Understanding Social Media / Edition 1

by Sam Hinton, Larissa Hjorth

Overview

Understanding Social Media provides a critical and timely conceptual toolbox for navigating the evolution and practices of social media. Taking an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach, this book provides a clear and concise explanation of the key concepts but also goes beyond specific brands, sites and practices to show readers how to place social media more critically within the changing media and cultural landscape.

As an aid to understanding, key concepts in each chapter are illustrated by case studies to give real-world examples of theory in action. Cutting across the many dimensions of social media, from the political, economic and visual, this book explores the industries, ideologies and cultural practices that are increasingly becoming part of global popular culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781446201213
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/26/2013
Series:	Understanding Contemporary Culture series
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Sam Hinton is Senior Lecturer in Media, Arts and Design Faculty at the University of Canberra, Australia.

Larissa Hjorth is Professor in the Games Program at the School of Media & Communication, at RMIT University, Australia.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Social Media
What Is Web 2.0?
Social Network Sites
Participation and User Created Content
Art and Cultural Production
Social Media Games
Social, Locative and Mobile Media
Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

A solid overview of current research and debates in the analysis of social networks, Understanding Social Media is a useful text for all students of digital media.

Rebecca Bishop

Hinton and Hjorth have written an excellent introduction to the emergent field of social media studies. They examine a wide variety of pressing issues, including user-generated content, citizen journalism, location-based services (such as Google Maps and Foursquare) and the commercial applications of social data... Understanding Social Media has a broad focus and treats diverse social matter from deviant ART to Kony 2012. It would be particularly useful for anyone needing a detailed overview of the field. In this sense, the book is very successful.

A. Moore

Understanding Social Media potentially has a wide appeal for both non-academic and academic audiences in a range of disciplines. For political scientists, this book would be a valuable introduction to thinking about how social media shapes issues such as political activism, global divides, journalism and 'the politics of everyday life' (p. 136).

Naomi Racz

[O]f the three books under review here, this is the one I would ask my undergraduate students to read (indeed, I already have). It's clear and straightforward, and is organized around thematic categories of social media practice, rather than around specific firms and platforms or around familiar tropes from media and cultural studies.

Graham Meikle