Journal of Creative Communications, Ahead of Print.
Social media platforms have come a long way from being spaces for just informal interactions between friends and family. Today, these platforms provide numerous ways for people to express their ideas, views and opinions. In this article, we look at one such medium of expression that gained widespread popularity on Instagram during the 2020 pandemic. Popularly known as ‘fairy comments’, these are comments with a very typical syntactic structure used on social media platforms. The syntactic structure involves several emoticons in the middle of a sentence rather than the end. The aim is to define what a fairy comment is and understand the characteristics responsible for its popularity among the youth. We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 Gen Z participants who are active users of Instagram and fairy comment makers tractioning high engagement on their comments. Besides, a rhetorical criticism of high engagement comments on posts of an Indian political leader helped develop an anatomy of a fairy comment. Based on the findings, we propose that Gen Z’s inclination for using fairy comments in the online public sphere is contingent on two characteristics intrinsic to the nature of a fairy comment. First, the potential for creative expression that fairy comments provide, and second, the potential of fairy comments to tread on borders of offense but not harm as they steer clear of abuse or suggested violence in the online space. A collateral outcome of making fairy comments is a coalition between the youth on matters of public interest. These characteristics indicate that fairy comments constitute a medium of trolling under the ‘kudos trolling’ category used by the youth as an instrument of expression in the online space.
Reconceptualising Digital Placemaking: A Netnographic Study from the State of Uttarakhand, India
Journal of Creative Communications, Ahead of Print.
This article aims to contribute towards the theoretical and practical implications of ‘digital placemaking’ in the context of the state of Uttarakhand, India. In this study, we conducted a prolonged netnographic immersion with a popular online community on Facebook and analysed how the members make sense of digital placemaking in the cultural context of Uttarakhand. The data is collected using observations of the digital community and in-depth interviews of the administrators. We draw the theoretical inspirations from the perspective of ‘dialogue’ and ‘participation’ to further re-conceptualise digital placemaking and align its conceptual roots with the discipline of social change communication. Furthermore, using inductive insights, we propose key strategies shaping the process of digital placemaking.
This article aims to contribute towards the theoretical and practical implications of ‘digital placemaking’ in the context of the state of Uttarakhand, India. In this study, we conducted a prolonged netnographic immersion with a popular online community on Facebook and analysed how the members make sense of digital placemaking in the cultural context of Uttarakhand. The data is collected using observations of the digital community and in-depth interviews of the administrators. We draw the theoretical inspirations from the perspective of ‘dialogue’ and ‘participation’ to further re-conceptualise digital placemaking and align its conceptual roots with the discipline of social change communication. Furthermore, using inductive insights, we propose key strategies shaping the process of digital placemaking.
Understanding the Navigation Experience: Do Virtual Customer Service Agents Make a Difference?
Journal of Creative Communications, Ahead of Print.
The purpose of this study is to contribute to understanding website usage and loyalty and specifically whether the navigation experience varies with the presence of a virtual customer service agent (VCSA) on the website. Two online surveys were carried out with a random sample of 1,000 frequent flyers before and after the inclusion of the VCSA in an airline company website. Results are tested using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling and importance–performance map analysis. Results show that perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived visual attractiveness, perceived enjoyment and social presence impact website loyalty. In the website without the VCSA, usability variables (PU and PEU) and perceived visual attractiveness are the strongest antecedents of loyalty, while perceived visual attractiveness and social presence are the strongest predictors in the VCSA setting.
The purpose of this study is to contribute to understanding website usage and loyalty and specifically whether the navigation experience varies with the presence of a virtual customer service agent (VCSA) on the website. Two online surveys were carried out with a random sample of 1,000 frequent flyers before and after the inclusion of the VCSA in an airline company website. Results are tested using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling and importance–performance map analysis. Results show that perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived visual attractiveness, perceived enjoyment and social presence impact website loyalty. In the website without the VCSA, usability variables (PU and PEU) and perceived visual attractiveness are the strongest antecedents of loyalty, while perceived visual attractiveness and social presence are the strongest predictors in the VCSA setting.
Impact of Pandemic Communication on Brand-specific Outcomes: Testing the Moderating Role of Brand Attitude and Product Category
Journal of Creative Communications, Ahead of Print.
The unprecedented crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift in consumers’ attitude, behaviour and purchasing habits across the globe. While brands make all the efforts to cope up, they also need to devise strategies to survive in the post-crisis situation. It is in the light of this disturbed equilibrium that the present study is undertaken. Using structural equation modeling (SEM)-based analysis of 240 consumer responses, the article analyses the direct influence of pandemic communication and the indirect impact of brand attitude and product category on three specific brand outcomes, viz. image, trust and loyalty. The findings reveal a positive and significant impact of communication during pandemic on all three brand outcomes under investigation. Further, though the results do not divulge the moderating role of brand attitude, they establish the impact of pandemic communication on brand loyalty for non-essential product category. On the basis of the findings, the study yields useful suggestions that can be implemented by brands to hold themselves more strongly in the post-pandemic future.
