The (Social) Medium Is The Message: An Analysis of Social Media and How Social Media Success & Media Theory Align
Gewant, Jennifer F.
2016
- This project assessed how pioneering media theories, developed in an era of broadcasting to apply to radio and television use, relate to an era of narrowcasting, in which social media increasingly dominate. Social media have altered traditional ways that organizations advertise and market products, but it's not entirely clear whether their use may simply be new applications of old theories about ... read morehow audiences perceive and receive messages - even if the form of the message is more individualized and appears on a different platform. Understanding the intersection of the practical and theoretical can help marketers innovate for the future while remaining effective in their practices. Aspects of social media use can be explained through the ideas of media theorists like McLuhan, Boorstin, and Cialdini. At the center of social media marketing is an attempt of a brand to form a relationship with a consumer. To achieve this, businesses put out content to foster this relationship. They also receive content, which is an opportunity to listen to their consumers and demonstrate customer service. In my analysis, I sought to find out if social media could be seen as a sustainable media outlet for the exchange of information and entertainment through it’s connection to traditional media theories. Why is there an information boom, in which content is created by users and put on the web to share with a wide net of every day? And why does the information boom respond so positively to the infiltration of social media in our society. McLuhan argued that “the medium is the message,” and I also question which of the following is more important: the act of being on the medium of social media itself, or simply the message, or the content that is placed on social media?read less
- ID:
- ht24ww37f
- Component ID:
- tufts:sd.0000392
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
