Facebook: A new communication strategy for non-profit organisations In Colombia

This study examines the use of Facebook by Colombian NPOs as a communication strategy. In turn, it also analyses the factors that influence the Facebook content published by such entities. Findings indicate that the use of social media is scarce, particularly pertaining to content related to fostering stakeholder involvement. Moreover, the factors “network activity”, “internationalisation” and “experience in social media” are significant predictors of the use of this tool as a channel for communication and dialogue.     

Baoren Baoguo: Zhongguo Xinwenshi De Lingyizhong Dufa [To Serve the Nation: Journalists as Prisms of Chinese Press History] edited by CHIN-CHUAN LEE

Social networking sites (SNS) have become an important vehicle for corporate communication. However, there has been little research on how East Asian firms use international SNSs to communicate with global stakeholders. This study compares the communication strategies of Chinese and Japanese companies on Facebook and Twitter and analyzes the public responses and complaints on these corporate SNSs. The results revealed that in addition to the traditional strategies of corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), Chinese and Japanese firms adopted the human interest (HI) strategy. The results showed that the Chinese companies in the study sample had a stronger preference for the CSR and interactive strategies, and they responded faster to online complaints compared with the Japanese firms, which were more likely to adopt the strategy of transferring in handling complaints. Moreover, “inviting participation into events” and “seeking specific feedback” were two types of interactive messages that received the highest numbers of responses from the public on Facebook, whereas “promoting sales” showed the highest engagement on Twitter. This study is the first to compare the effectiveness of different corporate response strategies for specific complaint topics on social media. Thus, it contributes to the literature on stakeholder–company interactions.     

Response to Bonnie L. Yegidis

This article discusses distance learning techniques used to operationalize the concept of “globalization from below” in a social work methods course. In the E-Mail Partnership Project, one of the major course assignments, students communicate by e-mail to share information and discuss social issues through professional “pen pal” relationships with students overseas. The author reviews the course design, describes the project and its benefits, discusses the technical and cross-cultural issues that emerged throughout, and presents evaluation results Evaluation results suggest that international e-mail communication is one way to infuse international content into the curriculum.     

Shifting Worlds of Strangers: Medium Theory and Changes in “Them” Versus “Us”*

Macrolevel analyses of the influence of different communication technologies are more difficult to test and apply than the results of focused studies of particular media messages. Nevertheless, “medium theory” is of potentially great significance because it outlines how media, rather than functioning simply as channels for conveying information between two or more social environments, are themselves social contexts that foster certain forms of interaction and social identities. This article uses a medium-theory perspective to address one variable related to “technological communities”—the changing boundaries between “them” and “us.” The ways in which oral, print, and electronic modes of communication each foster a different balance between strangers and “familiars” are outlined.     

Challenging the Roles of “Skilled” Professionals and “Risky” Young Mothers: Peer Support,Expertise, and Relational Patterns in Facebook Groups

Today, many countries spend a great deal of money and effort on programs for expert-guided parenting support to be carried out in face-to-face groups. One goal of such support is to target, help, and educate “risky” groups of parents, such as young parents. It is striking, however, that young parents have a conspicuously low degree of participation in this type of parenting support. Drawing on the assumption that many young parents go online to seek, give, and receive peer parenting support, this paper presents a case study of activities within three Facebook groups. Using a combination of social network analysis, online ethnography, and interviews, we analyze how social network relationships and discussions differ depending on whether the analyzed Facebook group in question is administrated by professionals or peers, what the role of professional experts is, and how young parents might use social media to take control of their own support needs. Our results indicate that some of the affordances provided by Facebook might contribute to a challenging of the roles of “skilled” professionals versus “risky” young parents.     

Facebook political communication in Taiwan: 1.0/2.0 messages and election/post-election messages

Facebook's use in political communication has been increasingly popular around the world. Although studies have investigated Facebook political communication in various contexts, related research in Chinese communities has been rare. The current study analyzed candidates' Facebook pages during and after the 2012 Taiwanese presidential election. Considering the interactive nature of Facebook, this study also compared the 1.0 (candidate messages) and 2.0 messages (candidate messages highlighted by “friends”). Comparative analysis revealed that while the 1.0 messages emphasized policy more than character, the 2.0 messages emphasized character over policy. This study also suggests that politicians have shifted the main functions of their Facebook posts based on their roles in campaigning and governing.     

Social Workers' Use of the Internet and E-Mail to Help Clients in Virginia

A survey of a random sample of licensed social workers in Virginia showed 98.8% had Internet access in either their home or workplace. A comparison of this study with a study conducted in the early 2000s indicated more than 20% difference regarding e-mail communication with clients and Internet use for work-related research. Social workers who actually used the Internet and e-mail tended to expect a future increase in their use, in contrast with nonusers. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analyses found age and type of agency (private/for-profit) as factors negatively related to having Internet access in the workplace, age, and the reason “E-mail is not secure enough” as factors negatively related in the future e-mail communication with clients among current nonusers.     

