User Perceptions of Social Media: A Comparative Study of Perceived Characteristics and User Profiles by Social Media

Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted 1 *, Moonhee Cho 2, Sangwon Lee 3
More Detail
1 University of Florida, USA
2 University of South Florida, USA
3 Kyunghee University, Korea
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 3, Issue 4, pp. 149-178. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2451
OPEN ACCESS   12897 Views   13746 Downloads   Published online: 25 Oct 2013
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Despite the proliferation of social media and the widespread adoption of these diverse communication tools, there is a lack of studies that conceptualize the characteristics of social media as perceived by users and compare the perceived characteristics or benefits of different social media types. This study examines the user perceptions of six main groups of social media—blogs, micro-blogs, social networks, wikis, forums, and content communities—on five dimensions: participation, commonality, connectedness, conversationality, and openness. User profiles are also investigated to assess the role of demographics and usage in such perceptions. The results of a national consumer panel survey show that different social media applications are perceived differently and social media usage patterns, gender, and age affect these perceptions.
Keywords: Social media, user perceptions, perceived characteristics

CITATION

Chan-Olmsted, S. M., Cho, M., & Lee, S. (2013). User Perceptions of Social Media: A Comparative Study of Perceived Characteristics and User Profiles by Social Media. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 3(4), 149-178. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2451

