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Selective Openness, Branding, Broadcasting, and Promotion: Twitter Use in Canada's Public Universities

Authors :
Veletsianos, George
Kimmons, Royce
Shaw, Ashley
Pasquini, Laura
Woodward, Scott
Source :
Educational Media International. 2017 54(1):1-19.
Publication Year :
2017

Abstract

Higher education institutions have embraced social media platforms. Yet, little research has examined the characteristics of institutional social media accounts and the narratives their posts construct for faculty and student life. By investigating these topics, researchers can better understand the actual and potential roles of these tools in contemporary universities. This study focused on understanding how Canada's public universities use Twitter, reporting descriptive, inferential, and qualitative analyses of large-scale Twitter data. Findings show extensive variability in participation patterns among institutions. Although rhetoric surrounding Twitter suggests an interactive platform, institutions mostly use it to broadcast information and construct overwhelmingly positive representations of institutional life. While the identified representations are partly authentic, they are also incomplete and misleading. Such representations suggest difficulty for students and faculty seeking to use social media to accurately anticipate campus life or to interact online in these spaces.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0952-3987
Volume :
54
Issue :
1
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Educational Media International
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1142656
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2017.1324363