What is Social Media?

What is Social Media?

From Theoretical Foundations to User Created ContentSocial Media for Social Change (UNIV 389s)

Beyond the Classroom Living-Learning ProgramSpring 2012

Social Media!?!?!

What is the first thing that pops in to your head when you hear the words “social media?”

Graphic courtesy Bosmol.com.

Daunting…Unclear…EVERchanging…•Difficult to find resources, books, definitions.•Establish an understanding of the term for this course.

(Graphic courtesy Technorati.com).

Social Media is Permeating our Lives

1969: Tinker vs. Des Moines Supreme Court rules in favor of students who want to wear

black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. Declared a freedom of speech issue.

So what…?

Same justification for rejecting to hear social media related cases. Students who talked about teachers, peers online Student who created a faux MySpace account for a teacher

Kravets, D. (Jan. 17, 2012). Wired.com.

“A good way to think about social media is that all of this is actually just about being human beings. Sharing ideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art, thinking and commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, finding people who might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’s what our species has built several civilisations on. that’s why it is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny, whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves – only more so.”

Antony Mayfield

What is Social Media (2008), p. 7

“A group of internet applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 , and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content.”

Kaplan & Haenlein

Users of the World Unite! (2009), p. 61.

Web 2.0?

User Generated Content?

User Generated Content…or user created content

“Sum of all ways people make use of social media”

3 Requirements1. Published publicly (can include social networking site

available to a select group)

2. Shows some form of creative effort

3. Created outside professional routines

Is NOT:1. Emails or instant messages

2. Reposted content

3. Content targeted at a commercial market

Source: Kaplan and Hanlaen (2009), OECD(2007)

Web 1.0…2.0…3.0? 2.0 The “Social Web”

A shift in the way technology is used

Content and applications are no longer created by individuals (static), but constantly modified by all users (changing)

Enabled by technology and users: Java, RSS, broadband “Digital Natives” and

“Screenagers”Sources: Mansfiield (2012), Rigby (2009), Kaplan & Haenlein (2009)

Two Sets of Theory

Media Research Social Presence Media Richness

Social Process Self-

Presentation Self-

Disclosure

Media Research: Social PresenceIntimacy and Immediacy

INTIMACY: HIGH• Interperson

al – Face to Face Chat

IMMEDIACY: HIGH• Synchronou

s – Live Chat

INTIMACY: LOW• Mediated –

Phone Call

IMMEDIACY: LOW• Asynchrono

us – Email

Higher social presence = LARGER SOCIAL INFLUENCE

DemonstrationEmail from a woman to her partner

Hi,

You have been working late a lot lately. Can you PLEASE make an effort to come home a bit earlier? I would like to spend more time with you.

B Intimate?

Immediate?

Media Research: Media Richness

Resolve ambiguity

Reduce Uncertain

ty

COMMUNICATION

Richer = more information in a time interval (because this allows resolution of ambiguity and reduction of uncertainly.

Social Process Theory

Self Presentation

In any social interaction

Desire to control impressions Influence others (cool

babysitter) Create image

consistent with identity (wear suit)

Self Disclosure

Conscious or unconscious revelation of personal information

Bringing it All Together: Theory

Social Presence / Media Richness

Low Medium High

Self Presentati

on/Self Disclosure

High Blogs Social Networking

Virtual Social Worlds

(Second Life)

Low WikisContent

Communities (YouTube)

Virtual Game World (World of

Warcraft)