Social Media: Usage and Impact

by Hana S. Noor Al-Deen, John Allen Hendricks Stephen F. Austin State U

Overview

Within the past ten years, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, and others have grown at a tremendous rate, enlisting an astronomical number of users. Social media have inevitably become an integral part of the contemporary classroom, of advertising and public relations industries, of political campaigning, and of numerous other aspects of our daily existence.

Social Media: Usage and Impact, edited by Hana S. Noor Al-Deen and John Allen Hendricks, provides a comprehensive and scholarly analysis of social media. Designed as a reader for upper-level undergraduate and graduate level courses, this volume explores the emerging role and impact of social media as they evolve. The contributors examine the implementation and effect of social media in various environments, including educational settings, strategic communication (often considered to be a merging of advertising and public relations), politics, and legal and ethical issues. All chapters constitute original research while using varied research methodologies for analyzing and presenting information about social media.

Social Media: Usage and Impact is a tremendous source for educators, practitioners (such as those in advertising, PR, and media industries), and librarians, among others. This collection is an essential resource for any media technology course. With the rapid proliferation and adoption of social media, it is a juggernaut that must be addressed in the higher education curriculum and research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739167298
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	11/10/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Hana S. Noor Al-Deen is professor of communication at University of North Carolina Wilmington. John Allen Hendricks is professor of communication at Stephen F. Austin State University and author of The Twenty-First-Century Media Industry.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables xi

Foreword John V. Pavlik xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

Part I Social Media and Social Networking

1 Facebook: How College Students Work It Lynne M. Webb Megan L. Wilson Maggie Hodges Peter A. Smith Monica Zakeri 3

2 Social Media and Persuasion: Crowdsourcing Arguments on Digital Networks John Jones 23

3 The Trivial Pursuits of Mass Audiences Using Social Media: A Content Analysis of Facebook Wall Posts by Fans of Top-Trending Television Programs Douglas A. Ferguson 39

Part II Social Media and Education

4 Social Media in Education: Effects of Personalization and Interactivity on Engagement and Collaboration Ronald A. Yaros 57

5 You Can't Go Back Now: Incorporating "Disruptive" Technologies in the Large Lecture Hall C. Michael Elavsky 75

6 Tweeting 101: Twitter and the College Classroom Alec R. Hosterman 93

7 Cultivating a Community of Learners: The Potential Challenges of Social Media in Higher Education Lily Zeng Holly Hall Mary Jackson Pitts 111

Part III Social Media and Strategic Communication

8 Attitudes and Perceptions about Social Media Among College Students and Professionals Involved and Not Involved in Strategic Communications Bobbi Kay Lewis Cynthia Nichols 129

9 Beyond the Press Release: Social Media as a Tool for Consumer Engagement Mia C. Long 145

10 Marketing and Branding in Online Social Media Environments: Examining Social Media Adoption by the Top 100 Global Brands Miao Guo 161

Part IV Social Media and Politics

11 Social Media and the Millennial Generation in the 2010 Midterm Election John Allen Hendricks Jerry K. Frye 183

12 Social Media and Youth Activism Rhon Teruelle 201

13 Black Youth, Social Media, and the 2008 Presidential Election Travis L. Gosa 219

Part V Social Media and Legal/Ethical Issues

14 Legal Pitfalls of Social Media Usage Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky Daniel C. Friedel 237

15 The Realm of the Expected: Redefining the Public and Private Spheres in Social Media Jasmine E. McNealy 255

16 Tweets, Blogs, Facebook, and the Ethics of 21 st-Century Communication Technology James Benjamin 271

Index 289

About the Editors 299

About the Contributors 303

Editorial Reviews

Social Media: Usage and Impact, edited by Hana S. Noor Al-Deen and John Allen Hendricks, is not designed as an ethics text, but many of the chapters uncover ethical questions inherent in this new medium. The book becomes a much more effective text for teaching ethics by the very fact that it was not meant to do so. Each chapter raises questions that, because of the infancy of the medium, have yet to be fully examined. Some of these ethical questions arise from research behavior in social media spaces.. .. Many of the studies in this collection provide excellent real-world examples of the challenges and possible pitfalls of research in the realm of social media.

Journal of Media Ethics

This book provides explanations that will be useful for both academics and professionals interested in communication and its societal functions to inform, to create context, to spread dominant and emerging cultures, and of course to entertain.

Gary Copeland

This excellent edited book smartly moves the literature about social media past the wow-gee-whiz/technology-love-fest stage that has accompanied the emergence of these new means of communication. It gives a good 360-view of why social media are important, including who uses them, and how and why they use them. It also covers legal and ethical issues raised by social media, a crucial set of concerns that come to the fore as these media grow in adoption, usage, and influence. Communication students will find in this book a thoughtful and rich perspective on activities they take for granted and accept uncritically.

Joan Van Tassel

This excellent edited book smartly moves the literature about social media past the wow-gee-whiz/technology-love-fest stage that has accompanied the emergence of these new means of communication. It gives a good 360-view of why social media are important, including who uses them, and how and why they use them. It also covers legal and ethical issues raised by social media, a crucial set of concerns that come to the fore as these media grow in adoption, usage, and influence. Communication students will find in this book a thoughtful and rich perspective on activities they take for granted and accept uncritically.--Joan Van Tassel, National University

This book provides explanations that will be useful for both academics and professionals interested in communication and its societal functions to inform, to create context, to spread dominant and emerging cultures, and of course to entertain.--Gary Copeland, University of Alabama

A brave and successful effort to capture the essence and importance of social media with rigorous studies that add up to a vital snapshot in time of this ever-changing platform. Under editors Noor Al-Deen and Hendricks, some twenty-five scholars offer a unique and pace-setting assessment of the newest of the new media.--Everette E. Dennis, Northwestern University in Qatar

From the Publisher

A brave and successful effort to capture the essence and importance of social media with rigorous studies that add up to a vital snapshot in time of this ever-changing platform. Under editors Noor Al-Deen and Hendricks, some twenty-five scholars offer a unique and pace-setting assessment of the newest of the new media.

Everette E. Dennis

Social Media: Usage and Impact, edited by Hana S. Noor Al-Deen and John Allen Hendricks, is not designed as an ethics text, but many of the chapters uncover ethical questions inherent in this new medium. The book becomes a much more effective text for teaching ethics by the very fact that it was not meant to do so. Each chapter raises questions that, because of the infancy of the medium, have yet to be fully examined. Some of these ethical questions arise from research behavior in social media spaces. . . . Many of the studies in this collection provide excellent real-world examples of the challenges and possible pitfalls of research in the realm of social media.

Journal of Mass Media Ethics