Social networking sites are among the most popular daily activities of students these days. Students are mostly using social networking sites for communication and sharing of their experiences. Facebook is an example of a social networking site, which supports additional features such as creating a profile page, creating group pages and supports possibility of implementing different integrated application with Facebook. These features improve the Facebook experience, allowing users to form groups, where they can introduce ideas and concepts, which can be shared and discussed in a structured style. For this thesis we have created a new learning management system by implementing an online educational platform within a Facebook context. This work introduces a new, complementary style of education, where students can improve their knowledge and sociality outside the university in an innovative way. The platform takes advantage of gamification, which introduces game-like elements to concepts such as education and learning management systems, to make them more fun and rewarding. The goal of this thesis is to extend the educational border to an interesting online environment where students can learn, communicate, and examine their knowledge globally in different courses within our application platform in Facebook.

Consumers are increasingly engaging with brands on social networking sites (SNS) through activities such as sharing, commenting, liking and recommending products or brands to other consumers. These types of recommendations are referred to as electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) and are proven to have a significant influence on consumers’ purchasing decisions. Previous research has investigated motives for traditional WOM and motives for eWOM on opinion platforms. This study proposes that eWOM on SNSs is a combination of traditional WOM and eWOM on opinion platforms. By using a sample of 154 Swedish Facebook users, this study explores why consumers engage in positive eWOM communication on SNSs. This is done by testing 6 validated motives that are identified in previous research in the new context. The resulting analysis suggests that consumers’ need for social interaction and desire to express positive emotions are the primary drivers behind engagement in positive eWOM communication on SNSs. The findings confirm that eWOM on SNSs contains elements of both traditional WOM and eWOM on opinion platforms and should thus be considered as a unique context where eWOM takes place.

This study examines the impact of political information conveyed through computer-mediated social networks. Using a popular social networking website, Facebook, a randomized field experiment involving Georgia State University undergraduates explores the extent to which computer-mediated peer-to-peer communication can increase political knowledge. For this experiment two Facebook profiles were created, one to administer information about the 2009 Atlanta mayoral election and the other to administer timely entertainment information. Students were randomly assigned one of these profiles to “friend.” Students choosing not to “friend” their assigned profile were aggregated to create an additional control condition. Treatments were administered to those who “friended” their assigned profile for the seven days preceding the mayoral election. To assess the transfer of knowledge between the profiles and the students a subsequent in-person survey was conducted (N=374). Results reveal that being exposed to political information by a peer through a social networking website increases the probability of recalling at least some of that information by 18.2 percent. Notably, the same method of exposure to entertainment information produces no significant effects on the recall of that information.

Researchers, companies and managers have for a long time accepted word-of-mouth as being a crucial marketing activity, since it is extremely effective in shaping consumers’ attitudes and behaviour. Nowadays, the Internet has become a major part of many peoples’ daily lives, and social networking sites attract millions of individuals from all around the world. Because of this, word-of-mouth has shifted to the digitalized world and a new term has been developed, namely electronic word-of-mouth. Electronic word-of-mouth has been recognized to generate the same benefits to companies as word-of-mouth. Due to the growth of the Internet and social networking sites, electronic word-of-mouth has the power to reach more people and is therefore perceived as more influential. This makes electronic word-of-mouth along with social networking sites, two concepts to acknowledge. Thus, for companies to make the most out of them, they need to gain the necessary knowledge.  The purpose of this research is to analyse how consumers are affected by electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites.   In the specific area, a research gap was noticed, namely, how electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites affects consumers’ product perceptions and purchase intentions. Based on this gap, six hypotheses and a research model were conducted. The empirical data was collected via questionnaire, where the majority of the respondents were within the target group, which was students, aged 18-24.   It was revealed through the results, that electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites has a direct positive effect on both consumers’ product perceptions and purchase intentions. In addition, age and gender were found to have a moderating effect on the relation between electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites and product perceptions, as well as purchase intentions. Finally, it is argued that managers should take electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites into consideration, and adopt it in their marketing tactics.

Background: Researchers have investigated display advertising in the past several years from different perspectives but only in connection to traditional Web sites and not specifically for social networking sites. Facebook is the most prominent social networking site in terms of number of users and its main source of revenue is its online advertising business. Having display advertising in their virtual space is the reason why social networks are able to offer free service and as such the need to understand how users perceive it arises The most important way of understanding users’ perceptions about the advertis- ing messages is by studying attitudes. In order to understand the attitudes toward Facebook display advertising, it is necessary to examine the factors that affect the attitude-toward-the-ad. Ad perceptions, ad credibility, attitude toward advertisers, attitude toward advertising and mood have been identified by previous researchers as clearly influencing the attitude toward specific ads. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate user’s attitude toward display advertising on Facebook by identifying the main factors that influence the formation of attitudes. Method: In order to fulfill the purpose and uncover the main factors that influence the attitude towards display advertising on Facebook, a qualitative research has been conducted. Both a primary and a secondary data search was per- formed. The primary data was collected by carrying out semistructured interviews with students at Jönköping University which resulted in a number of 20 respondents. The secondary data was gathered through the use of the resources available at the university library, both digital and paper based. Internet Web sites have also been reviewed when needed. Conclusions: The authors found that users display an accepting, positive attitude toward display advertising on Facebook. There have been identified five main fac- tors influencing Facebook users’ attitude and these are ad credibility, ad perceptions, attitude toward the advertiser, informativeness and lack of irritation. Moreover, the informativeness factor was found to have the greatest influence in terms of the behavior Facebook users have toward display advertising.

