DOCSLIB.ORG

123945779-Welcome-To-The-Fifth-Estate.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
123945779-Welcome-To-The-Fifth-Estate.Pdf 5th estate title:beyond dancing title 5/12/11 3:08 PM Page i Welcome TO THE 5th estate title:beyond dancing title 5/12/11 3:08 PM Page ii 5th estate title:beyond dancing title 5/12/11 3:08 PM Page iii Welcome TO THE How to Create and Sustain a Winning Social Media Strategy GEOFF LIVINGSTON Introduction by Adam Ostrow Washington • Baltimore Advance Review Copy Copyright © 2011 Geoff Livingston All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles. Bartleby Press 8600 Foundry Street Savage Mill Box 2043 Savage, MD 20763 800-953-9929 www.BartlebythePublisher.com ISBN: 978-0910155-86-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2011929516 Printed in the United States of America To my daughter, Soleil Maya Livingston, born on October 29, 2010 Contents Acknowledgements ix IntroductIon by Adam Ostrow 1 chApter one 7 chApter two 31 chApter three 55 chApter Four 79 chApter FIve 109 chApter sIx 135 chApter seven by Kami Huyse 161 AFterword 185 endnotes 189 Acknowledgements s always a special hat tip to my publisher, Jeremy Kay. AThank you for believing in me. Thank you Jennifer Goode Stevens, Bill Sledzik and Tom Livingston (yes, Dad) for editing. My business partner Kami Huyse, who drafted the chapter on measurement, deserves special gratitude. When in doubt, trust a subject matter expert! Adam Ostrow also made an invaluable contribution in writing the excellent introduction to Welcome to the Fifth Estate! Ike Pigott is a great friend and actually named the book after reading some draft material on my blog. What better way to celebrate the Fifth Estate then to heed its commentary—and reward it. My beautiful wife, Caitlin Livingston, was 4-9 months ix x Welcome to the Fifth Estate pregnant during the writing of this book. She, too, believed in me, and wouldn’t let me quit, even when I hit a wall. Finally, I am indebted to you, all of my friends, fans and followers who support me online. This book would not be possible without you. I hope you enjoy it. Introduction by Adam Ostrow y the end of 2009, fifty-eight percent of Americans Bwere watching TV and using the Internet simulta- neously. Among those that were doing so, the average consumer was spending 3 hours and 30 minutes each month engaged with both mediums at the same time.1 While that’s one quantitative way to look at an obvious trend in shifting media consumption habits that many have observed anecdotally for some time, here’s another: At some point within the next decade, there will be between 15-50 billion devices on our planet that are in some way connected to the Internet.2 At the time of this writing, that trend is probably showing itself most visibly in the living room with smartphones and 1 2 Welcome to the Fifth Estate tablets, or at the local cafe or in the car with the increasingly distracted people in our lives firing away texts and e-mails instead of focusing on (gasp!) real world conversation. But the trend is only at the beginning. The innovations we’ve seen in the last few years—from the rise of social media, to the increasing ubiquity of smartphones, to advances in wireless bandwidth—have set the stage for dramatic changes to take place in our culture, our media and the role of the corporation. With everything from cars to kitchens about to get con- nected to the Internet, a new way of thinking is required. The Like Economy It took the Facebook “Like” button just 8 months to find itself embedded on more than 2 million websites and applica- tions.3 While on one hand that helps solidify Facebook as the most dominant social network by a significant margin—and builds it a much bigger moat than leading networks before it— on the other it creates an important new reality for businesses. There’s a battle for mindshare on Facebook, and much of it is now being fought on content and e-commerce sites, where Likes equate to links in user’s news feeds that create exposure for brands. Similarly, within the walls of Facebook, Likes equate to popularity for the pages of businesses large and small. Already, we’re seeing this data applied to what to- date has been the largest source of traffic for most businesses: search. In October, 2010, Facebook and Microsoft rolled out an integration of Likes within Bing’s search results that gives preference to links that have been “liked” by your friends. Likes are starting to show up in other areas too. A number ©2011 Geoff Livingston www.welcometothefifthestate.com Promotion Within Your Community 3 of startups are allowing users to “check in” to television shows from their smartphones and tablets, and share their viewing experience with friends. One of those services —Clicker— scored a partnership with Facebook that allows them to make recommendations for what to watch, based both on your own viewing and Liking history, as well as data gleaned from your friend’s activities and conversations on the social network. The growing ubiquity of location services like Foursquare (and Facebook, with its Places product) has similar implica- tions to the Like button. As of this writing, Foursquare is said to be working on a recommendation engine that suggests venues based on your prior check-ins and places that your friends like. Every Company Needs a Content Strategy The new realities of the Like economy have only fur- ther increased the pressure on corporations to become content producers and gain mindshare within the social media ecosystem. While several years ago this meant blogs – or at least gaining influence with bloggers – today it means reaching consumers