Användningen av sociala medier både för klubbar och supportrar har sett en snabb ökning i fotbollssammanhang. Syftet och målen med användningen mellan dem skiljer sig däremot, där fotbollsklubbar är ute efter en potentiell källa som uppmuntrar ekonomiska möjligheter. Supportrars användning är kopplat till tillhörighet och engagemang, där exakta motiv och behov av en fotbollsklubbs sociala medier behöver identifieras. Denna studie syftar att undersöka supportrars behov av en mindre fotbollsklubbs sociala medier utifrån ett uses and gratifications perspektiv. Detta för att se om klubben tillfredsställer supportrarnas behov och uppmuntrar användning och engagemang för att se om en mindre klubb kan utnyttja de finansiella möjligheterna av sociala medier. Det undersöks även om Covid-19 pandemin har lett till ett ökat behov av sociala medier för supportrarna. Studien är baserad på Halmstads BK, som representerar en mindre fotbollsklubb, och dess supportrar. Tre kvalitativa intervjuer samt en enkätundersökning med 106 deltagare har genomförts utifrån studiens syfte. Resultatet visar att Halmstads BK:s supportrar använder sig primärt av klubbens sociala medier för att få information kring laget. Tillhörighet och interaktion är även ett identifierat behov hos supportrarna, däremot tillfredsställs inte behoven av klubben och kanalernas användning drabbas negativt. Pandemin tillförde inte heller ett utökat behov av klubbens medier utan återställde endast behovet till hur det var innan pandemin. I och med låg aktivitet på klubbens medier så är en finansiell modell runt sociala medier inte lämplig i nuläget. / Social media usage is rapidly increasing for football clubs and supporters. Their purpose with social media differs however, where a football club is looking for a potential source that encourages financial benefits. A supporter’s use of social media is linked to belonging and engagement, however their exact motives and needs must be identified. This study means to establish the needs of a club’s social media pages for supporters to a smaller club with a Uses and Gratifications perspective. By establishing the supporters' needs and gratifications sought and how well the club meets and encourages them, it can be determined how well a club is positioned to benefit from social media’s financial benefits. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on supporters needs of its club’s social media is also studied. This study is based on Halmstads BK, which represents a smaller football club, and its supporters. This study contains three qualitative interviews as well as a survey with 106 respondents. The result shows that Halmstads BK’s supporters primarily use the club’s social media to seek information about the team. Belonging and interaction is also an identified need that is currently not being met by the club which negatively impacts the channel's activity. The pandemic did not increase the supporters' need for the club’s social media but rather brought it back to how it was before the pandemic. Because of the low activity on the club’s channels a financial model around social media is not suitable at this moment.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise s'intéresse aux sources médiatiques traditionnelles comme la télévision, les journaux, les livres et le cinéma en contexte touristique. Plus précisément, ce travail vise à comprendre dans quelle mesure les sources médiatiques participent au processus de décision de choix de destination voyage des personnes de 50 ans et plus. Pour ce faire, 16 Québécois de 50 ans et plus sont interrogés en entrevue individuelle. L'industrie touristique considère ces individus comme étant une clientèle de plus en plus importante, et ce, compte tenu de ses caractéristiques particulières. Les résultats de cette recherche sont principalement analysés à la lumière des notions liées aux attributs du récepteur et de l'approche des Uses and Gratifications. Les principales conclusions démontrent qu'il faut parler d'une influence relative des médias traditionnels dans le processus de choix de destination voyage des personnes de 50 ans et plus et dévoilent un fait surprenant, à savoir l'importance du discours des membres de l'entourage pour les voyageurs.

