Media Psychology Matters » Social Media

Research Survey Launched: Social Media Profiles and Influence on Body Image

Pamela Rutledge — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 22:48:10 +0000

Social media has changed how people get information and communicate in many ways. We are not just consumers of media. With social media and new technology and tools, we also can easily make, change, and share media.

There are images everywhere generated by commercial activity and a wealth of research looking at the impact [...]

Online Safety: Educate not Legislate

Pamela Rutledge — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:23:04 +0000

Previously published in Psychology Today “Positively Media.”

Facebook’s recent privacy control changes have triggered a big response of concern, indignation, and pages of analysis. One thing you have to love about social media, when people are ticked off, you find out pretty fast. Facebook is doing some rhetorical back-pedaling but when people are angry, [...]

Social Media Addiction: Engage Brain Before Believing

Pamela Rutledge — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:58:55 +0000

Previously published in Psychology Today “Positively Media.”

When you see the headlines about social media addiction, take a deep breath. Exhale. I know this sounds radical, but don’t go by the news articles. Find the actual study and read it. Don’t just read the results; see how the researchers define what they are measuring. [...]

Mapping the Crisis in Haiti Using a Cognitively Effective Display of Data

Pamela Rutledge — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:07:19 +0000

Edward Tufte would be proud. This is an example of a brilliant use of social media and a cognitively effective display of the kind of data that social media can generate. Ushahidi are mapping crisis information from Haiti. They have integrated various data input sources, SMS, email, or web, and visually translated it onto a [...]

Five Things to Remember About Social Media

Pamela Rutledge — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:10:47 +0000

Published on PsychologyToday.com “Positively Media.”

If you had any doubts about the impact social networking tools and social media have on the world as we know it, watch this Advertising Age video of Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz talk about the changes they’ve made in their approach to reaching skiers and snow enthusiasts. While [...]

The Psychology of Away Messages

Pamela Rutledge — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:27:30 +0000

Are there psychological implications of chat status in GChat or iChat or AIM? Think of them as today’s answering machines. They are an opportunity to express some aspect of yourself. Sort of like vanity plates without the level of commitment or having to stand in line at the DMV.

Away messages vary (one hopes) [...]

Advice from Drucker for Facebook: Organizing for Change

Pamela Rutledge — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:37:38 +0000

There’s a story about the demise of Facebook in the Washington Post: Worldwide ebb for Facebook. I like the logic–when a company’s been around long enough for someone to make a movie out of it, then it’s probably on the downhill slide, even if they do get Justin Timberlake.

That people are interested in [...]

Social Media Networks Get the Word Out: Just Ask ACORN

Pamela Rutledge — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:30:26 +0000

However you come out on the politics of the “to-fund or not-to-fund” ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) issue, the radical change in House and Senate’s support for funding of the organization (or defunding as the case may be) is an excellent example of the impact of new media technologies. Information travels [...]

Trends and Getting the ‘Truth’ from Social Media

Pamela Rutledge — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:40:53 +0000

Trends matter in audience profiling. Even a social or politically-based trend impacts messaging on a micro-level. Some trends are more directly applicable to audience profiling than others depending upon what audience you are trying to reach. Social trending is particularly important because it sets the tone and context of how direct and specific messages [...]

Identifying Trends and Changes in the Social Media Landscape

Pamela Rutledge — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:19:10 +0000

Social media tools are a great way to get to know your audience better and for less expense, than you ever have before. Yet, social media tools seem to change overnight. As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “One minute you’re in, the next, you’re out.”

For social media marketers, communicators, and researchers, this [...]