Social Media Strategies Midterm

When did Six Degrees exist?

1997-2000

What did Six Degrees begin with?

The short-lived profile uploading service

What was Six Degrees named after?

The six degrees of separation concept

What did Six Degrees allow users to do?

List friends, family members, and acquaintances both on the site and externally

When did LinkedIn launch?

2002

What does LinkedIn do?

Emphasizes a user’s professional connections

What do users do on LinkedIn?

Create profile pages that have a structure similar to a resume; Summarize their career, advertise particular skills, and list education and employment history.

When did YouTube launch?

2005

What does YouTube allow users to do?

Upload videos, view them, rate them, share them and comment on them.

When was Facebook launched?

2004

What does Facebook allow users to do?

Create profiles, upload photos, join a preexisting group, and start new groups.

What was the pipeline in groups capable of using Facebook?

Harvard —> Other universities —> High school —> Professionals —> Everyone

What features does Facebook consist of?

Timeline, Status, News Feed, Chat, Like

What movie is associated with Facebook?

The Social Network

When was Twitter launched?

2006

What does Twitter do?

Online microblogging service for distributing short messages (tweets) among groups of recipients

What is social media?

Social media are Internet-based, disentrained, and persistent channels of masspersonal communication facilitating perceptions of interactions among users, deriving value primarily from user-generated content.

What is the internet?

The World Wide Web; Sufficient for social media tools, but is not necessary.

Application

Social media relies on applications of the internet

Channel Disentrainment

In-person communication (simultaneously); In social media - asynchronous; the adjustment of time and place is unnecessary

Interactivity

Connection with other users (Message, feed, comments, like, feeling the presence of others, para-social interaction with celebrities); Interacting with system (Using the system itself makes users perceive interactivity (clicking, dragging, conversation with chatbot))

User Generated Value

The value of using social media

User generated

Before social media - one-sided

Journalism

Influencer’s news creation

Activism

#Blacklivesmatter, ice bucket challenge

Self-branding

Influencer

Mass-personal communication

Mass communication + Interpersonal communication; mass communication channels used for interpersonal communication & vice versa; Individuals broadcast messages to a large and mass audience, receivers reply either interpersonally to the individual or through a mass message of their own

Authenticity

Authentic self-presentation on social media —> emotional rewards or online support

Non-Authenticity

Fake news, deepfake, misinformation

Loneliness and Slactivism

Reluctant to respond publicly to posts expressing negativity on social media

Negative effect of envy

Harm emotional well-being

Positive effect of envy

Acting as a source of inspiration

Distraction

Feelings of overconnection, disconnection, or overload

Technological Features

Affordances

Affordance

Action possibility of media e.g., comment button on social media allows users to leave their opinion and thoughts; psychological reactions

Modality affordance

Previous medium = modality itself; social media —> multi-modality (text, photo, sound, video)

Input modality

the actionable possibilities and limitations that a specific way of interacting with a device (like voice, touch, or gesture) provides to a user

Output modality

the capabilities, constraints, and potential uses of a specific sensory or communication channel

Realism

The information on Instagram, is real, not fake

Being-there

Users feel like they are part of the world created by Youtube or VR

Agency Affordance

Different types of sourcing afforded by social media; User-generated; Users have become the source of information; Posting personal stories and posts, profile customization

Agency-enhancement

Users get to assert their identity e.g., Bitmojis

Interactivity Affordance

Medium feature (Interface: responsive, choice); Message feature; Comments on social media

Interaction

Higher the reciprocal action, the better the interaction on social media

Navigability Affordance

The tools on the interface that aid user movement through the media space under consideration

Browsing

Encourage users to skim the site and “check out” the various links

Elaboration

Make users wonder about the relationship between a given link’s conent and site’s main content

Conversational control

The ability to manage the mechanics of an interaction, such as ending a conversation or regulating turn-taking

Information control/editability

The capacity to revise specific messages before sharing

Persistence

The relative permanence or ephemerality of communication

Anonymity (identifiability)

The degree to which users feel their real names or true identities can be concealed in a channel regardess of how public or private their communication may be