Social media today constitute a big part of everyday life for adolescents, but we believe that there is an inadequate knowledge of how young people in everyday contexts go about evaluating and reflecting upon the information mediated through Facebook. This study aims to examine how adolescents in their everyday life judge the credibility of information mediated through Facebook. In order to attain the aim the study also seeks to answer how adolescents reflect upon information on Facebook, what is their own role in the production of content and also to identify their cognitive resources and the practical doings which they apply in order to judge the credibility of the information. The theoretical framework on which the study is based are Patrick Wilson's theory of Cognitive authority and the theory of Uses and Gratifications. The data was accumulated by conducting two focus group interviews with a total of eight respondents, each focus group comprising four respondents. The study found that the content the respondents are exposed to is dependent on their own actions and that it is also a result of a wider range of age groups being more active on Facebook. Many of the respondents do not put much trust in the information and most of them are also passive in the production of it. The study also identified the following methods the respondents use when they evaluate the credibility of the information: to examine the sources, determine if there is any underlying political interest, reputation, how it is expressed, their attitude towards the information, compare sources, common sense and experience.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Louise Benjamin / In 2013, creating a 57-second video can lead to more than $150,000 in profit for the creator and the creator can be anyone. This money-making opportunity comes from a recent popular trend known as a “viral video,” defined as a phenomenon of a video becoming highly popular through rapid, user-led distribution via the internet. However, research has not determined a clear model for creating a non-professional viral video. Interviews and YouTube analytics revealed how the video “I’m Farming and I Grow It,” a non-professional video created by three Kansas boys, was spread. Using the theories Uses and Gratifications and Two-Step Flow, this case study then analyzed the comments posted on the viral video and a content analysis of the comments identified the key factors mentioned by users, which contributed to the videos’ millions of views. The results conclude the key components for making a non-professional video go viral are “opinion leaders” spreading the message and video content that elicits positive feelings such as joy, humor, or praise. This study also provides a model to help a non-professional video go viral based on previous research and this case study.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Nancy Muturi / This study was designed to explore how Alzheimer’s caregivers use Facebook support groups. Specifically it describes what kinds of activities caregivers engage in when in Facebook support groups, explores the motivation behind participation, and details perceived advantages and disadvantages of the groups. Whether Facebook support groups are considered a primary and accurate source of disease information was also explored. The study was qualitative in nature and consisted of 20 caregiver interviews, conducted via phone and Skype. Guided by uses and gratifications theory (Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch, 1974), the study employed six research questions to fully explore the experiences of caregivers in Facebook support groups. Generally speaking, the study identified the primary theme of community, and three subthemes including context, advice and emotional release/support. There were also significant findings on the primacy and accuracy of information. The ability to more fully understand these themes in the context of the caregiver experience will provide health care professionals with a foundation on which they can build effective ways to tap existing Facebook support groups and bolster support as the Alzheimer’s epidemic grows exponentially between now and 2050.

In a society where media use is increasingly fragmented, social media expand people’s media practices and satisfy peoples’ needs in new ways. Instagram is currently the social media platform with the highest growth of users around the world. The purpose of this study is to examine what needs of information, entertainment, self-confirmation and social connections are being fulfilled by Instagram-use. By applying Uses and Gratifications theory, the study analyzes the motivations behind Instagram use and how needs are fulfilled through user practices. The study builds on a quantitative survey (n=252) examining the Instagram use of students at Örebro University. The analysis assesses factors such as time, user practices and motivations as well as questions regarding interactivity and response. The study finds that students primarily use Instagram to fulfill needs of entertainment and social connection. The importance of response (interactive communication) is more important to those who spend more time on the platform. The study also concludes that younger students and women use the platform more extensively compared to older students and men.

Streamed media is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives and companies like Netflix is competing with linear television for consumers. It is hard to deny that there is a shift in the media industry and streamed media is progressing, within the last three years the number of subscribers has almost been doubled. With this in mind it is both interesting and necessary to study motives and content in users to gain a better understanding of this yet very little explored phenomenon that is streamed media. This report contains a qualitative study of motives behind the use of streamed media and how the content affects our choice of streaming service. We interviewed seven young adults between the ages of 21-26 at the Linneaus University in Kalmar. The result suggests that the user’s motives and the content depend on economy and generation factors, such as social situation and personal interests.

