Social Media Response to MNsure Website and its Implications for Businesses

Poster presentation given at Writing Studies' 2017 Spring Research ShowcaseAs part of Web 2.0, social media has allowed for more complex, multifaceted communication (Bythe, Laur & Curran, 2014). The “user generated content” trend in the communication field has caused social media websites to become more popular than other non-participatory websites (Lim, 2016). Social media has many benefits, including increased civic engagement among users (Olssen, 2016) and the sheer volume in which responses are posted. However, many businesses in the United States have not yet realized the potential in utilizing social media to benefit their company. According to Hurley and Hea (2014), one of the major concerns related to social media is representation management, which means that businesses must realize that the way in which their brand is represented online will have an effect on customer opinion of the brand. By analyzing the specific case of the MNsure health insurance website, one is able to see the importance of social media responses and what can happen when companies disregard them

WHAT DO EDITORS AND THE PUBLIC WANT FROM ONLINE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS? GATEKEEPING IN SOCIAL MEDIA

In this digital era, there are many channels that have opened for the creation and distribution of information, especially under the moniker of “news.” This new wave of journalism is challenging the traditional gatekeeping role of media, especially at the community newspaper level. This study explores the theory of network gatekeeping in local news through social media, examining the role of editors and users in creating news in their community through the use of Facebook and Twitter. The key feature of this new genre is interaction, with editor using social media to identify and distribute stories through daily monitoring, crowdsourcing, and viral posts, and readers using these channels to read, share, and comment on the news of the day and to set an agenda for public discussion

Explaining consumer perspectives on mobile news services: a study in South Africa

Access to news supports the development of democratic societies. News can promote sustainable community development and encourage healthy social, political, and economic engagement. Mobile news services (MNSs) are one means to reach out to citizens to share news and provide citizens with a forum to review and voice their opinion. However, the extant of research related to technology adoption of MNSs is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a framework which articulates factors influencing the adoption of MNSs particularly by the citizens of South Africa. A review of the literature on MNSs and technology adoption helped to identify potential factors that could influence adoption. This study considers existing theoretical evidence and provides new empirical evidence, to extend current theoretical understanding. Mixed methods research supported the identification of influencing factors and relationships which support the adoption of MNSs. The resultant MNS adoption model offers new insights into the personal and social factors, attributes of adopters and attributes of MNSs influencing adoption of MNSs. The model included influencing factors such as social concerns, psychological drivers, motivators, trust sensitivities for accessing information, relative advantage and value, observability, usability, portability, immediacy, compatibility, and facilitating conditions. The identified relationships between the individual factors introduced a new perspective to the prior models of technology adoption, by highlighting connections between the social environment, the adopter, and MNSs. A pragmatic approach and statistical analysis of the data validated the relationships, and the model. The decision to adopt was found to be directly affected by sixteen interlinked factors. The findings are important to mobile service providers, designers, and developers, in their endeavour to satisfy their consumer’s needs and desires