News‐Media and Terrorism: Changing Relationship,Changing Definitions

This article discusses two aspects that are important for understanding the relationship between Western news media and terrorism: the changing representation of terrorists and terrorist attacks in the media and, with it, the changing definition of terrorism. By calling attention to evolving news media practices in times of terrorism, I argue that advanced communication technologies and the emergence of global media ecology since the 1990s has made terrorism more visible in both national and international media landscapes. One result is that the more the news media expose terrorism to global audiences via the “front door,” the more controversial the use of the terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” become in social, political, and scholarly discourses. The paper addresses the evolving journalistic practices and their consequences as documented in previous studies on media reporting of terrorism in several national contexts, mostly the UK, the United States, and Israel.     

Inside the movie roadshow: a critical approach to media events in China

Although face-to-face events starring film professionals have become increasingly popular, they have rarely been studied, especially from the perspective of production. Focusing on the phenomenon of Chinese movie roadshows, this study explores the motivations and techniques used to produce popular media events in the Chinese film industry. Based on expert interviews with 15 media practitioners, the results showed that roadshows are staged as ritualized events that are centered on the performance of a symbolic boundary between “inside” and “outside” the media. Film industry professionals embrace face-to-face communication with audiences and use such events to display sincerity, producing them as a seemingly “unmediated” peek behind the veil of an otherwise hidden world. Moreover, communication on social media is another form of ritualized practice. We conclude that, by thus mediating the “unmediated,” movie roadshows offer an insightful perspective on the machinery of media power in China.     

Does school-related burnout influence problematic Facebook use?

The internet and social networks, Facebook in particular, are often used by adolescents. According to recent studies this use might sometimes become problematic or addictive. At the same time, high school students are exposed to stress due to the pressures of school work, and this stress might result in burnout syndrome. The aim of this study is to explore whether there is an association between the intensity of burnout and problematic use of Facebook. Two hundred eighty-six high school students completed questionnaires assessing problematic use of Facebook and three dimensions of school-related burnout. The results show that there is an association between burnout and problematic use of Facebook. The “exhausting at schoolwork” dimension for girls and the “feelings of inadequacy at school” dimension among boys are particularly related to problematic Facebook use.     

A call for reconfiguring evaluation models,pedagogy, and practice: Beyond reporting media-centric outputs and fake impact scores

Evaluation is an essential part of strategic communication practices including public relations and corporate, government, and organizational communication. Evaluation can potentially demonstrate effectiveness and value, facilitate learning to improve practice, and provide insights to inform future strategy. In the age of digitalization of media and information, there are more readily available data to enable evaluation than ever before. However, despite half a century of theorizing and discussing measurement and evaluation (M&E), literature reports “stasis” and a “deadlock” well into the 21st century In some cases, invalid practices such as advertising value equivalents (AVEs) continue to be used. Furthermore, when M&E collectively is part of communication practice, evidence shows that reports continue to focus on outputs and algorithm-generated fake impact scores, rather than genuine outcomes and impact. Despite the body of literature on M&E, it is clear that more needs to be said – and done. This discussion calls for reconfiguring common evaluation models to overcome false logics and for a reconfiguring and broadening of pedagogy and practice to break the deadlock and realize the benefits of evaluation.     

SENTIMENT BIAS AND ASSET PRICES: EVIDENCE FROM SPORTS BETTING MARKETS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Previous research using attendance‐based proxies for sentiment bias in sports betting markets confirmed the presence of investor sentiment in these markets. We use data from social media (Facebook “Likes”) to proxy for sentiment bias and analyze variation in bookmakers' prices investor sentiment. Based on betting data from seven professional sports leagues in Europe and North America, we find evidence that bookmakers increase prices for bets on teams with relatively more Facebook “Likes,” indicating the presence of price‐insensitive investors with sentiment bias. These price changes do not affect informational efficiency in this market. (JEL L81, G14)     

NGO2.0 and social media praxis: activist as researcher

This article tracks the emergence of a particular brand of ICT activism that promotes the use of social media as a means of helping Chinese NGOs break out of their communication bottleneck. The author starts by introducing NGO2.0, an activist project targeting China's rural regions, using it as an entry point to examine the practice of “social media for social good” and shed light on the ecosystem of social media usage by Chinese NGOs. The author also deliberates on the explanatory value of the binary paradigm of “rural vs. urban,” looks into the methodological implications of undertaking “social media action research,” and articulates what it means to be engaged in the hybrid practice of “activist as scholar” in the specific context of Cultural Studies.     