in their medium of choice (and choices are abound) with compelling content of your own. That’s why you see not just media companies like The Wall Street Journal and MTV embracing a service like Foursquare, but also retail brands like Gap and Radio Shack. Itis why you see the already clichéd Old Spice campaign being emu- lated (albeit with considerably less success) by companies like Cisco. And it’s why you see TV networks experimenting with entertainment “check-in” services and offering prizes ©2011 Geoff Livingston www.welcometothefifthestate.com 4 Welcome to the Fifth Estate for watching content and broadcasting about it, even though business models are still nascent to non-existent in the space. That said, the proliferation of media and entertainment options has created a whole new set of challenges. Organiza- tions need to be structured such that it doesn’t take seven levels of approvals to post a tweet (a reality at a multi-billion dollar corporation I won’t name here). Social media policies need to be crafted to keep employees nimble yet on message, but still not bigger than the brand they represent. And “influencer” needs to be redefined, looking within each medium—and within individual segments of that medium—to identify the most important people to reach. Advertising’s Evolving Role Some might think that advertising has no place in this environment, with everything from the 30 second TV spot to the banner ad being displaced by so-called earned media. In reality, the opposite is true. Because of the wealth of data and personalization options being developed, along with increased connectivity and a digital identity that follows us across platforms and devices, unprecedented opportunities for precision messaging will emerge for marketers. Early examples are abound. Twitter’s business model went from punchline to promising in a matter of months, with “promoted tweets” showing us what a cost per engagement (a retweet, a reply, or a click) model of advertising might look like. Facebook has demonstrated the power of friends’ sugges- tions, with ads accompanied by “likes,” as well as moved into payments and the lucrative world of virtual goods that many brands are now clamoring to get inside of. On the mobile ©2011 Geoff Livingston www.welcometothefifthestate.com Promotion Within Your Community 5 front, GPS-equipped smartphones are enabling unprecedented location targeting options in advertising, helping fuel one of the quickest creations of wealth in history with the ascent of Groupon. It goes much further, however. With TV and radio (through advances in wireless technology) becoming Inter- net connected, visual and audio advertising will move from a purely push model to both push and pull. For example, that means ads on television that behave more like ads on the web, with interactivity that lets you download content, make a pur- chase or share something with a friend. On radio, it means being able to sync your music or talk shows from your car to your mobile to your desktop, with advertising made much more precise based on your location and listening habits. The Fifth Estate What’s implied in all of this is that in the years to come, the multitude of choices for content and entertainment con- sumption will only continue to increase. Much like the advent of blogs and social media that turned the print publishing world upside down in the first decade of this century, Internet connected television and radio will provide consumers with virtually unlimited options in the second and create hundreds if not thousands of new media outlets. What’s so interesting about this shift is that much of the groundwork has already been laid and much of what’s to come is simply an extension of what’s already been built.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Participation, Citizen Journalism and the Contestations of Identity and National Symbols: a Case of Zimbabwe's Natio
    Participation, citizen journalism and the contestations of identity and national symbols: A case of Zimbabwe’s national heroes and the Heroes’ Acre Shepherd Mpofu Department of Communication University of Johannesburg [email protected]@uj.ac.za/ [email protected] Abstract This article constitutes an examination on how citizen journalism has challenged Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian regime on issues pertaining to national heroes and usages of the Heroes Acre as central national identity markers. Under Mugabe’s ZANU‐PF, Zimbabwe has seen the public being limited from directly participating in salient national debates. ZANU‐PF’s control of the official public sphere has also constrained alternative views from ventilating the government‐controlled communicative spaces. The party’s narrative on heroes, the Heroes Acre and national identity has gained a taken‐for‐granted status in the public media. This has obtained against the backdrop of what has become known as the Zimbabwe crises, characterised by a declining economy, a constricted political space, a breakdown in the rule of law, and the subsequent flight of a number of Zimbabweans into the diaspora. The accompanying wave of technological advancements and the mushrooming of mostly diaspora‐based online media have opened up new vistas of communication, enabling a hitherto ‘silenced’ community of ordinary people to participate in national conversations. The conclusion reached here, is that citizen journalism has not only enhanced the culture of conversation among people (as espoused under democratic conditions) but has also covered up the democratic deficit experienced in the public sphere, mediated by traditional media, parliament and pavement radio.
