This thesis examines the utilization behaviour of Sina Weibo by environmental NGOs within China. Within this thesis, qualitative research is being performed in relation to the utilzation of the...Show moreThis thesis examines the utilization behaviour of Sina Weibo by environmental NGOs within China. Within this thesis, qualitative research is being performed in relation to the utilzation of the different communicative aspects of Sina Weibo by several contemporary Chinese environmental NGOs. This is done through the emperical analysis of micro-blogposts. In addition, these results are furthermore examined within the context of China's specific socio-poltical environment and in relation to their associated dynamics.Show less
This thesis finds that to a certain extent, social media news consumption has contributed to mass political polarisation in the United States between 2006 and 2016. The thesis is divided into four...Show moreThis thesis finds that to a certain extent, social media news consumption has contributed to mass political polarisation in the United States between 2006 and 2016. The thesis is divided into four chapters to come to this conclusion. In the first chapter, multiple forms of political polarisation are scrutinised by means of a model. Secondly, literature on the topic is put in relation and context with each other. In the third chapter, attention is devoted to polarising mechanisms of Facebook and Twitter. In the last chapter, other possible causes of mass polarisation in the United States are related to social media news consumption as a cause.Show less
After the Arab Spring, social media have been attributed great potential for democratization and enhanced political accountability, which has raised hopes for Africa’s stagnant democracies....Show moreAfter the Arab Spring, social media have been attributed great potential for democratization and enhanced political accountability, which has raised hopes for Africa’s stagnant democracies. Research is, however, inconclusive on whether this potential is seized and what this means in practice. Moreover, no research on political accountability in Africa has used social media as a primary source yet. Therefore I have studied the everyday Nigerian political accountability dynamics on social media as participant observer for 75 days. The observations exhibited four important shifts in accountability dynamics on social media away from traditional, offline accountability practices. First, social media has created an incessant and two-directional accountability cycle in which citizens find a unified voice through hashtags and the government replies to accountability demands instantly. Secondly, social media facilitate the traditionally much sought proximity between citizens and their leaders, as a channel for complaining, reassurance and interaction. Third, clientelist accountability dynamics have shifted from only demands for private and club goods, to mostly demands for collective and public goods, despite some deviations. Lastly, social media also allowed for slacktivism, but this did not inhibit the success of one online campaign. These shifts are significant, as they strengthen political accountability and thus democracy, even though the limits of the impact of online accountability and its meaning to the average Nigerian put the democratizing powers of social media in perspective. The observations nevertheless highlight the new opportunities and new dimensions to traditional accountability in Nigeria, and possibly Africa, enabled and channelled by social media.Show less
The aim of this paper was to find out how Adidas and Nike behave on Twitter regarding both product advertising, communication with their community, and retention of customers through events,...Show moreThe aim of this paper was to find out how Adidas and Nike behave on Twitter regarding both product advertising, communication with their community, and retention of customers through events, celebrity interaction and motivational content. Primary focus is on the language contained in tweets published in January 2015 gathered from 12 company Twitter accounts. These Twitter accounts were chosen based on their monthly activity and include the main brand Twitter. We processed the dat into an all-encompassing database of our own design. The database is split up in three sections: tweet information, tweet content category and language features allowing for an easy overview. It contains information on what the type of the tweet is, what the content is classified as, who is included in the tweet, what is linked in the tweet , what its hashtags are as well as the language features that it contains. From this we analysed eight different content and language features: hashtags, Twitter account types, tweet categories, formality, genre, emphasis, phrasing and patterns. This lead to insights in the advertising strategies that these companies employ as well as their attitude towards their followers (their customers). We came across the following results: strenuous collaboration with celebrities to advertise products, use of descriptive language for product advertising, short, quote-like positive messages for inspirational messages, and personal responses for certain (community-based) twitter accounts. There is much use of a similar formula when constructing messages across all of the accounts affiliated to the same company. They furthermore reinforce themselves through the repetitive use of hashtags and phrases, meant to make tweets easily recognizable. Both companies show adaptation to new media: using Twitter as a base with customers choosing to follow them and then redirecting them to their website, using links to YouTube, and including pictures or videos directly in the tweets. We expect that further investigation (with a larger database, either due to increasing the included accounts or increasing the time of documentation) will give an even greater overview of the strategies employed by Adidas and Nike. There is potential for further expansion to include various other new media sites. An analysis of YouTube clips, focusing on word choice may also prove very insightful.Show less
De functie van sociale media bij breaking news van televisie is onderzocht in een casus toegespitst op het verslag van de NOS en RTL Nieuws omtrent MH17. De rol van sociale media is onderzocht op...Show moreDe functie van sociale media bij breaking news van televisie is onderzocht in een casus toegespitst op het verslag van de NOS en RTL Nieuws omtrent MH17. De rol van sociale media is onderzocht op basis van de functies die worden gegeven uit eerder onderzoek (Broersma & Graham, 2012) en geconstrueerde functies gebaseerd op een onderzoek dat breaking news definieert (Berkowitz, 1992). Daaruit is gebleken dat bestaande functies voor het analyseren van sociale media niet toereikend zijn. De geconstrueerde functies die herleid zijn uit een definiërend onderzoek met betrekking tot breaking news zijn in deze casus wel bruikbaar bij het analyseren van sociale media bij breaking news op televisie.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
"Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest number of social media users. However, social media is mainly used in Indonesia (even by politicians) to spread defamation, rumors, and gossip....Show more"Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest number of social media users. However, social media is mainly used in Indonesia (even by politicians) to spread defamation, rumors, and gossip. This is inter alia confirmed by the many anonymous social media accounts only spreading defamation. Rumors and gossip, as well as technology such as mobile phones with cameras and social media, can be seen as means to bridge the gulf between the private practice and the public discourse. With the rise of technological developments available in Indonesia - such as phones with cameras, smartphones, Web 2.0 and thus social media - there appeared an increase of cases in which Indonesian politicians are discredited with their private (sexual) behavior. In this thesis of mine, I will elaborate on this trend of discrediting politicians with sex scandals via social media in Indonesia. What does this trend tell us about Indonesian society? What does it say about democracy, law, morality and Islam in Indonesia’s society? With an eye to answering these questions, with the first being my main question, I would first like to introduce and elaborate a bit upon a few topics that I will be using in my thesis when answering my main question, such as social media. Then I will continue with a chapter in which I will introduce a few case studies of sex scandals that happened in Indonesia. The subsequent chapters will be about topics concerning aspects of the Indonesian society: one chapter about democracy, one about law, and one about morality and Islam. Lastly, I will conclude and answer the main question in the conclusion."Show less
This study aim at providing an answer to the core research question “What is the role of Twitter in the conduct of public diplomacy in The Netherlands?” On the basis of qualitative interviews with...Show moreThis study aim at providing an answer to the core research question “What is the role of Twitter in the conduct of public diplomacy in The Netherlands?” On the basis of qualitative interviews with foreign diplomats and experts on public diplomacy in The Netherlands, it was discovered that they use Twitter as a tool for providing the local communities with information about the advocated countries and their foreign policies. The foreign officials also employ Twitter to address certain members of the Dutch general public, attract their attention to specific topics and engage in discussions with them to enhance their perceptions of the represented states. The conducted content analysis of the Tweets posted by diplomats from the Embassy of Ecuador, the Embassy of Poland, the Embassy of Sweden, and the Embassy of the USA to the Netherlands also demonstrated that they post direct Tweets and personal messages concerning important topics to engage with the foreign publics. However, it is also found that only a small number of them use the language of the local community members, namely Dutch, to disseminate information about their foreign policies. Some of the interviewees explained that they translate only content that is relevant to the Dutch audiences in Dutch. Nevertheless, to engage in more debates with the local communities and enhance their understanding and image of the represented countries, it is recommended that foreign diplomats should provide all messages on Twitter in the language of the host state. Thus, they can use it as an effective tool for accomplishing their public diplomacy goals.Show less
This master thesis looks at the impact of participation in Social Networking Sites (SNSs) by voters on their voting decisions during the Dutch parliamentary elections in 2012. Both the use and...Show moreThis master thesis looks at the impact of participation in Social Networking Sites (SNSs) by voters on their voting decisions during the Dutch parliamentary elections in 2012. Both the use and activity on SNSs are compared with the decision to participate in the elections and the moment a voter had decided for a party and person. The quantative analysis of a survey among train travelers and SNS users showed interesting results, but could not support the hypotheses that increased use relates to increased electoral participation. On the other hand, SNS use showed a strong significant positive correlation with the delayed choice for a party and person. SNS activity showed a strong significant positive correlation with a delayed choice for a person only. But, in the presence of stronger influences with multiple control variables the significance of the correlation disappeared, while the coefficient still remained positive. Other political communication variables like traditional media and face-to-face discussions did not show significant relationships with delayed decisions. Some of these results are interesting because they suggest that the use of SNSs has a certain impact on the decision making process of citizens during elections. A more extensive research may reveil the impact on a wider scale and must focus on specific causes of the impact, like content and specific political communication.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
2012-07-30T00:00:00Z
This thesis investigates the role of new media on the revolutionary movement(s) in Egypt. Investigated time spam is the birth of the first small revolutionary movements in 2004 – when the...Show moreThis thesis investigates the role of new media on the revolutionary movement(s) in Egypt. Investigated time spam is the birth of the first small revolutionary movements in 2004 – when the revolutionary spark of the Colored Revolutions of Eastern Europe first crossed the Mediterranean Sea – till the historic “18 days” of 2011 which resulted in former president Hosni Mubarak resigning from office. Central argument is that the so-called "New Media" – i.e. pan-Arab satellite-TV and social media – represent but also contribute to and facilitate these social developments. Al-Jazeera and other pan-Arab satellite-TV channels have changed the way the Arab public view social and political events in their own region and have given them a voice of their own. These channels provide digital activists with a platform and break through the monopoly of state-controlled news. New Media played an indispensable role in connecting people and places, transforming loose activists into organized groups, and finally bringing the masses to the streets resulting eventually in the fall of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak. This research is a cross-over of several fields of study including political science, communication studies and international relations. Itapplies political theories on social movements (Tilly et al) and modular revolutions (Beissinger et al), as well as Katz and Lazarsfield’s theory on the two-step process of opinion formation and several theories on media and democratization.Show less