The unprecedented crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift in consumers’ attitude, behaviour and purchasing habits across the globe. While brands make all the efforts to cope up, they also need to devise strategies to survive in the post-crisis situation. It is in the light of this disturbed equilibrium that the present study is undertaken. Using structural equation modeling (SEM)-based analysis of 240 consumer responses, the article analyses the direct influence of pandemic communication and the indirect impact of brand attitude and product category on three specific brand outcomes, viz. image, trust and loyalty. The findings reveal a positive and significant impact of communication during pandemic on all three brand outcomes under investigation. Further, though the results do not divulge the moderating role of brand attitude, they establish the impact of pandemic communication on brand loyalty for non-essential product category. On the basis of the findings, the study yields useful suggestions that can be implemented by brands to hold themselves more strongly in the post-pandemic future.
Sentiment Analysis of Users’ Comments on Indian Hindi News Channels Using Mozdeh: An Evaluation Based on YouTube Videos
Journal of Creative Communications, Ahead of Print.
Sentiment analysis is the channel to pick out the text from the social media dataset to inquire about the positive and negative opinions of the statement and its subjective and objectiveness. The purpose of the study is to manifest the sentiment of the text posted in five Hindi news channels, that is, AajTak, ABP News, India TV, NDTV India and Republic Bharat on YouTube are investigated by adopting the Mozdeh software to highlight the sequential temperament of the viewers by evaluating the positive and negative sentiments. The present study is subsequently limited to the data being extracted and evaluated by the software Mozdeh. The sentiments of each Hindi news channel are analysed along with the top word frequencies and displaying the time-series graph. The investigation presents that the channel with maximum average positive average negative sentiment belongs to India TV and the female category was in the peak compared to male altogether but the unidentified gender was the highest. During the time series analysis, the year 2020 was seen to be the most productive year since all the spikes were precisely detected. The audience of these channels turns out to be more attentive towards the political and entertainment news world. The study also highlights the tendency and interest of the common audiences to watch the news which dedicates that people are usually unsatisfied with the content being displayed in the videos and the common concentration is mostly based on the political news.
Sentiment analysis is the channel to pick out the text from the social media dataset to inquire about the positive and negative opinions of the statement and its subjective and objectiveness. The purpose of the study is to manifest the sentiment of the text posted in five Hindi news channels, that is, AajTak, ABP News, India TV, NDTV India and Republic Bharat on YouTube are investigated by adopting the Mozdeh software to highlight the sequential temperament of the viewers by evaluating the positive and negative sentiments. The present study is subsequently limited to the data being extracted and evaluated by the software Mozdeh. The sentiments of each Hindi news channel are analysed along with the top word frequencies and displaying the time-series graph. The investigation presents that the channel with maximum average positive average negative sentiment belongs to India TV and the female category was in the peak compared to male altogether but the unidentified gender was the highest. During the time series analysis, the year 2020 was seen to be the most productive year since all the spikes were precisely detected. The audience of these channels turns out to be more attentive towards the political and entertainment news world. The study also highlights the tendency and interest of the common audiences to watch the news which dedicates that people are usually unsatisfied with the content being displayed in the videos and the common concentration is mostly based on the political news.
Ageism in the era of digital platforms
Convergence, Ahead of Print.
Ageism is the most invisible form of discrimination. While there is some awareness of gender, racial, and socioeconomic discrimination on digital platforms, ageism has received less attention. This article analyzes some tools that are frequently embedded on digital platforms from an old-age perspective, in order to increase awareness of the different ways in which ageism works. We will firstly look at how innovation teams, following homophilic patterns, disregard older people. Secondly, we will show how ageism tends to be amplified by the methods often used on digital platforms. And thirdly, we will show how corporate values are often against usability issues that mainly affect people with a low level of (digital) skills, which is more common among older people. Counterbalancing the abusive power control of the corporations behind digital platforms and compensating for the underrepresentation of groups in less favorable situations could help to tackle such discrimination.
Ageism is the most invisible form of discrimination. While there is some awareness of gender, racial, and socioeconomic discrimination on digital platforms, ageism has received less attention. This article analyzes some tools that are frequently embedded on digital platforms from an old-age perspective, in order to increase awareness of the different ways in which ageism works. We will firstly look at how innovation teams, following homophilic patterns, disregard older people. Secondly, we will show how ageism tends to be amplified by the methods often used on digital platforms. And thirdly, we will show how corporate values are often against usability issues that mainly affect people with a low level of (digital) skills, which is more common among older people. Counterbalancing the abusive power control of the corporations behind digital platforms and compensating for the underrepresentation of groups in less favorable situations could help to tackle such discrimination.
Corrigendum
Discourse &Communication, Ahead of Print.
CORRIGENDUM to “(De)constructing the sociological imagination? Media discourse, intellectuals and the challenge of public engagement”Owing to errors made by the author Frederick Attenborough, two footnotes from the following article have been removed.Attenborough, F (2016) (De)constructing the sociological imagination? Media discourse, intellectuals and the challenge of public engagement. Discourse & Communication 10(5): 437–457. DOI: 10.1177/1750481316659395
CORRIGENDUM to “(De)constructing the sociological imagination? Media discourse, intellectuals and the challenge of public engagement”Owing to errors made by the author Frederick Attenborough, two footnotes from the following article have been removed.Attenborough, F (2016) (De)constructing the sociological imagination? Media discourse, intellectuals and the challenge of public engagement. Discourse & Communication 10(5): 437–457. DOI: 10.1177/1750481316659395