Social platforms have become a large part of today’s society and there is large scientific interests in what creates a successful social platform. There is plenty of research available on how to acquire users to a social platform, but there is significantly less available on how to retain users on a social platforms. It is easy to forget that acquiring users is only half the battle, users that do not return is of little use. Thus, there is demand for research on how to retain users on social platforms, which is something that are of interest of both developing and established social platforms. This study aim to answer two research questions: “What drives continued use of social platforms?” and “How can CRM and Gamification tools be used to retain users on social platforms?” The factors that are investigated in this paper were derived from current literature. Based on the literature review, a conceptual framework was built from existing theory. The conceptual framework was used as the starting point for our data collection. Data was collected in the form of ten interviews of students currently enrolled at instutiotions of higher education. Later, the primary data were contrasted with the secondary data in order to draw conclusions. The results suggests that previous research have neglected some externalities such as trends and context, and the fact that the drivers for use differ depending on the social platform in question. Finally, a revised conceptual model is presented, it is a modified version of the conceptual model, where the new findings are added in order to create an illustration of how our research added to the existing research on the subject. The findings can be used by management on social platforms to develop user retention strategies. Further, the findings from this study can be used as a foundation for future research on the topic.

1 Abstract Master Thesis titled The future of public editors in the time of technological convergence deals with the issue and phenomena of ombudsmen and public editors as part of self-regulation of journalists. Specifically, it focuses on ombudsmen, that were established by the Czech public media - Czech Radio and Czech Tv, between the years 2016 and 2018. It compares these ombudsmen with their counterparts in other countries, where they face the progressing phasing out of this role in newsroom. This thesis will first try to establish and describe the theory of ethics and morals and their impact on the history and evolution of media ethics. This Thesis will also mention the historical role of ombudsmen in United states, Europe and other parts of the world. The role of ombudsmen in the newsroom and their relationship will then be compared to the emerging relationship of press and social media, who also serve as alternatives to mainstream media. The practical part of this thesis will focus on interviewing both ombudsmen currently working in Czech media, the executive directors who were the main push for establishing them, and two journalists from United States, who were public editors just a few years ago and who will talk about their experience with the job.

Managing digital conversations: Municipal moderation on social platforms The aim of this study is to examine how Swedish municipalities relate to moderation practices on social media. The study is based on qualitative interviews with ten communicators within nine Swedish municipalities, which varied in size and in geographical location. The empiricism has then been coded, themed and analyzed through a thematic analysis. The analysis is supported by a theoretical framework that consists of theories relating to the municipal sector, the communicative conditions of the municipality and the municipality on social media.  The result shows that all municipalities use manual moderation, and in two cases a technical moderation tool has also been implemented. The moderation practices are affected by resources and by how the social media work is prioritized compared to other work tasks. The study also shows that the municipalities rely on similar guidelines in their moderation work, where comments that violate these guidelines can be deleted or hidden. However, in some cases the moderation is based on former experiences and “gut feeling” in what should be moderated. It also became clear that the municipalities mostly focuses on answering questions and reminding the commenters of keeping a good tone before applying strategies such as deleting or hiding comments. They emphasize the importance of not censoring criticism directed towards the municipality. Regarding the external and internal communication about the moderation practices, it is expressed how the internal communication consists of coordination between the communicators and other departments. This was shown in the bigger municipalities, where the responsibility for the moderation is divided. The external communication varies, in some cases the guidelines and the fact that the comment section has been moderated is communicated towards the citizens. However, in some cases it is not communicated. Further it also became clear that there are tensions between encouraging a dialogue with citizens and at the same time having control over it. In order to keep the control, the municipalities in the majority of cases adjust their social media content to precede eventual moderation. The adjustments are made according to time of publishing, tonality, place and the content in posts.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka följares attityder mot Ving, TUI och Apollos inlägg på Facebook och hur de tolkas utifrån kundlojalitet och e-lojalitet. Det undersöks även hur researrangörer uttrycker lojalitet via deras facebooksida. Kundlojalitet baseras på Olivers (1999) teori och e-lojalitet baseras på “8C’s” som har tagits fram av Srinivasan, Anderson & Ponnavolu (2002). Studien grundar sig i en netnografisk analys för att få en översikt och grundläggande kunskaper om researrangörernas kommunikation på Facebook. Analysen visar att de inlägg som publiceras har skillnader och likheter när det gäller den typ av lojalitet som researrangörerna uttrycker. TUI och Apollo fokuserar mest på konativ lojalitet till skillnad från Ving som fokuserar på affektiv lojalitet. Studien baseras även på semistrukturerade intervjuer vilket anses lämpligt för att få djupare förståelse. Teorierna tillämpas genom en mängd frågor som ställs till respondenterna under intervjuerna. Det framkommer att följarnas attityder gentemot Apollo verkar annorlunda till skillnad från attityderna mot Ving och TUI. När det gäller e-lojalitet verkar Ving och TUI uppfylla flera av de "8C" baserat på följarnas attityder. Apollo har inte visat sig lika starka på den fronten. Denna studie visar liknande resultat som tidigare forskning men de överensstämmer inte helt i alla aspekter. / The purpose of this study is to examine the follower's attitudes towards Ving, TUI and Apollos posts on Facebook and how they are interpreted based on the customer loyalty and e-loyalty. It also examines how the tour operators express loyalty through their facebookpage. The customer loyalty are based on Oliver’s (1999) theory and e-loyalty is based on the “8C’s” that have been developed by Srinivasan, Anderson & Ponnavolu (2002). The study is based on a netnographic analysis to get an overview and basic knowledge of the tour operators communication on Facebook. The analysis shows that the posts have differences and similarities in terms of loyalty to the tour operators’ words. TUI and Apollo mostly focus on the conative loyalty, unlike Ving where the focus is on affective loyalty. The study is also based on semistructured interviews which is appropriate in order to gain a deeper understanding. The theories are applied through a variety of questions that have been asked to the respondents during their interviews. It appears that customers' attitudes towards Apollo appear to be different from the attitudes towards Ving and TUI. About e-loyalty, Ving and TUI seem to fulfill several of the "8C’s" based on the customers attitudes. Apollo has not proved that they are as strong as the other two. This study shows a similar result as the previous studies but they don't fully agree in all aspects.

