Leveraging Your Audience Through Social Media

Jessica Vitak | jvitak@umd.edu | @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)

Tools to optimize your audience

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Flickr: lupinoduck

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: jvitak@umd.eduWebsite: jessicavitak.comTwitter: @jvitak