Organisationer använder sig ofta av flera olika sociala media för att nå ut till sina målgrupper, då en lyckad kommunikation har visat sig öka omsättningen (Okazaki,Katsukura och Nishiyama, 2007). Men det finns ännu ganska lite forskning om varför viss kommunikation lyckas nå ut med sitt budskap. Samtidigt söker allt fler organisationer svar på hur de ska göra för att kommunicera bättre och nå ut genom mediebruset. Annars riskerar de kommunikativa insatserna att falla platt, upplevas som intetsägande och sakna betydelse då de väcker minimalt med respons och engagemang hos målgruppen. Tidigare studier har funnit att Twitter och LinkedIn är två av de mest användbara sociala mediekanalerna för organisationer som vill kommunicera med sina målgrupper, mer specifikt potentiella samarbetspartners, potentiella anställda och konsumerande kunder. Därför menar vi att en studie av kommunikationen på LinkedIn via influencers är intressant ur ettMKV-perspektiv, då vi ämnar undersöka vilka kommunikationsfaktorer som påverkar engagemang i olika typer av inlägg på LinkedIn. Metod och material: För att besvara våra frågeställningar har vi använt oss av en kvantitativ innehållsanalys och en kvalitativ textanalys.Genom den kvantitativa metoden har vi analyserat 155 inlägg som publicerats av 16 influencers under en tvåveckors period. Vi har mätt engagemanget för alla inlägg genom att se till antalet kommentarer och reaktioner från andra användare på LinkedIn. I den kvalitativa metoden valde vi ut tre inlägg som vi utifrån resultatet i den kvantitativa delen såg hade högst genomsnitt kommentarer samt reaktioner. Vi valde att titta vidare på dessa tre inlägg för att identifiera det unika med kommunikationen i dem som gjorde att just dessa engagerade i högre utsträckning än andra inlägg. Huvudresultat: Utifrån vår studie har vi funnit att en kategori är vanligast förekommande som primär kommunikationskategori bland våra 16 influencers. Vi har även funnit att oavsett innehåll i inlägget finns det en primär kommunikationskategori som skapar mer engagemang i fråga om reaktioner samt att en annan kategori engagerar mer sett till viljan att kommentera. Att använda sig av visuellt intresseväckande innehåll ser vi också ökar engagemanget hos mottagarna jämfört med att inte använda sig av denna typ av innehåll. Vi finner också att för att bygga förtroende på LinkedIn kan det vara en god idé att använda sig av en kombination av flera av de marknadsföringsstrategier som vi presenterat i vår studie.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Major Professor Not Listed / Based on the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) approach and Parasocial Interaction (PSI) theory, this study examined how people use live streaming platforms in China. Uniquely, it sought to understand the effect of romantic relationships on how and why people watch Host Live Shows (HLSs) and explored the relationships between Chinese audiences and live- streamers. Through an online survey, four viewing motivations were identified: Community Building, Ego-boost, Escape, and Bandwagon. Ego-boost is a relatively new motivation of media use, which means audiences watch and interact with HLSs to get compliments, self-confidence, self- validation, and ego-boosts. This study found audiences’ perceived realism and PSI were both very neutral. However, emotion projection of audiences onto streamers was observed – most viewers highly agree that streamers are their friends. Moreover, this study found the quality of interpersonal communication is affecting audiences’ HLS dependence and the degree of PSI, while the quantity of interpersonal communication might not be – the more satisfied a person is about his/her interpersonal communication, the heavier he/she depends on HLSs and the stronger his/her PSI is. As expected, the degrees of both romantic relationship status and romantic relationship satisfaction influence people’s HLS use. While compared with females, males are affected by romantic relationships more, both the status and satisfaction level. Lastly, when it comes to people’s romantic lives and social lives, HLSs are more likely to be used as alternatives to meet their unsatisfied needs from their “real partners.”

This research aims to fill a research gap by examining WeChat to explore whether changes of social context would exert any influence on the information disclosure of social networking site (SNS) users. Selective Exposure Theory and Uses and Gratification Theory were used as the theoretical foundation for this study. Four-hundred Chinese college students in China and the U.S. who have a WeChat App and have logged in to use it within the last 30 days from the day administered were asked to participate in a survey about their motivations and consequences when using WeChat. Results from MANOVA showed that the motivations and consequences of female participants’ self-disclosure were significantly higher than were male participants on WeChat. Moreover, the social context of Chinese students studying in the U.S. is perceived to be more individualized than the traditionally collective context that is perceived by Chinese students studying in China.