This study examined how online social networking (OSN) leads to increased communication and collaboration across inter-firm boundaries. This online social networking behaviour represents significant opportunities to firms in the form of improved problem-solving, increased collaborative innovation and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. There are also risks inherent in the widespread use of OSNs, such as the loss of control over information flows to individuals outside the organization, potential damage to the reputation of brands and organizations, and loss of productivity due to excessive usage of OSNs during work hours. In particular, this study sought to test four research propositions, specifically, that usage of one particular OSN, LinkedIn (LI), results in: 1) an increased number of inter-firm connections; 2) an improved ability to communicate across inter-firm boundaries; 3) greater access to problem solving or innovation collaborators; 4) increased organizational problem solving or innovation ability. The study methodology involved both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion of the study involved survey research among over 500 LinkedIn (LI) users to determine changes they reported in various dimensions related to inter-firm relationship-forming, information-sharing and collaborative problem solving since using LI. The sampling approach was purposive and the sample frame consisted of the researcher’s own extended LI network, and an effort was also made to make the survey link available to all LI members through public posting in the site’s Q&A section. Though no individual or group was systematically excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, some limitations are inherent in the approach taken. The survey respondents were self-selecting, which makes it difficult to confirm that the sample is reflective of all LI users. Also, the use of the researcher’s own LI network as a key source of survey respondents may have biased the study toward more open networkers, since the researcher’s network was built up over time by practicing open networking behaviours. As a result, the sample may tend to under-represent more closed or restrictive networkers. Notwithstanding these limitations, no one particular group of respondents was excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, and the resulting data suggests that there were significant numbers of respondents who considered themselves closed networkers. Also, the spread of respondents by geographic area, occupation and age was found to resemble published statistics from LI on its user base, so it appears that the data is reasonably reflective of the LI user base, though this would be difficult to verify or measure. Qualitative research was also undertaken among senior managers at companies that have embraced the use of OSNs by staff to determine their experiences along similar dimensions. The findings from the quantitative survey showed that users of LI have experienced an increased number of social connections with individuals as a result of using LI, and that these connections are often with people in other organizations, including competitors and customers. Survey respondents also reported that they have been able to draw upon their LI networks in order to solve problems and be more innovative in their work. Analysis of the qualitative research yielded a list of suggested best practices that could be adopted by firms wishing to harness the collaborative power of OSNs. These suggested best practices have been grouped under the areas of strategy, listening, communication, guidelines, training, diffusion and measurement. Some suggested areas for future research included: the role of performance measurement and reward systems in managing OSN usage behaviour; the organizational risks of centralized versus decentralized control of messaging via OSNs; the role of training in the effective deployment of OSNs in an organizational context; and the organizational risk of increased connectedness with competitors resulting from OSN relationships. / Business Management / D.B.L.

This study examined how online social networking (OSN) leads to increased communication and collaboration across inter-firm boundaries. This online social networking behaviour represents significant opportunities to firms in the form of improved problem-solving, increased collaborative innovation and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. There are also risks inherent in the widespread use of OSNs, such as the loss of control over information flows to individuals outside the organization, potential damage to the reputation of brands and organizations, and loss of productivity due to excessive usage of OSNs during work hours. In particular, this study sought to test four research propositions, specifically, that usage of one particular OSN, LinkedIn (LI), results in: 1) an increased number of inter-firm connections; 2) an improved ability to communicate across inter-firm boundaries; 3) greater access to problem solving or innovation collaborators; 4) increased organizational problem solving or innovation ability. The study methodology involved both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion of the study involved survey research among over 500 LinkedIn (LI) users to determine changes they reported in various dimensions related to inter-firm relationship-forming, information-sharing and collaborative problem solving since using LI. The sampling approach was purposive and the sample frame consisted of the researcher’s own extended LI network, and an effort was also made to make the survey link available to all LI members through public posting in the site’s Q&A section. Though no individual or group was systematically excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, some limitations are inherent in the approach taken. The survey respondents were self-selecting, which makes it difficult to confirm that the sample is reflective of all LI users. Also, the use of the researcher’s own LI network as a key source of survey respondents may have biased the study toward more open networkers, since the researcher’s network was built up over time by practicing open networking behaviours. As a result, the sample may tend to under-represent more closed or restrictive networkers. Notwithstanding these limitations, no one particular group of respondents was excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, and the resulting data suggests that there were significant numbers of respondents who considered themselves closed networkers. Also, the spread