Social Media and Political Participation: Are Facebook, Twitter and Youtube democratizing our Political Systems?

Drs. Robin EffingProf. Dr. Jos van Hillegersberg

Prof. Dr. Theo HuibersUniversity of Twente / Saxion, Enschede Netherlands.

Presentation ePart conference Delft, August 30, 2011.

@robineffing

introductionliterature reviewdefinitionsDutch electionsfuture researchcont

ents

introduction

Non-profit community

member participation

Decline inParticipatio

n

SOCIAL

Society and Political Impact

Society and Political Impact

literature review

participation ladders

e-EnablingSource: Ann Macintosh

e-EngagingSource: Ann Macintosh

Source: Ann Macintosh

e-Empowering

crowdsourcing

Digital Divide

definitions

“The web is more a social creation than a technical one.

I designed it for a social effect –to help people work together –

and not as a technical toy.”

(Tim Berners Lee, 1999)‐

“Social Media is a group of

Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological

foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of

User Generated Content.”

(Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010)

Defining Social Media

Defining Web 2.0: “…a platform whereby content and

applications are no longer created and published by individuals, but instead are

continuously modified by all users in a participatory and

collaborative fashion”

(Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010)

Web 2.0

Social Media

Google Trends

Defining Participation:

“the specific activity of

doing things together”

(Grönlund, 2009)

Political participation:“behaviours aimed at

shaping governmental policy, either by

influencing the selectionof government personnel

or by affecting their choices”.

(Xie and Jaeger, 2008)

Dutch elections

N=676

future research

RQ1: How can non-profit organizations - with community structures –

such as political parties and church communities

increase member participation by

implementing Social Media?

Cases

RQ2: What are the design principles for optimal implementation of Social Media,

as a participation instrument, at non-profit organizations with traditional

communities?

Contribution:

Design Principles

Twitter: @robineffingHashtag #socialpowerE-mail: r.effing@utwente.nl

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