Writing on the wall: An online "community" of YouTube patrons as communication network or cyber-graffiti?

Mirit D. Shoham*, Aarti B. Arora, Adil Al-Busaidi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Scholars continue to debate the social functions of YouTube as an online platform; some pointing to emergence of community [21] while others describing it as an asocial extension of a television screen [7]. This paper argues for three types of participation online: passive, active and interactive. Focusing on one particular YouTube site, the authors engage in a multi-method exploration of the content of communication (using thematic analysis) as well as interaction patterns (emerging through a network analytic perspective). Results show that viewers are largely passively consuming the video content, with few participants actively engaging, and even fewer interacting with others. YouTube commenters are characterized as cyber-graffiti authors, broadcasting messages for the cyber-world at large. Implications for community and affiliation networks are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 46th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2013
Pages3951-3960
Number of pages10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes
Event46th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2013 - Wailea, Maui, HI, United States
Duration: Jan 7 2013Jan 10 2013

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
ISSN (Print)1530-1605

Other

Other46th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityWailea, Maui, HI
Period1/7/131/10/13

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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