of respondents by geographic area, occupation and age was found to resemble published statistics from LI on its user base, so it appears that the data is reasonably reflective of the LI user base, though this would be difficult to verify or measure. Qualitative research was also undertaken among senior managers at companies that have embraced the use of OSNs by staff to determine their experiences along similar dimensions. The findings from the quantitative survey showed that users of LI have experienced an increased number of social connections with individuals as a result of using LI, and that these connections are often with people in other organizations, including competitors and customers. Survey respondents also reported that they have been able to draw upon their LI networks in order to solve problems and be more innovative in their work. Analysis of the qualitative research yielded a list of suggested best practices that could be adopted by firms wishing to harness the collaborative power of OSNs. These suggested best practices have been grouped under the areas of strategy, listening, communication, guidelines, training, diffusion and measurement. Some suggested areas for future research included: the role of performance measurement and reward systems in managing OSN usage behaviour; the organizational risks of centralized versus decentralized control of messaging via OSNs; the role of training in the effective deployment of OSNs in an organizational context; and the organizational risk of increased connectedness with competitors resulting from OSN relationships. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The worldwide increase in the diagnosis of autism, the immense pressure parents experience in raising a child with autism, as well as the accessibility of internet-based support, provided a unique opportunity to research parents’ experiences in such an online community. Knowledge about their experiences, the value and meaning of an online support group in their daily lives, as well as which parents access online support, could shed light on how online communities could possibly be better utilised to provide instant and low-cost information and support to parents who are otherwise excluded from face-to-face support groups due to various constraints. Additionally, research about online support groups for autism in South Africa seems to be non-existent. This research could contribute significantly to the gap in knowledge about South African parents’ experiences. The aim of the study was to engage with South African parents participating in a Facebook support group in finding out what value (positive or negative) it adds to their lives and determining the meaning they ascribe to their participation in this group. This was a qualitative study based on a social constructionist theoretical framework as it is concerned with how every person’s reality is shaped through social interaction with others, as well as through the historical and cultural influences in that person’s life. Participants for this study were purposively selected and data was collected through observations of their exchanges within the Facebook support group, as well as through an electronic interview questionnaire. These interactions and correspondence were analysed using thematic analysis. The research findings indicated the multifaceted role that the Facebook support group plays in the lives of each parent who participated. The amount of support they derived from the group and the value of the group depended on each parent’s unique needs and experiences, as well as their unique interpretations of the interactions within the group. Their interactions within the group showed, however, that the group provided a platform where they were able to construct their own identities as autism parents as the experts of their children’s lives, as well as advocates in the realm of autism. Their experiences were in line with international literature on online support groups. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die wêreldwye toename in die diagnose van outisme, die geweldige druk wat ouers ervaar om ʼn kind met outisme groot te maak, asook die toeganklikheid van internet-gebaseerde ondersteuning, het ʼn unieke geleentheid geskep om navorsing te doen oor ouers se ervarings in sodanige aanlyn gemeenskap. Kennis rakende hulle ervarings, die waarde en betekenis van ʼn aanlyn ondersteuningsgroep in hulle daaglikse lewens, asook watter tipe ouers aanlyn raad soek, sou lig kon werp op die onderwerp van hoe sulke aanlyn gemeenskappe moontlik beter aangewend kan word ten einde onmiddelike en goedkoop inligting en ondersteuning te bied aan ouers wat andersins uitgesluit word van kontak-ondersteuningsgroepe as gevolg van verskeie beperkings. Hierdie navorsing kan ʼn belangrike bydrae lewer tot die verbetering van die gebrekkige kennis oor aanlyn ondersteuningsgroepe vir outisme in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie navorsing kan grootliks bydra tot die gebrekkige kennis oor Suid-Afrikaanse ouers se ervarings. Die doel van hierdie studie was om betrokke te raak by ouers wat deelneem aan ʼn Facebook ondersteuningsgroep ten einde vas te stel watter waarde (positief of negatief) dit toevoeg tot hulle lewens, asook om te bepaal watter betekenis hulle heg aan hul eie deelname aan die groep. Hierdie was ʼn kwalitatiewe studie gebaseer op ʼn sosiaal-konstruksionistiese teoretiese raamwerk, aangesien dit gemoeid was met hoe elke persoon se realiteit beïnvloed word deur sosiale interaksie met ander, asook die historiese en kulturele invloede in daardie persoon se lewe. Deelnemers aan hierdie studie was doelgerig gekies en data is deur waarneming van hul interaksie binne die Facebook ondersteuningsgroep versamel, asook deur ‘n elektroniese onderhoudsvraelys. Hierdie interaksies en korrespondensie is deur tematiese analise ontleed. Die navorsingsbevindings het die veelkantige rol wat die Facebook ondersteunings-groep in die lewens van elke deelnemer gespeel het, aangetoon. Die mate van ondersteuning wat elkeen uit die groep ontvang het, asook die waarde van die groep, was afhanklik van elkeen se unieke behoeftes en ervarings en elkeen se unieke vertolking van die interaksie binne die groep. Die ouers se interaksie binne die groep het egter aangedui dat die ondersteuningsgroep ʼn platform daargestel het waar hulle hulle eie identiteite as outisme ouers, en kundiges oor hul kinders se lewens, kon konstrueer. Benewens dit was hulle ook kampvegters op die terrein van outisme. Hulle ervarings stem ooreen met internasionale literatuur rakende aanlyn ondersteuningsgroepe.

