UTILIZING CONTENT ANALYSIS ON THEKNOT.COM TO STUDY AN ONLINE WEDDING PLANNING COMMUNITY FOR NEW JERSEY By ALYSON H. THELIN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Communication, Information and Library Studies Written under the direction of Dr. John V. Pavlik And approved by _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Utilizing Content Analysis on TheKnot.com to Study an Online Wedding Planning Community for New Jersey by ALYSON H. THELIN Dissertation Director: Dr. John V. Pavlik As with other aspects of our culture today, wedding planning is increasingly discussed and implemented online. Information is disseminated through online media attention, advertising, and computer mediated communication. The latter provides an avenue through which the impact of community building and relational culture can be established. My dissertation analyzes an online wedding planning forum on TheKnot.com to exemplify the ways by which a community is built through online postings and discusses the characteristics of this community. Utilizing the uses and gratification theory, content gratifications are examined through the types of topics publically viewable on an active online wedding planning Website. Because of the extensive reach of such forums, one particular region, New Jersey, will be examined. Process gratifications will be discussed as participants share personal experiences from their time spent on this particular online bulletin board planning their wedding celebration. Furthermore, the dynamics of interaction among this group will be analyzed over the course of half a calendar year and will show the types of interaction taking place through content analysis. ii © 2016 Alyson H. Thelin All rights reserved. iii Dedication To my mother, Ellen Thelin, and husband, Jim Davison – I dedicate the completion of this professional achievement to them and acknowledge that without their constant love, assistance, and encouragement, this goal would never have been achieved. To my children, Andrew and Keira Davison – “My turn! I did it!” To my father, Lowell Thelin, and sister, Alexandra Thelin Blackowski – Thank you for cheering me on and for all your support. I love you all! iv Table of Contents Title Page ......................................................................................................................... i Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ii Copyright ....................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v List of Tables and Illustrations ...................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 A. The Wedding Industry Today ............................................................................. 6 B. Historical Bridal Customs .................................................................................. 8 C. Bridal Industry Response ................................................................................. 15 D. Study of Wedding Planning on TheKnot.com ................................................. 21 E. Research Questions .......................................................................................... 23 1. RQ #1 – Community Building ......................................................................... 24 2. RQ #2 – TheKnot.com from a Uses and Gratifications Perspective ................ 24 3. RQ #3 – Creation of Strong or Weak Ties Through Participation in TheKnot.com .................................................................................................... 24 F. Selection of TheKnot.com ................................................................................ 25 G. New Jersey Weddings ...................................................................................... 26 H. Outline of Chapters in this Study ..................................................................... 41 v Chapter 2: The Historical Role of Media Culture in Wedding Planning .......................... 44 A. History of Role of Media in Wedding Planning ............................................... 45 B. Celebrities and Royals ...................................................................................... 47 C. Wedding Reality Television ............................................................................. 51 1. Wedding Reality TV Overview ........................................................................ 52 2. Wedding Reality TV and Consumerism .......................................................... 58 D. Social Networks: Facebook Groups ................................................................. 61 E. Apps and the Future ......................................................................................... 67 Chapter 3: TheKnot.com ................................................................................................... 70 A. Contextualization of TheKnot.com .................................................................. 70 B. Corporate Structure, Ownership, Advertising .................................................. 73 C. Comparison to Other Online Sites .................................................................... 76 D. Moderation, Privacy, and Terms of Use Policies ............................................. 81 Chapter 4: Literature Review: Theoretical Perspectives .................................................. 83 A. The Internet and Interactive Dimensions of Media .......................................... 84 1. Online Discussion Environments ..................................................................... 86 2. Online Communities ......................................................................................... 89 3. Online Gaming Communities ........................................................................... 94 4. Wedding Planning and Computer Networks .................................................... 97 B. Dynamics of Interaction in Online Communities ........................................... 103 vi C. Creation of Ties .............................................................................................. 110 D. Uses and Gratifications Theory ...................................................................... 120 1. History of Theory ........................................................................................... 120 2. Application to Online Communities ............................................................... 126 E. Content Gratifications and Process Gratifications ......................................... 132 F. Content Analysis and Intercoder Reliability .................................................. 135 G. Interaction in Online Groups through Content Analysis ................................ 140 1. Bales’ Interaction Process Analysis ............................................................... 144 2. Finegold and Cooke Modification .................................................................. 146 Chapter 5: Individual Interviews .................................................................................... 153 A. Methodology .................................................................................................. 153 1. Participant Demographics .............................................................................. 153 2. Survey Design and Procedures ....................................................................... 156 3. Interview Questions and Analysis .................................................................. 157 Chapter 6: Application of Content Analysis ................................................................... 173 A. Design ............................................................................................................. 173 B. Data Set .......................................................................................................... 174 1. Scale Used for this Research Project .............................................................. 175 2. Examples of Categories .................................................................................. 181 3. Intercoder Reliability ...................................................................................... 195 vii 4. Initial Post Analysis ........................................................................................ 197 5. Reply Post Analysis ........................................................................................ 200 C. Participants: Posters and Commenters ........................................................... 210 1. Popular Topics Discussed .............................................................................. 214 2. Non-Traditional Ideas Utilized ......................................................................