Social media has become a natural part of modern society and consumers expect to be able to tailor their online experience, their interaction with other consumers and their media intake. With the rise of digital social platforms, traditional media companies are facing a new media landscape in which they can no longer maintain traditional distribution methods but instead must rely on external actors. Through a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews, document analysis and participatory observations, this study examines the given situation and how traditional media companies can leverage opportunities and challenges of digital social platforms whose development they have limited control over. The study suggests that the challenges of digital social platforms cannot be eliminated due to the differentiating goals between traditional media companies and social media actors, however, with the implementation of sensitizing concepts, they can be minimized. Thus, resulting in an applicable leveraging process which can be used regardless of the current media landscape.

På senare år har filterbubblor blivit ett välkänt begrepp som syftar på de bubblor av innehåll som användare slängs in i på sociala medier. I dessa bubblor finns en oro för att inlägg är ensidiga och kan stänga in oss i bland annat politiska åsikter. Filterbubblor anses därför av många bidra till en ökad polarisering, inte bara på grund av de inlägg som faktiskt visas för oss, utan även de inlägg som algoritmen väljer att inte visa på vårt nyhetsflöde. Trots att medvetenheten kring filterbubblor ökat, finns inte många studier på hur vägen mot en filterbubbla ser ut. För det första förser vi i denna rapport genom ett kvantitativt experiment, användare av sociala plattformar med en tydligare bild av hur filterbubblans livscykel ser ut, det vill säga hur lång tid det tar att hamna i en filterbubbla, och hur användare kan ta sig ur den. För det andra testar vi de teorier och de metodologiska svårigheterna i tidigare forskning kring hur användare potentiellt kan ta sig ur, eller byta filterbubbla. Vårt resultat visar att det går snabbt att komma in i en filterbubbla, medans att ta sig ur filterbubblan eller byta filterbubbla visa sig vara svårare än vad vi trodde och därför kräver mer tid. Eftersom det inte finns tidigare forskning på hur en filterbubbla ser ut eller när man kan räkna det som en filterbubbla så har vi  utifrån vårt egna experiments resultat, skapat ett mått för just detta. / In recent years, filter bubbles have become a well-known concept that refers to the bubbles of content that users throw in on social media. In these bubbles there is a concern that posting is one-sided and can shut us down in, among other things, political opinions. Filter bubbles are therefore considered by many to contribute to increased polarization, not only because of the posts that are actually displayed to us, but also the posts that the algorithm chooses not to display on our news feed. Although awareness of filter bubbles has increased, there are not many studies on what the path to a filter bubble looks like. Firstly, in a quantitative experiment, we provide users of social platforms with a clearer picture of what the filter bubble's life cycle looks like, i.e. how long it takes to end up in a filter bubble, and how users can get out of it. Secondly, we test the theories and methodological difficulties in previous research on how users can potentially get out, or change the filter bubble. Our results show that it is easy to get into a filter bubble, but getting out of the filter bubble or changing the filter bubble turns out to be more difficult than we thought and requires more time. Since there is no previous research on what a filter bubble looks like or when you can count it as a filter bubble we have based on the results of our own experiment created a measure for just this.

The aim of this study is to compare how transmedia narrative transportation theory (TNT) can be used on social plattform by influencers to how they are doing it. Social platforms are a relatively new phenomenon that is constant evolving both technical and how it´s used by the society. It therefore needs more and deeper research on the subject for increased and broader understanding. Our study investigates solely social platforms where the TNT theory has not previously been implemented.  During the studies we used a netnographic approach to observe two influencers who uses different types of social media platforms to connect with stakeholders in different ways. Our aim of this study is to answer the question “How do influencers use social platforms and can it compare to TNT in their interactions with stakeholders and what value this generate?”.  What our study reveals is that social platforms with their design and several functions creates a space for communication and interaction, which is a basis for influencers to achieve stakeholder engagement and co-creation of meaning. Both influencers who we observed during the study, works with social platforms in a way that can be compared to how TNT is used. Our study also shows that an influencer with a storyworld that share stories with a clearer start, climax and ending, generate more stakeholder engagement.