REFERENCES

  • Baker, J. R., & Moore, S. M. (2008). Distress, coping, and blogging: Comparing new Myspace users by their intention to blog. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(1), 81-85.
  • Ballard, C., & Prine, R. (2002). Citizen perceptions of community policing: Comparing Internet and mail survey responses. Social Science Computer Review, 20, 485-493.
  • Barker, V. (2009). Older adolescents' motivations for social network site use: The influence of gender, group identity, and collective self-esteem. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 209-213.
  • Barnes, C. (2009). Social networking: Not just for youngsters anymore. Bar Leader, 33(3), 19.
  • Bernoff, J., Pflaum, C. N., & Bowen, E. (2008). The growth of social technology adoption. Forrester Research Report, Cambridge, MA.
  • Boulos, M. N. K., Maramba, I., & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis, blogs and podcasts: A new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC Medical Education, 6:41.
  • Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 210-230.
  • Burgoon, J.K., Bonito, J.A., Bengtsson, B., Ramirez, A., Dunbar, N.E., & Miczo, N. (2000). Testing the interactivity model: Processes, partner assessments, and the quality of collaborative work. Journal of Management Information Systems,16(3), 33–56.
  • Cebeci, Z., & Tekdal, M. (2006). Using podcasts as audio learning objects. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects, 2, 47-57.
  • Corbett, P. (January 5, 2009). 2009 Facebook demographics and statistics report: 276% Growth in 35-54 year old users. iStrategyLabs. Retrieved January 2, 2010, from http://www.istrategylabs.com/2009/01/2009-facebook-demographics-and-statisticsreport-276-growth-in-35-54-year-old-users/
  • Drury, G. (2008). Opinion piece: Social media: Should marketers engage and how can it be done effectively? Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 9, 274-277.
  • Dykeman, D. (February 9, 2008). How do you define social media? Broadcasting Brain. Retrieved from October 9, 2009, from http://broadcasting-brain.com/2008/02/09/howdo-you-define-social-media/
  • Eisenberg, B. (November 7, 2008). Understanding and aligning the value of social media. Future Now. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/11/07/understanding-and-aligning-the-value-ofsocial-media/
  • Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook ‗‗friends‖: Social capital and college students‘ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168.
  • eMarketer (January 18, 2011). Facebook drives US social network ad spending past $3 billion in 2011. Retrieved Januaey 12, 2013, from http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008180
  • Emigh, W., & Herring, S. C. (2005). Collaborative authoring on the web: A genre analysis of online encyclopedias. Proceedings of the 38th Hawai‘i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-38). Los Alamitos: IEEE Press. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~herring/wiki.pdf
  • Ha, L., & James, E. L. (1998). Interactivity reexamined: A baseline analysis of early business Web sites. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42(4), 456-473.
  • Hargittai, E. (2007). Whose space? Differences among users and non-users of social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 276-297.
  • The Huffington Post (October 4, 2012). Facebook has 1 billion users, Mark Zuckerberg announces in a status update. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/facebook-1-billionusers_n_1938675.html?utm_hp_ref=technology
  • Java, A., Song, X., Finin, T., & Tseng, B. (August, 2007). Why we twitter: Understanding microblogging usage and communities. Proceedings of the Joint 9th WEBKDD and 1st SNA-KDD Workshop 2007.
  • Joiner, R., Gavin, J., Duffield, J., Brosnan, M., Crook, C., Durndell, A., Maras, P., Miller, J., Scott, A. J., & Lovatt, P. (2005). Gender, internet identification, and internet anxiety: Correlates of internet use. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(4), 371-378.
  • Koh, J. & Kim, D. (2004) Knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An e-business perspective. Expert Systems with Applications, 26(2), 155–166.
  • Langdridge, D. (2004). Introduction to research methods and data analysis in psychology. Harlow, England: Pearson Prentice Hall.
  • Larrumbide, A. (September 25, 2008). Cone finds that Americans expect companies to have a presence in social media. Cone Business in Social Media Research. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.coneinc.com/content1182
  • Lee, R. M., Draper, M., & Lee, S. (2001). Social connectedness, dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors, and psychological distress: Testing a mediator model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48(3), 310-318.
  • Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (1998). The relationship between social connectedness and anxiety, self-esteem, and social identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45(3), 338-345.
  • Lipsman, A. (June 4, 2009). Huffington post defies expectations, reaches new heights postelection. ComScore. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://blog.comscore.com/2009/06/huffington_post_visitors.html
  • Liu, Y. (2003). Developing a scale to measure the interactivity of websites. Journal of Advertising Research, 43(2), 207–216.
  • Liu, Y. & Shrum, L. J. (2002). What is interactivity and is it always such a good thing? Implications of definition, person, and situation for the influence of interactivity on advertising effectiveness. Journal of Advertising, 31(4), 53-64.
  • Marchese, J. (June 5, 2007). Defining social media. Media Post. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=61442
  • Marshall, J. (December 21, 2009). Most visited web site and most searched term in 2009? ClickZ. Retrieved January 2, 2010, from http://www.clickz.com/3635954
  • Mayfield, A. (2008). What is social media? iCrossing. Retrieved August 25, 2009, from www.icrossing.co.uk/.../What_is_Social_Media_iCrossing_ebook.pdf
  • Meadows-Klue, D. (2007). Falling in love 2.0: Relationship marketing for the Facebook generation. Journal of Direct, Data & Digital Marketing Practice, 9, 245-250.
  • Miller, C. C. (August 25, 2009). Who‘s driving Twitter‘s popularity? Not teens. New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html?_r=1
  • Myers, S. A., Knox, R. L., Pawlowski, D. R., & Ropog, B. L. (1999). Perceived communication openness and functional communication skills among organizational peers. Communication Reports, 12, 71-83.
