Browsing by Subject "Twitter"

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    Digital journalism and online public spheres in South Africa
    (2010) Bosch, Tanja
    This article explores and evaluates the growth of digital journalism in South Africa, within the context of increased use of online social media in the field. Increasingly, local activists are using mobile and online social networking to promote their events and causes, and reach their constituencies. Similarly, journalists are using digital media to practise their craft, reach new audiences, and sometimes even to change the notion of who practises journalism, as in the case of citizen journalism. South African journalists, via community media and sometimes even tabloid newspapers, have long embraced the notion of civic or community journalism, framing news ‘in a way that facilitates people thinking about solutions, not just problems and conflict’ (Hoyt 1995). With the rise of Web 2.0 and increased access to the Internet, digital journalism in South Africa has spread to include a strong focus on user-generated content, with traditional news media using Twitter and other social media to generate reader feedback. Similarly, the Mail & Guardian ‘Thoughtleader’ blog, originally designed for socalled J-bloggers, is another example of the ‘convergence’ between journalism and social media. The article provides an overview of emerging trends and theories in the South African context, focusing particularly on the public sphere created by bloggers, the citizen journalism of MyNews24.com and journalists' engagement with online social media. Furthermore, the article reflects on the possibility that online news sites and blogs may represent a space for the creation of online public spheres in South Africa.
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    Digital professionalism
    (2012) Mitchell, Veronica; Southgate, Nicole
    The rapid, expansive and evolving use of social media has prompted the need to interrogate its impact for future health professionals. A new initiative teaching first year health science students about their online identity has proven valuable. The importance of communication skills and respect for others through social media is identified and explained.
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    Usage of Twitter by state-owned enterprises to communicate with customers: A case of Transnet South Africa
    (2020) Mello, Tsebiso Lisbeth; Ferreira, Caitlin
    Social media is proving to be a critical factor for firms moving towards digital marketing strategies. Substantial economic advantage is gained when companies make use of social media platforms such as Twitter to modernise their businesses and start interactive communication with their target market. Social media can have a great impact on the efficiency and performance of state-owned enterprises, which are often plagued by information irregularities that compromise information disclosure and lower the standards of accountability within the state-owned enterprises. Without social media, customers are often unable to evaluate the product and services that the state-owned enterprise is offering before making an offer. An interpretivist research paradigm was adopted and informed this study which applied a mono qualitative research methodology. Sample elements were selected using non-probability purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Data was gathered through a pre-designed interview guide with open-ended questions from the research site. In addition, the case study research design was used in this study. All interview transcriptions were recorded with the aid of a voice recorder and exported to NVivo 11 for cleaning and coding, resulting in emerging themes. Thematic data analysis was performed on the data sets, allowing a detailed discussion of each theme in line with research objectives. The study established that adopting and using social media was the appropriate strategy for firms. Firms, especially state-owned enterprises, reached a larger audience. In addition, the study established that the quality of content uploaded and shared on social media should be of very high quality to project a positive image of the organisation. Appointing dedicated senior personnel to manage the social media strategy enhanced the effectiveness of social media. The study recommended that further research be conducted on other types of social media to allow organisations a wider selection of choices. The study indicated that employees were compelled to use Twitter; thus, a policy shift in the use of social media required managers to put in place Information Communications Technology and Privacy and Security Policies. In order to educate everyone in the organisation, management had to ensure that its policies did not infringe on human rights.
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    WWF's Earth Hour Campaign: ‘Global Village' or Eco-Imperialism?
    (2020) Chao, Eileen; Chuma, Wallace
    The rapid spread of digital information and communication technologies since the turn of the century has led to renewed debates about globalisation and the power of new media to connect users across national, political and cultural borders. Environmental campaigns like WWF's Earth Hour, which touts itself as “the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment,” often adopt a utopian view of globalisation that celebrates what Marshall McLuhan termed the ‘global village'. While this global ethos might be useful in engaging the publics in collective action, this article argues that the way Earth Hour and similar campaigns actively construct representations of a single global village overlooks the lived inequalities between and among peoples within this imagined community. This article explores this tension using a quantitative and qualitative mixed-methods approach that combines a semiotic analysis of the Earth Hour 2019 promotional video, social media analysis of the use of #Connect2Earth hashtag among South African Twitter users, and in-depth interviews with current and former WWF-South Africa employees. This strategic approach is designed to juxtapose socially constructed representations of Earth Hour with on-the-ground user engagement in South Africa, and then triangulating these findings with qualitative interviews. The dissertation aims to explore the research question: In what ways does WWF's Earth Hour embody Marshall McLuhan's ideal ‘global village' and in what ways might it engender a form of eco-imperialism? This research question is operationalised through three subquestions: What kind of environmentalism do global environmental campaigns like Earth Hour promote? How do audiences in South Africa engage with Earth Hour on social media? How do local WWF of ices adapt global environmental campaigns to suit local audiences? This research contributes to emerging scholarship, rooted in environmental justice and decolonial studies, that is critical of mainstream environmental movements not to discourage environmental consciousness but to ultimately reformulate it.