How we share our good news with people can have a significant effect on our lives. Sharing good news on social media sites involves a process called capitalization. Capitalization has been shown to increase well-being when others provide appropriate responses in face-to-face interactions. To see if this effect on well-being extends to our online presence, this study utilized the social media site Facebook to observe if capitalization predicted well-being and relationship satisfaction. This study used data collected from 137 participants recruited from an undergraduate participant pool and from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Consistent with hypotheses, participants who reported receiving active and constructive responses after sharing a positive event on Facebook also reported greater personal well-being and relationship satisfaction. Although future experimental research is needed to establish causality, the current results suggest that the ways in which friends respond to social media posts are associated with personal and relationship well-being. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Since the emergence of the Internet, scholars have had mixed opinions regarding its role in influencing levels of political participation. Two frameworks, the mobilization and the reinforcement theses, were created from these opposing views. The introduction of social networking websites (such as Facebook) offers new platforms with which to test these opposing theories on. This study investigates the Facebook group ―Canadian‘s against Proroguing Parliament,‖ to determine: 1) what the members' motivations were for participating in the group, 2) whether the group attracted formerly marginalized voices to participate on the group, or simply reinforced those who were already active in the political process, and 3) whether the participation of members on the group translated into offline or real world political participation. The findings suggest that the group‘s members had a variety of reasons for joining the group. As well, the findings suggest that the group both mobilized reinforced its participants. Finally, the data indicates that in some instances, the group‘s members translated their online participation into real world political activity. / 171 leaves ; 29 cm

Thesis (MPhil) -- Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In a time of uncertainty for newspapers due in part to dwindling circulation, loss of advertising revenue and declining readership, Internet-based technologies have continued to grow. The unprecedented rise of social media, of which Facebook and Twitter are wellknown examples, has not gone unnoticed by the newspaper community. Despite their initial misgivings about the credibility of the information disseminated on these media, mainstream journalists worldwide have gradually started to adopt social media as professional tools. Social media serve as channels that help to funnel information towards journalists. Some newspaper journalists also use these media to broadcast news and promote their personal brands. The continued use of social media on a professional level will arguably have an impact on the daily routines and cultures within a newsroom. Academic research in this area is limited, especially within the South African context. This study explores whether the professional use of social media, with specific reference to Facebook and Twitter, influences the processes and cultures of news selection and presentation at the South Africa newspapers Rapport and the Mail & Guardian. A newsroom study within a social constructionism paradigm employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including self-administered questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and ethnography. The main findings of this study were that the majority of journalists at Rapport and the Mail & Guardian used Facebook and Twitter actively on a professional level – mainly for trend tracking. The newsroom cultures were open and encouraging towards social media use. Journalists were also aware that social media create opportunities for their audiences to challenge the traditional roles of journalists and the realities constructed by the mainstream media. According to the journalists from Rapport and the Mail & Guardian the professional use of social media had not significantly altered their processes of news selection and presentation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Terwyl koerante ’n onsekere tyd beleef, deels weens dalende sirkulasiesyfers, ’n verlies aan advertensie-inkomste en ’n afname in lesertalle, het Internetgebaseerde tegnologieë aanhou groei. Die ongekende groei van sosial media, waarvan Facebook en Twitter welbekende voorbeelde is, het nie ongesiens by die koerantgemeenskap