“Just a Typical Teenager”: The Social Ecology of “Normal Adolescence”—Insights from Diabetes Care

In Western society “normal adolescence” is understood to be a biologically driven phase characterized by emotional turmoil and irrational behavior. Despite being discredited within academic literature this discourse persists both in formal theory and everyday use. Drawing on the case of diabetes care, I argue that the discourse of “normal adolescence” derives its power from its value as a vocabulary of motive through which to navigate the contradictions inherent in the social order at this stage of the life‐course. While helping us to comprehend sociologically the ecological niche in which “normal adolescence” is sustained, this analysis raises questions about the persistence of this discourse for social action.     

Managing relationships on Facebook: A long-term analysis of leading companies in Germany

The purpose of this study is to investigate how companies manage relationships with publics on social media. Based on the concepts of functional and contingency interactivity, the study examines the long-term implementation of three interactive strategies derived from research on organization-public relationships: dialogic communication, transparent communication, and informal communication. The study sheds further light on relational outputs and outcomes. The results of content analyses of leading German companies’ Facebook pages in 2012, 2015, and 2018 indicate the growing importance of dialogic communication and informal communication. There is a constant relation between dialogic communication and the extent of user interaction, with the analysis suggesting that dialogic communication is used to manage critical user comments. Hence, the long-term study contributes to a deeper understanding of professionalization in corporate social media communication. It provides evidence for PR scholars and professionals that there are effective features on Facebook for managing sustainable relationships.     

Fostering democracy through social media: Evaluating diametrically opposed nonprofit advocacy organizations’ use of Facebook,Twitter, and YouTube

Nonprofit organizations contribute to a democratic society by allowing those with diverse opinions to assemble and voice these ideas. Social media has provided an extensive new marketplace in which such organizations can give voice to their ideas. Thus the purpose of this study was to explore and assess the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) for advocacy by nonprofit organizations with diametrically opposed points-of-view on two social issues, the pro-gun/gun control issue and the pro-choice/pro-life issue. Results of this study indicate that nonprofit advocacy organizations are using social media to ethically persuade people to their point of view, for the most part through use of one-way communication. Moreover, organizations are using the various social media for different purposes, providing thanks and recognition on Twitter, and soliciting feedback and other two-way communication with stakeholders on Facebook. Use of authority figures to communicate messages is generally reserved for YouTube.     

Smartphone and social media addiction: Exploring the perceptions and experiences of Canadian teenagers

“Addiction” to internet‐connected technology continues to dominate media discourses of young people. Researchers have identified negative outcomes, including decreased mental health, resulting from anxieties related to technology, e.g., a fear of missing out and social connectivity related to online technologies. Not enough is known, however, regarding young people's own responses to these ideas. This paper highlights discussions with teenagers around the idea of internet addiction, exploring their experiences and perceptions regarding the idea that “kids today” are addicted to their devices, especially smartphones and the social network sites they often access from them. Thirty‐five focus group discussions with 115 Canadian teenagers (aged 13–19 years old) center on their use of information communication technologies, especially contemporary social network sites such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. Our discussions reveal (1) that teens are actively embracing the label of addiction; (2) their ironic positioning occurs despite a felt sense of debased agency in relation to the power of the algorithms and affordances of the technologies mediating their use; and (3) rather than a stark divide between adults as “digital immigrants” versus young people as “digital natives,” our teens positioned themselves in contrast to both their parents and younger siblings, both of whom are criticized as addicted themselves. A consistent theme is the influence of peer groups who socially compel addictive behaviours, including the fear of missing out, rather than the technologies per se. Wider implications for thinking beyond solely young people as suffering from online addiction are considered.     

“No Tyson in Tongie!”: The Battle to Protect a Rural Way of Life in Kansas*

Political mobilizations in small towns have come to play a disproportionate role in today’s national politics. This article examines the conditions giving rise to small‐town mobilizations through an in‐depth case study of Tonganoxie, Kansas. Residents of this town mounted a massive campaign to block the opening of a Tyson chicken processing plant in 2017. The article draws on interviews, observations, a newspaper claims database, and extractions from the “No Tyson in Tongie” Facebook group page. The article maintains that a racialized cultural framework (“rural idyll”) among White middle‐class residents helped them perceive the plant as an existential threat. Social networks, sustained through social media, enabled the same residents to mobilize in a fast and forceful manner. We suggest that in “hybrid” towns (partially rural and suburban), the “rural idyll” is politically decisive. It unites recently settled and established residents in battles to defend a particularly racialized and classed way of life.     

Community Media Studies: An Overview

This essay provides an overview of the field of community media studies. Like the study of “alternative media,” “citizens' media,” “independent,” and “radical” media – to mention but a few of the terms applied to participatory communication projects – academic inquiry into the structures, forms, and practices of community media has surged in recent years. While scholars often use these labels interchangeably, this essay focuses on academic and practitioner perspectives that explicitly and purposefully employ the term “community media.” The overview identifies and briefly considers three prominent conceptual frameworks – media democratization, civil society, and the symbolic construction of community – which shape and inform this vibrant field of study. This overview concludes with some thoughts on the limits and possibilities of community media theory, and practice, in the new millennium.