    [Show full text]
  • Through the Network (Of Networks) – the Fifth Estate* By
    Through the Network (of Networks) – the Fifth Estate* by William H. Dutton Professor of Internet Studies Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford *Prepared for an Inaugural Lecture, Examination Schools, University of Oxford, 15 October 2007. I thank Martin Elton, Linda Frankland, Ellen Helsper, Malcolm Peltu and Juliet Webster for their comments and encouragement to discuss this topic. 1 It is an honour for me to present my inaugural lecture to you, and to do so here in The Examination Schools. This is a special place and – as we all know – place matters. Today, I will focus on how – in Internet time and space – users are able to reconfigure their access to information, people and other resources in new ways that are of major significance for society. The Rise of a Fifth Estate in Internet Time and Space In an earlier era, printing was tied to the rise of the press as a major institution. Its subsequent growing role in conjunction with the development of radio, television and other mass media has created an independent institution in many nations, which has become known as the ‘Fourth Estate’. This has become central to pluralist democratic processes. Today I would like to explain why I believe it would not be an exaggeration to argue that a new form of social accountability is emerging in what I am calling the ‘Fifth Estate’. It is enabled by the growing use of the Internet and related information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the personal computer and World Wide Web. Essentially, the Internet is enabling people to network with other individuals and with a vast range of information, services and technical resources.
    [Show full text]
  • A Submission to the 2020 Senate Committee Inquiry Into Media Diversity in Australia
    A submission to the 2020 Senate Committee Inquiry into Media Diversity in Australia Submitted by Michael Charles Taylor and Carol Anne Taylor of The Australian Independent Media Network Address: Email: [email protected] Phone numbers: Michael Taylor: Carol Taylor: Introduction For several decades the Murdoch media have enjoyed an unbridled run as the major source for news, information and opinion in this country. It is a position, many would suggest, that they have protected without ethics or morals. Especially when it comes to opinion. Theirs, and only theirs counts. For example, anyone wishing to have their own ideas and opinions published on their media sites have had to contend with the editorial policies that are generally based on the ideology of the editors and of course, on what is sellable. However, this regime of control over what content is allowed to emerge is now collapsing in today’s world of participatory media. For the Murdoch media the loss of this power and ability to mould public opinion has shown them to be less of news purveyors and more of propagandists. Our submission begins on Page 2 Points a, b, d, e, f, i and j of the Terms of Reference are addressed. 1 (a) The current state of public interest journalism in Australia and any barriers to Australian voters’ ability to access reliable, accurate and independent news. While it is laudable that this Inquiry into media diversity in Australia has been established, we can’t see how any recommendation it might make could be implemented. With the conservatives flexing their muscles and pushing their ‘free speech’ agenda aggressively, any recommendation would likely to be smothered under a pile of rhetoric designed to frighten people into believing that their liberties were being threatened.