verby gegaan nie. Ondanks hul aanvanklike bedenkinge oor die geloofwaardigheid van inligting wat op dié media versprei word, het hoofstroomjoernaliste wêreldwyd geleidelik begin om sosiale media as professionele hulpmiddels te aanvaar. Sosial media dien as kanale waardeur inligting na joernaliste vloei. Sommige koerantjoernaliste gebruik ook die media om nuus uit te saai en hul persoonlike handelsmerk te bemark. Die volgehoue gebruik van sosial media op ’n professionele vlak sal bes moontlik ’n impak op die daaglikse roetine en kulture binne ’n nuuskantoor hê. Akademiese navorsing op die gebied is beperk, veral binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Hierdie navorsing ondersoek of die professionele gebruik van sosiale media, met spesifieke verwysing na Facebook en Twitter, ’n invloed het op die prosesse en kulture van nuusseleksie en -aanbieding by die Suid-Afrikaanse koerante Rapport en die Mail & Guardian. ’n Nuuskantoorstudie, binne ’n sosiale konstruktivisme paradigma, het ’n kombinasie van kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodologieë ingespan, insluitende: selfgeadministreerde vraelyste, halfgestruktureerde onderhoude en etnografie. Die hoofbevindinge van die studie was dat die meerderheid van die joernaliste by Rapport en die Mail & Guardian Facebook en Twitter aktief op ’n professionele vlak gebruik het – hoofsaaklik om tendense dop te hou. Die nuuskantoorkulture was oop en aanmoedigend teenoor die gebruik van sosiale media. Joernaliste was ook bewus daarvan dat sosiale media geleenthede skep vir hul gehore om die tradisionele rol van joernaliste, sowel as die realiteite wat deur die hoofstroommedia geskep word, te betwis. Volgens die joernaliste van Rapport en die Mail & Guardian het die professionele gebruik van sosiale media nie hul nuusinsamelings- en aanbiedingsprosesse noemenswaardig beïnvloed nie.

É fato que as mídias eletrônicas são utilizadas cada dia mais como ferramentas de comunicação e interação entre usuários, criando assim as chamadas comunidades sociovirtuais. Um dos problemas decorrentes disso, como em qualquer outra situação, está relacionado aos excessos no seu uso. A sociedade se dá conta de que alguns usuários transgridem limites considerados razoáveis do ponto de vista da dependência das mídias, do tempo a elas dedicado e dos conteúdos compartilhados. Esse vício surge em um contexto de falta de controle tanto individual quanto coletivo. O objetivo deste estudo é verificar a correlação entre o vício no uso de mídias sociais e a extensão dos limites da confiança. Para tanto, discute-se o uso de mídias sociais, como Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Orkut, entre outros, por adolescentes incluídos em comunidades sociovirtuais. Em termos metodológicos, quanto à sua natureza, a pesquisa é aplicada, descritiva em relação aos seus objetivos e predominantemente quantitativa no que se refere à abordagem do problema. Em relação aos procedimentos técnicos, utilizam-se técnicas de pesquisa bibliográfica e de levantamento, o qual é realizado junto a adolescentes de Curitiba. Como principal resultado, o estudo aponta que há uma relação direta entre aumento do uso da internet, medido pelo nível de “vício”, e a intensidade, ou limites, da confiança. Os dados mostram que quanto mais “viciado” é o adolescente mais ele considera, mais ele integra, os diferentes elementos da confiança nas suas decisões. / It’s a fact that electronic medias are more and more used as people’s communication and interaction tools, creating the so-called social virtual communities. One of the associated problems, as in any other situation, is related to overusing them. Society has realized that some users transgress the reasonable limits from the point of view of media addiction, time dedicated to it and shared content. This active addiction arises in a loss of control context both individual and collective. The present study aims to verify the correlation between social media active addiction and the extent of trust limits. Therefore, it has been discussed the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Orkut, among others, by teenagers included in social virtual communities. In methodological terms, according to its nature, this is an applied research, descriptive in relation to its goals and predominantly quantitative concerning the problem approach. Regarding the technical procedures, bibliographic research and survey methods have been used with teenagers in Curitiba city. As a main result, the study show that there is a direct relationship between increased use of the Internet, measured by the level of “addiction", and the intensity or limits of trust. The data show that, more "addicted" of teenager, more intensity are considers the variables or elements of trust in their decisions.