The current study extends the exploration of online relationship building by examining how Business Next top 100 online sellers use the popular social network site Facebook to assist dialogic communication with their fans. A content analysis of Facebook fan pages maintained by Business Next top 100 online sellers (n=100) and individual posts which posted on those pages (n=2804) examined the use of dialogic features within the Facebook fan pages as well as the individual. The contraction process of social networking sites effectiveness indexes used literature review and content analysis. Those indexes were revised by reexamining the circumstances of Facebook. Four dimensions of indexes were ¡§Usefulness of information¡¨, ¡§Generation of return visits¡¨, ¡§Conservation of return visits¡¨, and ¡§Dialogic loop¡¨. 25 indexes were developed. Results indicated that online sellers which manage Facebook fan pages (76%) employed the dialogic strategies of dialogic loop mostly (M=16.76). It presents the highly interactive of Facebook fan pages. Interact games on Facebook fan pages which combine asking interesting questions and special discounts are significantly related with user responses.

Due to the popularity of social media and an increase in the engagement of social care, traditional word-of-mouth communications has been replaced by electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). Facebook, the most popular website in the United States, is home to nearly 18 million brand or business pages and may be accessed by social media-users aiming to engage in social care, which is customer service via social media. Extending existing research, this study employed in-depth interviews to determine whether or not social media-users are affected by the feedback of other users on restaurants' Facebook pages. The results of this study suggest that Facebook is being used as a tool to attain user feedback regarding restaurants and is perceived as a credible tool. The results also suggest that social media-users are mainly affected by others' user feedback when they are researching a restaurant they have not yet experienced. Finally, the findings of this study suggest that restaurants using Facebook should respond to all types of user feedback, since this practice may result in providing social media-users with a more positive perception of the restaurant.

This study examines the impact of political information conveyed through computer-mediated social networks. Using a popular social networking website, Facebook, a randomized field experiment involving Georgia State University undergraduates explores the extent to which computer-mediated peer-to-peer communication can increase political knowledge. For this experiment two Facebook profiles were created, one to administer information about the 2009 Atlanta mayoral election and the other to administer timely entertainment information. Students were randomly assigned one of these profiles to “friend.” Students choosing not to “friend” their assigned profile were aggregated to create an additional control condition. Treatments were administered to those who “friended” their assigned profile for the seven days preceding the mayoral election. To assess the transfer of knowledge between the profiles and the students a subsequent in-person survey was conducted (N=374). Results reveal that being exposed to political information by a peer through a social networking website increases the probability of recalling at least some of that information by 18.2 percent. Notably, the same method of exposure to entertainment information produces no significant effects on the recall of that information.

Social media have been growing rapidly in recent years thanks to the innovations of social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook and Twitter, both of which originated in the United States. Currently, SNS and other social media have become global phenomena. This report aims to study the features of SNS that prosper in the U.S., Japan, and China. Through a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences among the top SNS players in each of the three countries, it is possible to identify unique characteristics of each nation’s social networking landscape. The SNS market in the U.S. is relatively mature, while the social networking population is growing in Japan and China. However, contrary to the expectations of some, the Japanese and Chinese social networking landscapes appear to be quite different from one another with regard to SNS usage, despite Japan and China’s similar cultural backgrounds and geographical proximity. / text

Recent progress in the discipline of computer applications such as the advent of web-based communication, afforded by the Web 2.0, has paved the way for novel applications in language learning, namely, social networking. Social networking has challenged the area of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) to expand its research palette in order to account for the way individuals engage in processes of learning and socialization, the way they interact, and the way they construct and perform their identities. With this in mind, it is necessary to examine the new material conditions, social arrangements, and the communicational landscape of Social Networking Sites (SNS). This study focuses on SNSs for language learning (SNSLL) and examines the particular case of Busuu. Drawing on theoretical tenets of sociocultural and ecological approaches combined with multimodal social semiotics, this research aims to analyze the views of language and learning that are enacted through the semiotic design of Busuu. It also purports to examine the types of identities wherein users are positioned through the compositional elements of this participatory online environment. The research design is informed by the principles of a qualitative case study and autoethnographic research. The data collected for this study consist of documentary information obtained from Busuu and the autoethnographic accounts of the researcher, who participated as a member of the Busuu community for 10 weeks. Results indicate that overall Busuu is an ecological system composed of sub-systems of nested views about language, learning, and users in which multiple timescales, spatiotemporal, and discursive resonances of various theories work in synergy. Thus, the semiotic spaces of Busuu combine structural, interactional and ecological views of language. Similarly, Busuu crystalizes views of learning that echo behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist theories. The website enacts different identities, positioning users as learners and teachers/tutors who are members of an imagined community. The study draws implications about the need for theoretical coherence and pedagogical alignment among the different components of the language curriculum (e.g. language and learning views, instructional activities) of Social Networking Sites for Language Learning.