Network association (connectivity/linkage)

Enables group members, no matter how disparate or geographically distant, to identify other members

Visibility (for privacy)

Communication is apparent to many others, whether intended or not

Uses and Gratification

Why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs (audience-centered approach)

Gratifications sought

Motive; Individuals expect from a medium before they use it

Gratifications obtained

What is actually experienced through the use

Seeking information

Using the media to find out what is going on around us

Personal identity

Using the media to find out more about yourselves

Personal relationship

Using the media to fulfill their relationship

Diversion

The need to relax and escape

Content

The need for researching or finding specific information or material

Process

The experience of purposeful navigating or random browsing of the Internet in its functional process

Social

A wide range of forming and deepening social ties

Text messaging uses and gratification

Accessibility/mobility, relaxation, escape, entertainment, information seeking, coordination for business, socialization/affection seeking, status seeking

Social interaction uses and gratification

A place to interact and socialize with others

Information seeking uses and gratifications

Find information about sales, deals, or products; information on events, birthdays, and parties

Passing time uses and gratifications

Using Facebook when bored at work

Entertainment uses and gratifications

Reading comments to make someone laugh

Relaxation uses and gratifications

Looking on Facebook because it takes no thought

Communicatiory utility uses and gratifications

Facebook providing gossip

Convenience utility uses and gratifications

Social media is convenient and accessible anytime and anywhere

Expression of opinion uses and gratifications

Liking posts and photos, commenting on updates

Information sharing uses and gratifications

Using social media to share information about you with others

Surveillance uses and gratifications

Watching people or things and watching what others are doing

Identity

A socially constructed attribute; the knowledge of who we are; controlled by internal and external factors that combine to make us who we become

Identity formation

Environmental context where an individual grows

Identity formation within the self

Conflict between the idealized self and the reality one faces

Identity formation outside the self

Conflict between the environmental demands and one’s own desires

Goffman’s dramaturgical approach

How an individual presents an “idealized” rather than authentic version of herself

Life

Stage for activity

Goffman’s dramaturgy

People always consider audiences and are influenced by them; Activity takes place in specific bounded settings

Impression management

Tweak their behaviors and selectivity give and give off details; People intentionally present themselves; signs given naively, unconciously; intentional presentation is a basic persona sculpting strategy

Front stage

Trying to present an idealized version of the self

Back stage

The space in which people can relax and drop their role performance (Do real work necessary to keep up appearances

Self-Presentation in Social Media

Social media affordances promote unconcious and concious self-expression (posting photos (modalities), profile customization, and News Feed)

Strategic Self Presentation

On one hand, they may emphasize their positive attributes and present themselves as appealing. On the other hand, they may feel the need to put forth their true selves.

Persistence in self-presentation in social media vs. offline

The speech is ephemeral but electronic text can be stored indefinitely

Searchability in self presentation in social media vs offline

Putting thoughts in an environment where people can look for specific names and places

Replicability in self-presentation in social media vs offline

Electronic media makes it very easy for others to duplicate and change what one another has created

Invisible audiences in self-presentation in social media vs offline

One cannot tell who is online reading our thoughts and what we write can be read in a context that is different than what we intended

Disembodiment in self-presentation in social media vs offline

Disembodied online encounters enable people to hide their undesired physical features

Anchored relationships

Family members, neighbors, colleagues, and other offline acquaintences also communicate with one another on social media e.g., CU Boulder Facebook Group (an online relationship can be anchored through institutions); not entirely anonymous

Hoped-for possible selves

Pursuing socially desirable identities but not entirely absurd; Hope to establish and believe that they can be established given the right conditions

Identity exploration

Can occur on social media with less risk; Easily access many other users’ identities

The social media community is an arena for ___________.

Exploration (e.g., LGBTQ - sense of security)

Commitment to a _____ _______ can be built through social media

group identity

Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE)

Explains the effects of anonymity and identifiability on group behavior

What does lack of individuating cues lead to?

Extremely limited information (facial expressions, gestures, or eye contact — Group membership and identity could be salient)

Personal identity

Reduced focus on individual differences

Social Identity

Increased attention to group membership