    [Show full text]
  • Feral Beast": Cautionary Lessons from British Press Reform Lili Levi University of Miami School of Law, [email protected]
    University of Miami Law School University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository Articles Faculty and Deans 2015 Taming the "Feral Beast": Cautionary Lessons From British Press Reform Lili Levi University of Miami School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/fac_articles Part of the Communications Law Commons, and the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons Recommended Citation Lili Levi, Taming the "Feral Beast": Cautionary Lessons From British Press Reform, 55 Santa Clara L. Rev. 323 (2015). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty and Deans at University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TAMING THE "FERAL BEAST"1 : CAUTIONARY LESSONS FROM BRITISH PRESS REFORM Lili Levi* TABLE OF CONTENTS Introdu ction ............................................................................ 324 I. British Press Reform, in Context ....................................... 328 A. Overview of the British Press Sector .................... 328 B. The British Approach to Newspaper Regulation.. 330 C. Phone-Hacking and the Leveson Inquiry Into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press ..... 331 D. Where Things Stand Now ...................................... 337 1. The Royal Charter ............................................. 339 2. IPSO and IM
    [Show full text]
  • Disinformation; Meanstream Media V Digital Media
    IOSR Journal of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 26, Issue 5, Series 4 (May. 2021) 24-29 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org Disinformation; Meanstream Media V Digital Media Victor Aganbi B. A, MSc, PhD Mass Com; MBA; BL, LLB, LLM, Department of Media & Communication, College of Social & Management Studies, Afe Babalola University, Nigeria. Background: Media is constantly changing and each technological change results in new forms of media being created. The changes in the media rather than witness the deaths of newspapers, radio or television have found a new scope on the internet which further aggravates the prevalence of disinformation. As a result, much premium has been placed on accurate information by the public and national security agencies. This study “Disinformation; Mainstream Media v Digital media” examines the extent to which disinformation has plagued the media and the roles each play in the dissemination of disinformation. Methodology: The thematic review and synthesis of literature pertaining to the roles mainstream and digital media play in the dissemination in the spread of disinformation reveals the reasons for, and prevalence, of such coverage per media type. The research indicates that most people hear about so called fake news stories not from fake news/ Propaganda websites but through their coverage in mainstream news outlets. Thus far, only limited attention has been directed to the role of mainstream media in the dissemination of disinformation. Conclusion: This article successfully synthesized literature to debunk the popular opinions associated with digital media as the sole propagators of disinformation. Literature reveals that the mainstream media also contributes their quota in disseminating disinformation to the audience either through propaganda, news drawn from various disinformation websites or even through conspiratorial silence on paramount issues affecting the public.
    [Show full text]
  • Can Get Apiece of the Dbs Action
    The Fifth Estate Broadcasting ii Sep 5 HOW TV STATIONS CAN GET APIECE OF THE DBS ACTION please turn to page 3 for details D r r Besides helping to speed your cash flow, maintain up -to- the -minute control of scheduling, and expand productivity while reducing personnel costs, what else can a BAT 1700 System help you do? MAGNICOM SYSTEMS With your own on -site minicomputer up saving time and money. BAT 1700 System, you can handle BAT 1700 Systems are products of your billing faster and more accura- MAGNICOM, the company formed by tely so that money comes in faster. Control Data, Applied Data Research By having availabilities and inven- (ADR), and Storer Communications tory literally at your fingertips, you can to serve broadcasters, large and quickly respond to sales opportunities. small. Find out what MAGNICOM By being able to call up sales SYSTEMS can do to help you. reports and analyses on demand, you Call toll -free: can see where opportunities lie ready 800 -243 -5300 to be tapped, or are being missed through inattention. Compare where (In Connecticut, call 203 -622 -2400.) you stand today vs. last year or last Magnicom Systems week. 600 West Putnam Avenue You'll have at hand the kinds of Greenwich, CT 06830 things that can help a station place more spots at higher rates. And, if you're a group operator, you can multiply the benefits. By tying MAGNICOM your individual BAT 1700 Systems together, you can cut weeks off the SYSTEMS time needed to get group reports. BAT 1700 Systems are so simple that anyone can be trained to use them.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Media in the Changing Ecology of News: the Fourth and Fifth Estates in Britain
