Fueling the Revolution: Social Media’s effect on Societal Revolutions Marta Maria Khomko Dissertation submitted as a partial requirement for the conferral of Master in Marketing Supervisor: Prof. Rui Manuel Vinhas da Silva, ISCTE Business School, Departamento de Marketing, Operações e Gestão Geral June 2015 Marta Maria Khomko Maria Marta Fueling the Revolution: Social Media’s effect on Societal Revolutions on Societal effect Media’s Social Revolution: the Fueling Abstract “When we change the way we communicate, we change society”- Clay Shirky. The rise of social networking sites will play an increasingly important role in the formation of group identity and collective actions such as societal protests and Revolutions. The new use of social networking sites is a significant departure from static, solely profile based online platforms. Networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are being utilized by thousands of individuals in an organized fashion to incite real social change. The topic of this dissertation is social media’s effect on social Revolutions. It focuses more specifically on the Ukrainian Revolution as it has received considerable attention and interest. For this reason this topic will be looked at from a marketing perspective to analyze how social media dispenses information and influences individuals to engage with the movement. Drawing from McLuhan’s media theory, social network and collective action theories, this dissertation argues that social networking sites impact societal revolutions by influencing protest attendance and information perception. Key words: Social media, revolutions, social networks, social marketing JEL Classification System: D74 (Conflict resolution), D71 (Social choice) Resumo “Quando mudamos o modo de comunicar, mudamos a sociedade”- Clay Shirky. O avanço das redes sociais terá um papel cada vez mais importante no desenvolvimento da identidade de grupo e acções colectivas como protestos sociais e revoluções. O novo uso das redes sociais é um avanço significativo em relação às plataformas estáticas baseadas somente no perfil do utilizador. Redes como o Facebook, o Twitter, etc. estão a ser utilizadas por milhares de indivíduos de modo organizado para realmente incitar mudanças sociais. O tema desta dissertação é o efeito que as redes sociais têm nas revoluções sociais. A mesma foca-se na Revolução Ucraniana, que captou considerável atenção e interesse mundial. Por este motivo, este tópico será analisado de uma perspectiva de marketing, para verificar como os meios sociais fornecem informação e influenciam os indivíduos a participar em movimentos. É a partir da teoria mediática de McLuhan’s, da rede social e das teorias de acção colectiva que esta dissertação se propõe a analisar o impacto que as redes sociais têm na revolução social, através da influência no activismo protestante e na divulgação de informação. Palavras-chave: Meios sociais, revoluções, redes sociais, marketing social Classificação Sistema JEL: D74 (Resolução de conflitos), D71 (Escolha social) Acknowledgements The completion of this dissertation signifies an important and critical stage in my life’s journey. It could not have been possible without the help and support of professors, family and friends. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the people who have shared both the excitement and the stress during this process. Let me begin by thanking Rui Manuel Vinhas da Silva, my thesis supervisor, who has helped guide and structure my ideas into a meaningful study. He has been a constant support throughout the writing of this dissertation. Professor Kim Serota and Antonio Segalini should also be acknowledged for their advice and consultation. However no obstacle can be overcome without the encouragement of family and friends. I am blessed to have friends who, despite being busy with their own lives, have always took the time to listen and encourage me. Raymond Robles and Jacob R. Wilson, thank you for days that you spent reading and discussing my work and for all your helpful suggestions. Your constant confidence in me and my abilities has led me to pursue my biggest dreams. I would like to express my gratitude to my family. My mom Oleksandara and my parents- in – law Marlene and Livio who have always encouraged me. To my husband, Andrea Racano, who has been with me every day throughout this process and with whom I have shared both the lowest and the highest moments. Thank you for your unyielding love and constant motivation. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to my grandparents, whose unconditional love, motivation and belief in me, has helped guide all of my life’s decisions. To you I dedicate this dissertation. Thank you all. Fueling the Revolution: Social Media’s effect on Societal Revolutions Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables.............................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1: Historical Overview .............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................................. 5 2.1 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Media Ecology ................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 McLuhan's Media Theory .............................................................................................. 14 2.3.1 Criticism of McLuhan and Media Ecology ......................................................... 17 2.4 Social Network Theory................................................................................................... 19 2.4.1 Diffusion .............................................................................................................. 24 2.4.2 Criticism of Social Network Theory .................................................................... 26 2.4.3 Social network’s effect on Collective Action ...................................................... 27 2.5 Collective Action and the Online Environment ............................................................. 29 2.6 Evolution of social media and SNS ................................................................................ 32 2.7 New media and social protests ....................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 38 3.1 Research Framework ...................................................................................................... 38 3.2 Sample ............................................................................................................................ 44 i Fueling the Revolution: Social Media’s effect on Societal Revolutions 3.3 Instrumentation ............................................................................................................... 46 3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 4: Results and Analysis ........................................................................................... 51 4.1 Socio-demographic representation on the sample population ........................................ 51 4.2 Social media use ............................................................................................................. 55 4.2.1 Types of social media being used ........................................................................ 55 4.3 Protest attendance and social media use ......................................................................... 59 4.4 Social media vs. conventional media ............................................................................. 61 4.5 Attitudes towards social media and the Revolution ....................................................... 64 4.6 Hypothesis testing .......................................................................................................... 66 4.6.1 Hypothesis 1 ........................................................................................................ 66 4.6.2 Hypothesis 2 ........................................................................................................ 67 4.6.3 Hypothesis 3 ........................................................................................................ 68 4.6.4 Hypothesis 4 ........................................................................................................ 69 4.6.5 Hypothesis 5 ........................................................................................................ 70 4.6.6 Hypothesis 6 ........................................................................................................ 70 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Discussion ................................................................................. 72 5.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 72 5.2 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 73 5.3 Marketing