an increasingly prevalent phenomenon. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the relationship between frequency of the use of electronic devices and social media and sleep-onset difficulties among the Italian population. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the use of technology and social media, including Facebook and YouTube, and sleep-onset difficulties among adolescents from Lombardy, the most populous region in Italy. METHODS The relationship between use of technology and social media, and sleep-onset difficulties was investigated. Data came from the 2013-2014 wave of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, a school-based cross-sectional study conducted on 3172 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years in Northern Italy. Information was collected on difficulties in falling asleep over the last 6 months. We estimated the odds ratios (OR) for sleep-onset difficulties and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI), using logistic regression models after adjustment for major potential confounders. RESULTS The percentage of adolescents with sleep-onset difficulties were 34.3% overall, 29.7% in boys and 39.2% in girls. It was 30.3% in 11yo, 36.2% in 13yo and 37.3% in 15yo adolescents. Sleep onset difficulties were more frequent among adolescents with higher use of electronic device: for general use (OR for highest vs lowest tertile of use= 1.50; 95% CI: 1.21-1.85); use for playing games (OR= 1.35; 95% CI: 1.11-1.64); use of online social network (OR for always vs never or rarely= 1.40; 95% CI: 1.09-1.81); and YouTube (OR= 2.00; 95% CI: 1.50-2.66). CONCLUSIONS This study adds novel information about the relationship between sleep-onset difficulties and technology and social media in a representative sample of school-aged children from a geographical location that has not been included in studies of this type previously. Exposure to screen-based devices and online social media is significantly associated with adolescent sleep onset-difficulties. Interventions to create a well-coordinated parent and school centered strategy, thereby increasing awareness on the unfavorable effect of evolving technologies on sleep among adolescents are needed.


Author(s):  
M. Scully ◽  
L. Swords ◽  
E. Nixon

Introduction: Adolescents’ engagement with online social networking platforms is advancing at an exponential rate and research is needed to investigate any impact on young users’ mental health. This study examined appearance-related activity (e.g. looking at photos of friends) on social media and body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. Methods: Self-report measures of online appearance-related activity, social comparisons to female target groups, internalization of the thin ideal, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem were administered to 210 girls (mean age = 15.16 years). Results: Body dissatisfaction was significantly related to (i) time spent engaged in social comparisons and (ii) upward social comparisons with various female targets while online. Evaluating oneself less favorably than the target group of close friends was most strongly associated with poorer body image appraisals. Serial multiple mediation analysis revealed that even after controlling for age and self-esteem, time spent engaged in social comparisons significantly mediated the relationship between online appearance-related activity and body dissatisfaction. This association was then further partially mediated by internalization of the thin ideal, which significantly mediated the relationship between time engaged in social comparisons and body dissatisfaction. Discussion: Results are discussed in terms of online social media platforms representing an additional appearance culture environment for adolescent girls. The effects of this on the mental health of vulnerable users and how future research should investigate protective factors that may buffer young girls from the adverse effects of social media are considered.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1305-1327
Author(s):  
James Jorstad ◽  
Jo Arney ◽  
Kerry Kuenzi ◽  
Cecilia G. Manrique

As a relatively new form of communication and information dissemination, the effect of social media on public awareness and public participation in political events is relatively unknown. Using the events that unfolded surrounding the election of Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin and the removal of collective bargaining rights of public employees as its main example, this chapter explores the relationship between social media, information dissemination, and collective action.


2018 ◽  
pp. 185-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Assumpció Huertas ◽  
Estela Marine-Roig

There are three phases in the use of online social media by tourists: before, during and after the trip. The aim of this study is to determine what social network users use to find information before and during the trip, the type of information they search, and where they share information. The study also identifies the relationship this has with the trustworthiness social networks provide them, especially distinguishing the social networks managed by the destination organizations. Therefore, we conduct a survey of 800 tourists who are social network users. Results show that social networks are not a major source of information before or during the trip but are very important for sharing contents after the experience, and that the most searched information concerns the main attractions of the destination. Moreover, there is a relationship between the use of social media and their perceived trustworthiness. In this case, for those who use social networks managed by destinations, these give them greater confidence.


Author(s):  
Luke Warde

This article presents a reading of Louis-Ferdinand Céline through the concept of trolling. A relatively new phenomenon, trolling denotes an attempt to elicit a negative response in a chosen target via deliberate provocation or incitement. While inextricable from the online social media platforms that have facilitated its emergence as a discursive mode, trolling is dependent on rhetorical strategies that are hardly new: irony, self-referentiality, effrontery, aggression, etc. Trolls seek to cultivate a brand around the antipathy they delight in triggering. I contend that Céline attempted to do just this in the postwar period, and more specifically in the series of interviews he conducted at Meudon in the last decade of his life. I thus argue against some recent scholarship that claims that Céline attempted to regain, by expressing contrition, a sympathetic audience following his condemnation for having published a series of egregiously antisemitic pamphlets. Rather, I suggest that he sought to instrumentalize his notoriety for his own advantage; some readers, he likely reasoned, are drawn to him because, not in spite of, his infamy. My argument draws on a body of recent writing on the relationship between humour, new media and far-right politics.


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