This research explored the phenomenon of online social network in the context of consumer-brand relationship. The specific research objectives were: (a) to examine whether perceived benefits of a Brand’s Social Network Website (BSN) predict BSN relationship quality; (b) to investigate whether perceived benefits of BSN predict perceived relationship investment; (c) to examine if online social connection strengthens the relationship between perceived benefits of BSN and BSN relationship quality; (d) to examine if experience with BSN strengthens the relationship between perceived benefits of BSN and BSN relationship quality; (e) to investigate whether BSN relationship quality predicts brand relationship quality; (f) to examine whether BSN relationship quality predicts customer loyalty toward BSN; (g) to investigate whether perceived relationship investment predicts brand relationship quality; (h) to investigate whether brand relationship quality predicts customer loyalty toward BSN; (i) to examine whether brand relationship quality predicts customer loyalty toward the brand; and (j) to investigate whether customer loyalty toward BSN predicts customer loyalty toward the brand. This research employed a mixed-method approach to overcome the weaknesses in a single method approach and to provide stronger evidence for a conclusion. First, qualitative analyses explored the unique context of BSN, which was not much investigated in prior research. Specifically, Brand Pages of 22 apparel brands and 10 restaurant/coffeehouse brands, chosen as research settings, were investigated to validate the proposed research constructs. Second, quantitative analyses utilized an online self-administered cross-sectional survey method. A total of 501 complete responses collected from consumer panels of marketing research firm were used. The results suggested that BSN benefits are important drivers of relationship mediators (i.e., BSN relationship quality, perceived relationship investment), which in turn positively influence BRQ. However, functional benefits did not influence BSN relationship quality. In addition, while customer loyalty toward BSN was predicted by both BSN relationship quality and BRQ, it did not positively influence the loyalty toward the brand. Specifically, BSN loyalty did not influence behavioral loyalty and negatively influenced willingness to pay price premium. Further discussion about the results, implications, and suggestions for future research were provided.

Nowadays, the rapid development of New Technologies of Information such as internet has a tremendous impact on people's life and environment. People now are not only using Blog and social network as a mean to share their life, but also they are using this platform to divulge and promote their diaries, articles, and life experiences. Fashion Guide, the most famous website in Taiwan, combining Blogs, social websites ,discussions forums is an eloquent example. This research is trying to find out whether Fashion Guide website has an influence on Taiwanese female purchasing behavior of cosmetics. This empirical evidence underscoring the impacts of websites such as Fashion Guide on females purchasing decision has the following outcomes: 1-Fashion Guide¡¦s members are over 80 percent and are mostly living in north of Taiwan, most of them are working for IT industries and their age range from 26 to 30 years old.2-The motivation of using the website lies on the fact that they are avoiding risks, above all the risk of getting the products they do not like.3-The members of Fashion guide find the discussion forums more trustworthy than social networks and Blogs.4-Most of members believe that Fashion Guide¡¦s website contents are more reliable than television commercials and suppliers cosmetics websites, therefore in the future marketing can make use of forums, social networks and blogs as a non-negligeable broadcasting platform.

Essa dissertação discorre sobre a experiência de produção, desenvolvimento e aplicação de um programa que visa estimular o interesse do estudo da Astronomia em alunos de escolas particulares de Ensino Fundamental e Médio, utilizando as Novas Tecnologias de Comunicação e Informação (TICs), mais precisamente a Internet, no formato de Rede Social. Foi produzido inicialmente em ambiente profissional, tornando-se a base para a elaboração do Produto Final vinculado ao Mestrado Profissional em Ensino de Astronomia. Esse programa, chamado de Rede Social Clube de Astronomia, foi aplicado ao longo do ano de 2015 em escolas particulares espalhadas por todo o Brasil e teve a adesão de 1.167 estudantes. Foi constituído de um rol de atividades observacionais simples, as quais os participantes deveriam realizar de maneira prática, produzindo uma série de materiais que posteriormente foram enviados para o Clube de Astronomia, sendo então publicados para a apreciação e troca de informações entre os estudantes participantes. Além das atividades observacionais, foi solicitado aos alunos participantes que desenvolvessem a ideia para a produção de um satélite artificial e que produzissem uma maquete do satélite idealizado. De maneira geral, pudemos perceber que os estudantes possuem grande interesse em participar de forma voluntária em um programa como esse, contudo, tanto a quantidade, quanto a qualidade dos materiais recebidos deixou a desejar, fato que nos fez refletir sobre melhorias que poderão ser introduzidas em experiências semelhantes a essa realizadas no futuro. / This Master Thesis is about the experience of production, development and applying of a program to stimulate the Astronomy interest in student from private elementary and high school, employing new information and communication technology (ICT) as the social network website. This work start as a professional activity that later was bring to University to be scientific evaluate in this Master Course. The program was called Astronomy Club, and was applying for the first time in 2015 in the website of private schools from all over Brazil territory and have been followed for 1,167 students. It was based in suggestion of simples naked eyes sky observation for the participants who was encouraged to observed and publish in the Astronomy Club website the description of their feelings and image of the activity to be discussed with other students. It was also asked to student the development of model of satellite. We observed that the students have a huge interest in willingly follow this program, but the quality and the quantity of the material published for them was not good enough. This fact suggest us that we need to improve some aspects of this program in the future to have better results.

