Leveraging Your Audience Through Social Media
Jessica Vitak | [email protected] | @jvitakCollege of Information Studies, University of MarylandWMST Summer Technology InstituteMay 28, 2014
Flickr: mikecogh
“…in general, the disparity in effort and benefit works against acceptance in many situations.” (Grudin, 1994)
Flickr: ciaoamore
Highlighting the utility of social media
Flickr: CapCase
Social Media’s Affordances
Persistence
Visibility
Editability
Association
Flickr: arahinvegas
Flickr: HarlanH
Social Capital
Flickr: Arlington County
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Social Capital Conversion
Social media use is associated with higher levels of bridging social capital
(Ellison et al., 2007, 2011, 2014; Steinfield et al., 2008, Valenzuela et al., 2009; Burke et al., 2010, 2011; Vitak, 2012; Hofer & Aubert, 2013)
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But how do we connect with those people with
whom we want to exchange resources?
Flickr: Cocoabiscuit
Defining Your Audience
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Selective self-presentationWe highlight certain aspects of our identities and minimize others; this varies based on audience.
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Why is this important? Context Collapse & Privacy Concerns
Paul Adams (2010)
Facebook isn’t just for “friend” interactions…
Rather, these networks facilitate low-cost interactions among the question-asker and social ties, as well as
interactions between “friends of friends.”
Social Media Connects Disparate Others
#ica14 network (1086 Twitter users)
#ica14 network (1086 Twitter users)
Sharing information about your work: Creates your “brand” Drives traffic to other
sites (blog, Slideshare, etc.)
Information diffusion
Ask questions & take
advantage of the large,
heterogeneous network of
users!
Thanks!
Contact Information: Jessica VitakCollege of Information Studies, UMDEmail: [email protected]: jessicavitak.comTwitter: @jvitak
