The role of memes in the construction of Facebook personae

Abstract

This research is based on the assumption that social media sites – such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – have changed the way in which memes (culturally transmitted ideas) are transmitted or spread. It is argued that social media have provided the most fertile environment for the replication of memes to date. The social networking site Facebook is the main social media example used throughout the research. The way in which Facebook is represented in film, as well as the ways in which the offline lives of the characters are affected by their social media profiles, specifically as depicted in the film Catfish (Joost and Schulman 2010) are analysed. Lastly, it is argued that one can construct an entirely new persona, or merely experiment with different aspects of who you are, on social media sites. This online persona can be influenced by the memes one chooses to spread online. Naturally, all memes carry connotations, values and judgements. These memes collate with one's profile and, thus, the connotations attached to the memes one shares are then associated with one's online persona/profile. It is found that although a social networking user tries to portray him/herself in an idealised manner, these memetic connotations give a true impression of his/her offline persona. As a result, there is not much difference between the user's online and offline personae.     

Hacia una ubicación conceptual de Internet como medio de comunicación

The academic field of communications continues to face several challenges related to its disciplinary development. From an epistemological perspective, the definition of its object of study presents a still unfinished conceptual elaboration which would have made possible a more solid reflection vis-á-vis the new technologies that enable communicative acts in the framework of the media. This article seeks to provide elements that may strengthen this category in view of the Internet as an innovation that offers unprecedented possibilities for interactive communication not only due to the space-time compression it entails, but also to the rhizome structures through which information flows. It argues that the Internet is a communications media with unknown possibilities for expression and dissemination, based mainly on the social uses of hypertextual foundation which facilitates the operation of one of the most frequently used communication environments: the World Wide Web.     

Five Stars and a Cricket. Beppe Grillo Shakes Italian Politics

The article focuses on a new political player: the Five Star Movement led by the comedian Beppe Grillo. The party lies at the junction between different organisational models and conceptions of democracy: it combines an online and an offline presence; it has ‘horizontal’ structural elements, but a top-down decision-making process; it is positioned ‘beyond’ ideologies, while its electorate comes from various political families. The work considers the history, message, leader, organisation and electoral base of the movement, as well as the political opportunity structure that facilitated its growth in 2012 and the challenges it faces in the delicate phase of institutionalisation.     

Do Online Election Campaigns Win Votes? The 2007 Australian “YouTube” Election

Studies of Web use during elections have focused mainly on the content of Web sites and on the major factors driving parties' and candidates' adoption of the technology. Evaluations of the electoral impact of Web campaigns have been more limited. This article examines the nature and extent of Web use by voters and parties in the 2007 Australian federal election, focusing particularly on the consequences of Web 2.0 campaigning for candidate vote share. The findings show differing levels of commitment to older and newer e-campaigning technology across parties and their supporters and significant electoral advantages are associated with minor parties candidates using Web 2.0 campaign tools. The results confirm existing studies' findings about the impact of Web campaigns on contemporary elections, but that these effects are moderated by the type of Web tools used and party using them.     

Voting Advice Applications and Electoral Participation: A Multi-Method Study

Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) help users casting a vote by offering an explicit ranking of viable options. The wide amount of readily available information provided by VAAs to users has been shown to contribute to reducing the transactional costs involved in gathering relevant political information. Available evidence also supports the idea that VAA users are more likely to cast a ballot in elections as a result. The extent to which electoral participation is caused by using a VAA, however, remains unclear. Against this background, we reassess the mobilizing effect of VAAs by means of a multi-method approach. Our cross-sectional analysis of 12 national election study data sets provides further support to the idea that VAA usage increases users’ chances of casting a ballot in elections as compared to non-users. This conclusion is strengthened by the results of a randomized field experiment conducted in the context of the 2013 Italian parliamentary election.     

American E-Government at the Crossroads

Abstract

This article reports analyses, findings, conclusions and implications about the first U.S. survey of Web sites of 223 major American cities with populations of 100,000 or more. The national survey sought to provide one of the most comprehensive reviews of, and current and future implications regarding, Web site uses by major cities as well as optimal uses by features and user benefits. It made concrete suggestions for future uses of governmental Web-strategy development. Completed in June 2001, the study sought particularly to evaluate how American cities are incorporating online services into their constituency services. Analyses and findings indicated that many major U.S. cities were advancing their e-gov-ernment initiatives and virtually all cities acknowledged the importance of a basic Web presence. However, a large gap still remained between current practice and Optimal, Ml online potential.     

The 2000 E-Campaign for U.S. Senate

Abstract

The 2000 election saw another increase in the number of Web sites produced by candidates for the U.S. Senate, to over 90% for the major party candidates and nearly 60% for third-party candidates. A content analysis of these campaign Web sites finds an increase in design elements that advance campaign purposes, such as online and credit card contributions. At the same time, few features or services were directed to the mass electorate. The absence of voter registration information and privacy policies from the large majority of Web sites is particularly striking. Sites often lacked basic navigation tools, making it difficult to find desired information. They also took little advantage of the interactivity that makes Web sites such a powerful communication and marketing tool. Third-party candidate Web sites lagged behind those of Democrats and Republicans in most respects, with the notable exceptions of mentioning their party names and the candidates at the tops of their tickets. The study concludes that campaign Web sites have not leveled the playing field for third parties, nor become a vehicle for increasing voter education and activation of the mass electorate. Neither are these Web sites employing a relationship     

Web革命与教育创新

进入21世纪，知识经济迅猛发展，国际竞争日趋激烈，科学技术进步日新月异，教育创新压力与日俱增。网络随经济、技术、理念的巨大进步，终至掀起Web革命的滔天巨浪并迅即席卷全球。从物质、技术，到思想、文化以及社会、生活，Web革命影响无所不在；教育作为现代社会的必要组成部分，受Web革命的冲击也正日益显著。追随Web革命的浪潮推动教育积极创新因而成为教育改革与发展的前沿课题。     

Web2.0及其对图书馆服务的影响

随着Web2.0的出现,信息的生产、组织和传播方式发生了根本改变.Web2.0具有的开放性、交互性、相关性和个性化的特点及其在图书馆的表现形式和应用,更新了图书馆服务理念,创新了图书馆服务模式,改善了服务手段,拓展了服务内容.     

基于Web2．0的数字图书馆核心竞争力研究

Web2．0是2003年之后互联网的热门概念之一，Web2．0的核心思想是服务，而非软件。运用Web2．0的核心思想，树立以用户为中心的思想，利用Web2．0的理念及技术提高数字图书馆的核心竞争力。