Essa dissertação discorre sobre a experiência de produção, desenvolvimento e aplicação de um programa que visa estimular o interesse do estudo da Astronomia em alunos de escolas particulares de Ensino Fundamental e Médio, utilizando as Novas Tecnologias de Comunicação e Informação (TICs), mais precisamente a Internet, no formato de Rede Social. Foi produzido inicialmente em ambiente profissional, tornando-se a base para a elaboração do Produto Final vinculado ao Mestrado Profissional em Ensino de Astronomia. Esse programa, chamado de Rede Social Clube de Astronomia, foi aplicado ao longo do ano de 2015 em escolas particulares espalhadas por todo o Brasil e teve a adesão de 1.167 estudantes. Foi constituído de um rol de atividades observacionais simples, as quais os participantes deveriam realizar de maneira prática, produzindo uma série de materiais que posteriormente foram enviados para o Clube de Astronomia, sendo então publicados para a apreciação e troca de informações entre os estudantes participantes. Além das atividades observacionais, foi solicitado aos alunos participantes que desenvolvessem a ideia para a produção de um satélite artificial e que produzissem uma maquete do satélite idealizado. De maneira geral, pudemos perceber que os estudantes possuem grande interesse em participar de forma voluntária em um programa como esse, contudo, tanto a quantidade, quanto a qualidade dos materiais recebidos deixou a desejar, fato que nos fez refletir sobre melhorias que poderão ser introduzidas em experiências semelhantes a essa realizadas no futuro. / This Master Thesis is about the experience of production, development and applying of a program to stimulate the Astronomy interest in student from private elementary and high school, employing new information and communication technology (ICT) as the social network website. This work start as a professional activity that later was bring to University to be scientific evaluate in this Master Course. The program was called Astronomy Club, and was applying for the first time in 2015 in the website of private schools from all over Brazil territory and have been followed for 1,167 students. It was based in suggestion of simples naked eyes sky observation for the participants who was encouraged to observed and publish in the Astronomy Club website the description of their feelings and image of the activity to be discussed with other students. It was also asked to student the development of model of satellite. We observed that the students have a huge interest in willingly follow this program, but the quality and the quantity of the material published for them was not good enough. This fact suggest us that we need to improve some aspects of this program in the future to have better results.

本文主要討論在日常生活中，以智慧型手機和社群網站Facebook打卡為主的媒體實踐所扮演的社交角色以及實踐者的空間經驗感受，試圖描繪科技帶來社交網絡的連結，並且透過現代科技漫遊者的實踐，混淆日常性和觀光凝視的界線。從媒體實踐取徑，觀察生活中各種實踐行動，試圖勾勒媒體實踐如何定錨社交關係，以及人為主體的媒介消費複雜性。 研究以民族誌法為研究方法，結合線上觀察、線下田野、深度訪談，研究三個身處不同社交圈位置的個案；研究者以參與觀察的方式進入研究對象的生活、工作、休閒場域，期以從實踐者的生活方式，理解日常生活中細瑣行動的動態關係。 研究發現，作為新科技的Facebook打卡和智慧型手機，身處社交圈不同位置的實踐者在近用之後能發展機會，包括鞏固意見領袖地位、晉升為領導者、創造與他人的連結；而Facebook的標籤功能、打卡時機的調整、省略打卡位置等實踐，成為實踐者挪用以建立社交關係。 實踐者是為現代的科技漫遊者，在漫遊城市時透過打卡找到新空間經驗感受，這些經驗包括：(1) 日常生活與觀光凝視的界線流動，實踐者凝視平凡的日常找到非比尋常，將之轉化為打卡題材；(2) 打卡實踐是實踐者既地方性又全球性的文本生產，讓地標賦予了既真實又虛擬的混合空間意涵，實踐者於其中觀展表演而自我揭露；(3) 打卡鞏固了觀光凝視的空間經驗，實踐者的空間感受並非固定，而可能既溫暖有情感又陳悶的儀式，打卡實踐添增了生活中面對鏡頭的觀光客姿態。實踐者面對科技物質特性、社會關係、監視構成的結構性限制，能找到方式因應，但其能施展的自由與機會也有局限性。 / The aim of the research investigates Facebook’s check-ins as a media practice that plays a crucial social role in everyday life. While walking in the city nowadays, a practitioner can convey his/her feelings, uploading stories and photos to social network websites through mobile technologies. A practitioner’s gaze upon spectacle of the city brings him/her complicated media experience in the media-drenched world, which turns a practitioner into a tourist and a flâneur. The study explores practitioners’ media consumption in everyday life. My empirical study focuses on three cases, who are heavy users of smart phones and in favor of check-ins on Facebook. The three cases situate in different social status and develope different social relationships through Facebook. By choosing ethnography as my method, I am a participant-as-observer who immerse in on-line and off-line field work. My findings indicate that smart phones and check-ins on Facebook provide opportunities and resources for practitioners. A keen adopter of technologies becomes an opinion leader, and her practice of check-ins brings her a fashionable image. The person who owns ordinary fellowship becomes an opinion leader in his peer group by acquiring technology skills. The practitioners use tagging and adjust the timing of check-ins to create social connection with friends. A practitioner, who is also a tourist and a flâneur, finds new feelings through mobile technologies when walking in the city. (1) The boundary between everyday life and tourism is not fixed, but weaves in a flow instead. (2) Geo-tagging symbolizes a hybrid space, in which contains virtual and physical information. (3) The practices of check-ins embody the tourist gaze. The sense of place is a flow, and practitioners may find warm or chill places through different media practices. However, the tension of interaction between people and technologies brings several unexpected troubles. The practitioner combats these problems by using tactics with agency, while he/she faces the power of structure which limits agency at the same time.