Friday, April 4

SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok: More Than Just A Frivolous App For Lip-Syncing And Dancing – Podcast
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IN OTHER NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

TikTok: More Than Just A Frivolous App For Lip-Syncing And Dancing – Podcast

The wildly popular app TikTok started off as a platform to create musical, lip-syncing and dance videos. The pandemic helped the app grow as more and more people were searching for something to do while stuck at home. And right now, it’s not just well-loved, it’s the most downloaded app in the world.   For the most part, it’s used by people under the age of 30. TikTok is a highly addictive video sharing platform with a lot of lively music and dance videos that encourages participation and replication. Think macarena times 100 million. For many people it sounds like a frivolous waste of time. But the app has revealed itself to have more depth than initially meets the eye. TikTok can be a place to learn, become politically aware and even discover new things about yourself. Scroll...
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Why Do Influencers Have So Much Sway? The Sunwing Saga
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INFLUENCERS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Why Do Influencers Have So Much Sway? The Sunwing Saga

The story of a group of Québec influencers enjoying the “party of the year” on board a Sunwing flight in complete defiance of health restrictions made headlines at the beginning of January, not just in Québec and in Canada, but also internationally and, of course, in social media. Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the partiers “idiots.” The Sunwing saga highlighted the role of influencers, which in this case was negative, but they are still considered role models followers identify with, or whose example they want to follow. (Unsplash/Mateus Campo Felipe), CC BY-NC-ND I was particularly intrigued by this case, as my doctoral dissertation focuses on the engagement relationship between followers and influencers on social media. How do we explain how the phenomenon became so widespre...
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AI And Social Media – Automate To Liberate
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AI, CONTENT MARKETING, SOCIAL MEDIA

AI And Social Media – Automate To Liberate

These days everyone is on social media, for good or for bad. Sometimes we wish we were not - €Šthe din of the internet is even more acute on social media - Šbut brands need to be where people gather to be successful. Beside the trolling and endless unpleasantness of Twitter exchanges, it's undeniable one can connect with a lot of people at once on social media. Here's the rub: social media is noisy, and getting noisier. How can one be effective on social media when every second more than 8000 tweets are shared? Welcome to the new Alice's rabbit hole. If there must be a respite, for both the sake of sanity as well as strategy, we need new tools. Enter automation. Specifically AI-driven automation. Why AI? Classic automation is a Mechanical Turk. Not the Amazon type, but the 19th-century...
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Research Shows Content Rules On Twitter Help Preserve Free Speech From Bots And Other Manipulation – Elon Musk Is Wrong
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Research Shows Content Rules On Twitter Help Preserve Free Speech From Bots And Other Manipulation – Elon Musk Is Wrong

Elon Musk’s accepted bid to purchase Twitter has triggered a lot of debate about what it means for the future of the social media platform, which plays an important role in determining the news and information many people – especially Americans – are exposed to. Musk has said he wants to make Twitter an arena for free speech. It’s not clear what that will mean, and his statements have fueled speculation among both supporters and detractors. As a corporation, Twitter can regulate speech on its platform as it chooses. There are bills being considered in the U.S. Congress and by the European Union that address social media regulation, but these are about transparency, accountability, illegal harmful content and protecting users’ rights, rather than regulating speech. Musk’s calls for free s...
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Comments About Twitter By Elon Musk Don’t Square With The Social Media’s Platform Reality
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IN OTHER NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Comments About Twitter By Elon Musk Don’t Square With The Social Media’s Platform Reality

On April 25, 2022, Twitter’s board of directors accepted Elon Musk’s US$44 billion hostile takeover bid. Twitter’s statement announcing the deal included comments from the Tesla and SpaceX CEO: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.” The problem with Musk’s statement is that it fundamentally misunderstands speech, algorithms and bots and human authentication. As a researcher who studies social media, I believe that if anything is cause for concern about this transaction, it is this ...
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Remembering The Facebook Poke
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IN OTHER NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Remembering The Facebook Poke

What Does It Mean to Poke Someone On Facebook? Facebook has a function called poking. You will find it on the left hand side underneath the picture of the friend you wish to poke. You simply need to click on the word "Poke FirstName". Facebook will let you know what you have done just in case you clicked the button by accident. You are about to poke Donald. He will be informed of this on his home page. What is poking and what does it mean? Remember when you were a kid and you used to poke someone to get their attention? Well there are two points of view about poking on Facebook. Of course those who like and those who don't! Facebook poking can be just a simple hello, Hi I was thinking about you and just wanted to let you know. The person who dropped by your house when you were not home, ...
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The Occult On Social Media – WitchTok: The Rise Of The Occult Has Eerie Parallels With The 16th Century
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IN OTHER NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA

The Occult On Social Media – WitchTok: The Rise Of The Occult Has Eerie Parallels With The 16th Century

It’s 1.30am in the morning, and I’m about to watch a duel between magicians. One is a “demonolater”, a word I have never heard before, someone who claims they worship demons and can petition them in return for knowledge or power. The other describes themselves as a “Solomonic magician”, and claims to be able to command demons to do his bidding, as some Jewish and Islamic traditions have believed of King Solomon, who ruled Israel in the 10th century BC. I first discovered this debate because, in the course of studying 16th century books of magic attributed to Solomon, I had found, to my astonishment, that “Solomonic magic” is still alive and well today, and growing in popularity. Twitter had suggested to me that I might be interested in an account called “Solomonic magic”, and a few clicks...
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Could Elon Musk’s Plans For Twitter Make Its Misinformation Problems Worse
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Could Elon Musk’s Plans For Twitter Make Its Misinformation Problems Worse

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, acquired Twitter in a US$44 billion deal on April 25, 2022, 11 days after announcing his bid for the company. Twitter announced that the public company will become privately held after the acquisition is complete. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for his initial bid for the company, Musk stated, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.” As a researcher of social media platforms, I find that Musk’s ownership of Twitter and his stated reasons for buying the company raise important issues. Those issues stem from the nature of the social media platform and what sets it apart from others. ...
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From Friend To Frenemy
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SOCIAL MEDIA

From Friend To Frenemy

As Facebook celebrates 15 years of virtual friendship, social science has compiled an expansive body of research that documents the public’s love-hate relationship with its best frenemy. What many once viewed as a confidant has devolved into a messy codependence, mired by ambiguity and mistrust. It’s a relationship that’s both taken for granted, yet extremely high-maintenance, leaving users to wonder whether they should just move on with healthier friends. But it wasn’t always like this. Friendly beginnings At its launch, Facebook was one of the most authentic social networking partners. Existing online networks, like MySpace, had influential parent companies that chaperoned their platforms, pestering users with ads and gimmicks. But Facebook promised something different: a genuine con...
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Here’s Why Kids Love TikTok – Its A Unique Blend Of Social Media Platforms
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Here’s Why Kids Love TikTok – Its A Unique Blend Of Social Media Platforms

TikTok, a social media platform targeted at young mobile phone users, was the second-most downloaded app in the world in 2019. It was the most downloaded app in July 2020. As a political scientist who studies social media, I’ve looked at what makes TikTok unique and why young people have flocked to it. In short, the phone-only app lets users record themselves dancing or goofing around to a music or spoken-word clip and then alter the videos using a wide array of effects. Despite its superficially frivolous nature, young people have been using the platform to send political messages, coordinate political actions and hang out in an online space largely free of adults. How it works Each tiktok is a 3- to 60-second-long video that loops when finished. The majority of the screen is taken up by...
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