Based on in-depth focus group and individual interviews, this thesis examines how Rhodes University students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds experience campus social life and how they subsequently use Facebook to perform, represent and negotiate their social identities. The study discusses utopian and dystopian positions and interrogates these theoretical perspectives in relation to the students‟ Facebook usage. The popularity and uptake of Facebook by students from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those here at Rhodes University, is a growing phenomenon, provoking questions about the relationship between social experiences, social identity and social networks. Rhodes University‟s social space has been identified by previous studies as modern, liberal, “elite” and divided along race and class lines. The ways in which students experience this campus social space relates to their subject positions and identities. The study employs different perspectives of identity construction to interrogate the students‟ subject experiences in home and school contexts before coming to Rhodes University. The students‟ subjective positions are primarily embedded in tradition and their subject positions are sometimes in tension or come in conflict with the modern and liberal elements permitted by the Rhodes University context. The students also experience and adopt modern and liberal elements in their lifestyles which are permitted within the Rhodes University social space. The thesis found that Facebook offers a platform which facilitates a social connectivity that influences how students perform their identities in relation to their offline social identities and lived social experiences. This study concludes that the mediated symbolic materials for the construction and negotiation of identity provided by Facebook are sometimes in tension with the demands of traditional subjectivities experienced by these students at Rhodes University. Facebook allows the students to reinforce and affirm the validity of their traditional identities in this modern and liberal space. However, it also emerged that Facebook facilitates and allows students who experience and incorporate the modern and liberal elements permitted at Rhodes University to represent and negotiate their subjective positions online. The findings of the study indicate that participants primarily communicate with their friends, families, relatives and acquaintances - people they know personally offline, in line with the theoretical position which argues that online relationships are primarily shaped by offline relationships.

The thesis deals with self-censorship on the biggest online social network Facebook. The main purpose was to determine the reasons for using self-censorship on Facebook. Qualitative research was elaborated with usage of semi structured interview focused on virtual world of active Facebook users and on deeper examination of it. Theoretical part describes concepts and ideas related to the theme of the thesis. The methodological part describes in detail the qualitative research and it's requirements. The analytical part deals with the research itself, analysis of transcribed interviews and with the rules designed by researcher for safe use of Facebook by children. The researcher has decided to set the rules from the findings determined during the creation of the thesis. The self-censorship is the key to the safe behavior on Facebook. Every user of this social network has to learn how to distinguish, what could be placed there and what shouldn't.

This thesis explores the pedagogical potential of images shared during intra-professional conversations held on the social media platform, Twitter. Twitter chats are loosely synchronous exchanges of tweets sharing a unique, identifying keyword or hashtag. They are increasingly being used among professionals to create professional networks in which practice-knowledge and opinion might be shared and where communal connections may be created. As such, they may serve as sites in which professional learning unfolds, both in relation to workplace practices and in relation to the development of new forms of professional practice around social media use. Because the exchanges and broadcasts on Twitter are, for the most part, public, and the conversations are ongoing, they also provide open, freely-accessible, and constantly renewing resources for use in pre-service learning contexts. The research focused on two example chats, one held among midwives and the other among teachers. Inspired by the increasing use of images in new forms of digital communication, the research used images tweeted during the chats as starting points from which to explore flows of knowledge and affect. Data were generated from observations of the two Twitter chats over extended periods, together with interviews with practising professionals, student professionals and their educators in which images were used as elicitation devices. The research combined an approach to reading and “being with” data inspired by ideas drawn from the work of Deleuze (1994; Williams 2013) and Deleuze and Guattari (1988; Massumi 1992), with approaches to reading images drawn from visual social semiotics (Kress and van Leeuwen 1996). The findings suggest that Twitter chats such as those studied here can provide rich opportunities for professional learning. Practice knowledge can flow from one participant to many others, and flows of affect can be used to remoralize individuals and communities. Both chats seemed to serve as sites in which professionals could experience a positivity and affirmation that was not always available in the workplace. However, the forces and intensities at play in these spaces influence both what is said and what is not said, creating new norms of online interaction that generally seemed to avoid negative comments or open disagreement. Educators saw potential to use images such as those shared in the chats in a variety of ways. For example, images could be used as prompts for examination and critique of practices. The educators I interviewed also suggested that the images could be used to help student professionals develop their sensitivity to the forces and intensities that produce particular practices. Group interviews with student professionals suggested that the former happened spontaneously when students encountered and discussed such images, but that the latter might need deliberate facilitation or prompting. The thesis concludes with some recommendations for: (i) educators considering using such images in pre-service professional learning; (ii) professional developers considering using Twitter chats; and (iii) policy-makers involved in drafting guidelines for professionals’ use of social media.