so this is mass communication?

Everyone loves a list … so here is one for you, names in no particular order.

These are the folks I see as the leading scholars in communication fields actively doing research on various forms of social media. That means more than one article. These folks have research programs surrounding social media in communication. 

• Denise Bortree. Though she’s a PR professor, most of her social media research examines how teenage girls present themselves and negotiate identity in social media spaces. 
• Walter Carl. Dr. Word of Mouth, need I say more?
• Tom Johnson and Barbara Kaye. This political communication research duo started looking at the Internet as a political information source in 1998 & have moved into blogs over the past few years. Mostly focusing on use as an information source or credibility, their research is always top-notch. 
• Tom Kelleher. He published what I’m pretty sure was the first piece on social media in PR literature with his blogs as relationship strategy piece in 2006.  And yes, he’s even literally written the text book for online PR. Keep an eye out on Public Relations Review for more of his work. 
• Lance Porter. He started with looking at how simple online tools made public relations practitioners more powerful and promotable in their organizations then went full scale social media with his research. He’s a great bridge of advertising and PR efforts, and has a pretty impressive civilian resume having been the executive director for Internet marketing at Disney.
• Monica Postelnicu. From jibjab to YouTube, a lot of Monica’s work focuses on user-generated viral political videos. She has also looked at the use of MySpace and other social media tools in politics.
• Trent Seltzer. He rocked the AEJMC PR division when his paper on blogs in PR won an award back in the day & has since published articles on social media in PR.
• Mihaela Vorvoreanu. Looking through the lens of usability, Mihaela’s makes recommendations for how organizations can create rich interactive experiences for their publics online. 

Ahhh. There’s nothing better than something provocative with a bit of profanity splashed in, wouldn’t you say? It’s not often that I find a powerpoint that I understand well without the benefit of hearing it presented or find good enough to share with others. Then Todd Defren linked to this one!

 

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I love the simplicity here juxtaposing social media adoption numbers with the usefulness & impact of traditional adverstising.

Even so, I think it is a bit of cyber hyperbole to say that social media is more important than advertising. Or that if you’re not on social media then you are not on the Internet. And, to be fair, sometimes the numbers are actually comparing apples & oranges.

But I get it.

You need to make these big statements to get attention.

But there is a catch. The people who believe these big statements about the dominance of social media are likely already immersed in the technology. Those to whom these broad statements are aimed are likely to discount such grandiose statements.

In the end, though, I’m a sucker for the numbers & it is so simple that it can’t help but be provocative. 

If you haven’t, take a spin through the presentation. It’s worth the time.