    International Journal of Internet Science 2012, 7 (1), 6–22 ISSN 1662-5544 IJIS.NET Social Media in the Changing Ecology of News: The Fourth and Fifth Estates in Britain Nic Newman1, William H. Dutton2, Grant Blank2 1Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford, United Kingdom 2Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Abstract: This paper provides a case study of the changing patterns of news production and consumption in the UK that are being shaped by the Internet and related social media. Theoretically, this focus addresses concern over whether the Internet is undermining the Fourth Estate role of the press in liberal democratic societies. The case study draws from multiple methods, including survey research of individuals in Britain from 2003–2011, analysis of log files of journalistic sites, and interviews with journalists. Survey research shows a step-jump in the use of online news since 2003 but a levelling off since 2009. However, the apparent stability in news consumption masks the growing role of social network sites. The analyses show that the Fourth Estate – the institutional news media – is using social media to enhance their role in news production and dissemination. However, networked individuals have used social media to source and distribute their own information in ways that achieve a growing independence from the Fourth Estate journalism. As more information moves online and individuals become routinely linked to the Internet, an emerging Fifth Estate, built on the activities of networked individuals sourcing and distributing their own information, is developing a synergy with the Fourth Estate as each builds on and responds to the other in this new news ecology.
    [Show full text]
  • Navigating the New Media Landscape
    IPI ReportProduced in Partnership with Uhe Poynter Institute Brave News Worlds Navigating the New Media Landscape Preface or the past three years, discussions about the future of the news media have centered Fon the decline of the so-called golden age of journalism and the descent into a chaos characterised by splintered audiences, decimated balance sheets, and the muscling-in of amateurs. Fearing that their halcyon days as the guardians of information are num- bered, many editors and journalists have engaged in collective navel-gazing, asking themselves: What went wrong? But is the future really so bleak? Is the decline a global phenomenon? Are we moving into a new ‘golden age’? And what does it mean for press freedom? To find answers to these pressing questions, the International Press Institute teamed up with the Poynter Institute, one of the premier journalism training centers in the world, to set out on a global investigation assembling an international group of editors, jour- nalists, visionaries and sceptics to discover how the future of the news is developing around the world. The result is that after a 10-year absence, the IPI Report series has returned, revamped and reinvigorated with a new edition entitled “Brave News Worlds”, a report that charts the exciting times ahead for the news media and uncovers the many different global perspectives thereof. Picking up where the IPI Report series left off in 2000, “Brave News Worlds” explores what the next 10 years hold for the news and journalism industry and offers insight into how journalists and non-journalists alike can take advantage of changes in the media and technology to make the future of news a bright one.
    [Show full text]
  • Watching the Watchdog: Bloggers As the Fifth Estate Stephen D
    Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Communications Faculty Research Communications 1-1-2006 Watching the Watchdog: Bloggers as the Fifth Estate Stephen D. Cooper Marshall University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/communications_faculty Part of the Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Other Communication Commons, and the Social Media Commons Recommended Citation Cooper, S. D. (2006). The lob gosphere and the public sphere. In Watching the watchdog: Bloggers as the fifth se tate (pp. 277-303). Spokane, WA: Marquette Books. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Communications at Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHAPTER 8 The Blogosphere and the Public Sphere As is to be expected after a technological or social innovation in communication occurs, there has already been a great deal of rumination about the influence ofblogs on the public's discussion of issues, events, and policy questions. It would be an interesting project - but beyond the scope of this work - to analyze the major viewpoints on blogs and the public discourse, with an eye for the social group in which those viewpoints are the conventional wisdom: say, among news professionals, among academicians, among bloggers, . and in the general public. Here, it is enough simply to note that the estimations ofblogs' impact and value, potential or already realized, range from laudatory (e.g., Bennett, 2005; Hewitt, 2005; Leo, 2004) to derogatory (e.g., Engberg, 2004; Rall, 2005; Parker, 2005; Zerbisias, 2004).