  • Nail, J. (January 12, 2009). Social media in 2009: A tale of two futures. Public Relations Tactics. Retrieved September 8, 2009, from http://www.prsa.org/SearchResults/view/7765/105/Social_media_in_2009_A_tale_of _two_futures
  • Nielsen (March 9, 2009). Global faces and networked places: A Nielsen report on social networking‘s new global footprint. The Nielsen Company. Retrieved January 9, 2010, from blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp.../nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf
  • Ostrow, A. (July 28, 2009). Number of social networking users has doubled since 2007. Mashable.com. Retrieved January 3, 2010, from http://mashable.com/2009/07/28/social-networking-users-us/
  • Paine, K. D. (2009). How to set benchmarks in social media: Exploratory research for social media, lessons learned. Paper presented the 12th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.
  • Pew Research Center (December 22, 2003). America‘s online pursuits. Retrieved March 16, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2003/Americas-Online-Pursuits.aspx
  • Pew Research Center (November 2, 2005). Teen content creators and consumers. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2005/Teen-ContentCreators-and-Consumers.aspx
  • Pew Research Center (January 7, 2007). Social networking websites and teens. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Social-NetworkingWebsites-and-Teens.aspx
  • Pew Research Center (January, 2009). Adults and social network websites. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/Adults-and-SocialNetwork-Websites/1-Summary-of-findings/One-third-of-American-adult-internetusers-have-a-profile-on-an-online-social-network-site.aspx?r=1
  • Pew Research Center (February 3, 2010). Social media and young adults. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-YoungAdults.aspx
  • Pfeil, U., Zaphiris, P., & Ang, C. S. (2006). Cultural differences in collaborative authoring of Wikipedia. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(1), 88-113.
  • Pilch, C. (February 16, 2009). Social media marketing and web 2.0: What are they, and how can they help you bring in more business. Business West. Retrieved September 8, 2009, from http://businesswest.com/details.asp?id=1916
  • Raacke, J., & Bonds-Raacke, J. (2008). MySpace and Facebook: Applying the uses andgratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 11(2), 169–174.
  • Rafaeli, S. (1988). Interactivity From new media to communication. In Hawkins, R., Wiemann, J. M., & Pingree, S. (1988). Advancing communication science: Merging mass and interpersonal processes. Sage annual reviews of communication research, v. 16. (pp. 110-134), Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications.
  • Rogers, D. P. (1987). The development of a measure of perceived communication openness. The Journal of Business Communication, 24(4), 53-61.
  • Ross, C., Orr, E. S., Sisic, M., Arseneault, J. M., Simmering, M. G., & Orr, R. R. (2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 578–586.
  • Rowley, J. (2004). Just another channel? Marketing communications in e-business. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 22(1), 24-41.
  • Safko, L., & Brake, D. K. (2009). The social media bible: Tactics, tools, and strategies for business success. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Schonlau, M., Fricker Jr., R. D., & Elliott, M. N. (2002). Conducting Research Surveys via Email and the Web. Arlington: VA: RAND Publications.
  • Sharma, P. (November 28, 2008). Core characteristics of web 2.0 services. TechPluto. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://www.techpluto.com/web-20-services/
  • Stafford, L., Kline, S. K., & Dimmick, J. (1999). Home e-mail: Relational maintenance and gratification opportunities. Journal of Broadcast and Electronic Media, 43(4), 659- 669.
  • Stelzner, M. A. (2009). Social media marketing industry report: How marketers are using social media to grow their businesses. WhitePaperSource.com. Retrieved October 29, 2009, from http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/report/
  • Stephen, A. T., & Galak, J. (2009). The complementary roles of traditional and social media in driving marketing performance. Social Science Research Network. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1480088
  • Steuer, J. (1992). Defining virtual reality: Dimensions determining telepresence. Journal of Communication, 42(4), 73-93.
  • Teixeira, R.A. (1992) The disappearing American voter. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
  • Thomas, M. J. W. (2002). Learning within in coherent structures: The space of online discussion forums. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18, 351-366.
  • Universal McCann (2008). Power to the people: Social media tracker Wave 3. Retrieved October 30, 2009, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/25109686/International-Social-Media-Research-Wave-3
  • Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is there social capital in a social network site? Facebook use, and college students‘ life satisfaction, trust, and participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875–901.
  • Van Grove, J. (March 18, 2010). What social media users want. Mashable.com. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from http://mashable.com/2010/03/18/social-media-sites-data/
  • Viégas, F. B., Wattenberg, M., & Dave, K. (2004). Studying cooperation and conflict between authors with history flow visualizations. In E. Dykstra-Erickson & M. Tscheligi (Eds.), Proceedings from ACM CHI 2004 Conference on Human Factors in Computing System (pp. 575–582). Vienna, Austria. Retrieved March 18, 2010, from http://web.media.mit.edu/~fviegas/papers/history_flow.pdf
  • Waters, R., Nuttall, C., & Gelles, D. (February 26, 2009). Sweet to tweet. The Financial Times. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5e1e10c0-043d11de-845b-000077b07658.html#axzz1DCo0jIT4
  • Wellman, B. & Gulia, M. (2003). Net surfers don‘t ride alone: Virtual communities as communities. In M. Smith & P. Kollock (Eds.) Communities in cyberspace. London: Routledge.
  • Williamson, D. A. (November, 2009). PGs and social media: Much more than advertising. eMarketer. Retrieved January 6, 2010, from http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000620.aspx
  • Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2006). Mass media research: An introduction (38th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  • Wright, K. B. (2000). The communication of social support within an on-line community for older adults: A qualitative analysis of the SeniorNet community. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 1(2), 33–43.