Social Media Fosters a 'Spiral of Silence' on Controversial Issues Angela Washek
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/09/pew-social-media-fosters-a-spiral-of-silence-on-controversial-issues/
An interesting commentary on a recent study - not a very extensive one but with some indications that the belief held by many - including me - that the social
web is a great place for the contest of ideas might be a bit overrated.
Pew (Internet Research) found that people who believed their audience would agree with their thoughts were three times more likely to share [about] Snowden and the NSA.
Based on the communication theory introduced by German political scientist Elisabeth
Noelle-Neumann, the spiral of silence theory translates to the digital world, too, Pew found in the report "Social Media and the 'Spiral of Silence.'" The idea is this: Those who might have an opinion on an issue decide not to share with their close communities - such as family and friends - due to fear of taking the opposing view and being isolated, leading to a monopoly on public opinion.
LinkedIn Is Reviewing China Censorship Policy
http://adage.com/article/global-news/linkedin-reviewing-china-censorship-policy/294822/
China is LinkedIn's fastest growing major market, but like other companies in the social space, LinkedIn is having to face up to some challenges about censorship.
Sub-title of this post: Company Has Second Thoughts About Blocking China Users' Posts Outside the Country
When a LinkedIn user in China shares a post deemed to be in conflict with the government's
rules, the company blocks the content not only in China but around the world. While LinkedIn's goal is to protect members against how their content might be shared and noticed by the government, the practice may end up stifling Chinese users seeking to spread messages outside their country.
Follow the Top Social Media Influencers of 2014 Douglas Karr
http://www.marketingtechblog.com/top-social-media-influencers-2014/
This post by Douglas Karr comments on a list, put together by Dr. Jim Barry of the Edu-Tainment Social Content Marketing blog, of top social media influencers. It was interesting for me to read the names, and even more interesting to think about the people listed in terms of Dr Barry's list of four archetypes of social
media influencer, identified by the types of influence they have:
- Educators - provide help and insight
- Coaches - engage and assist
- Entertainers - engage and inspire
- Charismatics - provide insight and inspiration
I've listed Doug Karr's post here rather than the original article, mainly because Doug has gone to the trouble of listing the Twitter @ handle for each of the top influencers, some of whom you may wish to follow. The list includes Doug himself.
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