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Fifth Estate
    The Fifth Estate: Democratic Social Accountability through the Emerging Network of Networks1 William H. Dutton Professor of Internet Studies, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford Abstract The rise of the press, radio, television and other mass media has enabled the development of an independent institution: the ‘Fourth Estate’, central to pluralist democratic processes. The growing use of the Internet and related digital technologies is creating a space for networking individuals in ways that enable a new source of accountability in government, politics and other sectors. This chapter explains how this emerging ‘Fifth Estate’ is being established and why this could challenge the influence of other more established bases of institutional authority. It discusses approaches to the governance of this new social and political phenomenon that could nurture the Fifth Estate’s potential for supporting the vitality of liberal democratic societies. The Emergence of a New Pluralist Democratic Institution The historical conception of feudal societies being divided into ‘estates of the realm’, as reflected in France, England and Scotland, can be up-dated in a way that is useful for understanding developments in contemporary network 1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1167502 societies. In pre-revolutionary France and England, for example, these estates were identified as the clergy, nobility and commons.2 In the 18th Century, as explained by Thomas Carlyle (1905: 349-50), Edmund Burke identified the press as a Fourth Estate: Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Amendment and the Fifth Estate
    DO NOT DELETE 3/27/2012 4:50 PM ARTICLES THE MEDIA THAT NEED CITIZENS: THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE FIFTH ESTATE ADAM COHEN* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 2 II. THE CHANGING MEDIA ECOLOGY—AND THE ELITE RESPONSE ............................................................................................. 7 III. THE FIFTH ESTATE AND FIRST AMENDMENT VALUES ......... 23 A. INFORMATION NEEDED IN A DEMOCRACY ................................. 25 B. CHECKING GOVERNMENT ABUSES ............................................. 30 C. CHECKING THE PRIVATE SECTOR ............................................... 32 D. ENCOURAGING INTEREST GROUP FORMATION ........................... 35 E. PROMOTING SELF-EXPRESSION ................................................... 38 IV. TOWARD A RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE ........................................... 43 A. THE RIGHT OF EQUAL TREATMENT ............................................ 45 B. THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ........... 59 C. POLICIES OF PARTICIPATION ....................................................... 66 V. AN ARCHITECTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY ................................ 76 VI. CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 85 * Lecturer in Law and Kauffman Fellow, Yale Law School. Member, New York Times Editorial Board, 2002–2010. A.B. Harvard College, 1984; J.D. Harvard Law School, 1987. I would like to thank Jed Rubenfeld, Jack Balkin, Amy Chua,
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Social Media in Societal Change: Cases in Finland of Fifth
    SMSXXX10.1177/2056305115612782Social Media + SocietySormanen and Dutton 612782research-article2015 Article Social Media + Society July-December 2015: 1 –16 The Role of Social Media in Societal © The Author(s) 2015 DOI: 10.1177/2056305115612782 Change: Cases in Finland of Fifth Estate sms.sagepub.com Activity on Facebook Niina Sormanen1 and William H. Dutton2 Abstract The Internet can be used to reconfigure access to information and people in ways that can support networked individuals and enhance their relative communicative power vis-à-vis other individuals and institutions, such as by supporting collective action, sourcing of information, and whistle blowing. The societal and political significance of the Internet is a matter of academic debate, with some studies suggesting a powerful role in creating a “Fifth Estate,” and other studies challenging such claims. Research on this issue has not yet comprehensively focused on social network sites and those operating in a very liberal-democratic context. Based on an embedded case study of Facebook use in Finland, this study focuses on the uses of social media in building communicative power, such as in capacity to foster social movements in ways that conform to conceptions of the Internet’s Fifth Estate. The case study combines qualitative and quantitative methods to examine a sample of 2,300 Facebook pages and their online and offline activities and impact qualities. The results located 27 pages that reached a threshold we established for identifying online social movements with the potential for enhancing their communicative power, with a small minority of four cases appearing to have actualized communicative power. These findings not only reinforce the potential of Fifth Estate activity on social media but also underline the challenges of societal change in this predominantly entertainment-oriented social context.
    [Show full text]