Mothers of invention: Commercial content on mother blogs and perceptions of credibility A pilot study Caitlin Horrall School of Information Studies University of Ottawa Under the supervision of Mary Cavanagh, PhD School of Information Studies University of Ottawa Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Information Studies (MIS) © Caitlin Horrall, Ottawa, Canada, 2014 Abstract The popularity of mother blogs is increasingly attracting sponsors looking to market their products to mother blog audiences. This combination of commercial and informational content calls on readers and writers to distinguish between informational content and commercial activity. This thesis examines how mother bloggers integrate sponsored content into their blogs and how both writers and readers interpret the credibility of these posts. The study takes place within a conceptual framework of source and message credibility. Using a qualitative and interpretive approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with readers and writers. Although the results are not generalizable, they suggest determining the credibility of these posts is a social process, informed by participants’ existing knowledge and framed within the community of mother bloggers. The results add to our understanding of credibility perceptions when commercial and informational content comingle and have implications for other online communities that require ongoing information evaluation. ii Acknowledgements It seems appropriate in a study about online communities to begin by acknowledging the community that helped bring this thesis to life. First, my sincere thanks to my thesis supervisor Dr. Mary Cavanagh whose early encouragement prompted me to undertake this study in the first place and whose timely and insightful feedback ensured it got finished. I could not have asked for a more keen and knowledgeable guide. Perhaps the greatest thanks go to the readers and bloggers who participated in this study. Your generosity, eloquence and good humour made this study not only possible but a lot of fun. I couldn't have done it without you. On the personal side, my friends and family provided support and much needed diversion. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Elisabeth who planted the seed so many years ago when she innocently asked, “Have you ever thought about library school?” My mum and dad inspired my curiosity by showing me the value of academic scholarship and more importantly the pleasure of a good story. I dedicate this work to them. Finally and most importantly, I thank Quintin for making me a mama, and helping me maintain perspective through this process but I am especially grateful to Harry whose unwavering confidence and support helped make this and so many other things possible iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Defining the Problem .............................................................................................................1 1.2 Background to the Problem ...................................................................................................2 1.3 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................................4 1.4 Defining the Research ...........................................................................................................5 1.5 Research Questions ...............................................................................................................6 1.6 Methodology .........................................................................................................................6 1.7 Definitions of Terms .............................................................................................................7 1.8 Scope and Limitations of Study ..........................................................................................10 1.9 Outline .................................................................................................................................10 Chapter 2: Introduction .................................................................................................................11 2.1 Online Reviews ...................................................................................................................11 2.2 Mother Blogs ......................................................................................................................14 2.3 Online Endorsements and Disclosures of Material Connections ........................................16 2.4 Online Credibility Assessment ...........................................................................................21 2.4.1 Related concepts ..........................................................................................................21 2.4.2 Credibility and electronic information seeking ............................................................22 2.4.3 Credibility and persuasion ...........................................................................................23 iv 2.4.4 Credibility and information evaluation ........................................................................23 2.5 Conceptual Framework .......................................................................................................25 2.6 Summary .............................................................................................................................28 Chapter 3: Methodology ...............................................................................................................29 3.1 Introduction and Research Design Summary .....................................................................29 3.2. Ethics Review ....................................................................................................................32 3.3. Phase 1: Content Analysis .................................................................................................32 3.3.1. Sampling of blog posts ...............................................................................................32 3.3.2. Data analysis ...............................................................................................................35 3.4. Phase 2: Interviews ...........................................................................................................37 3.4.1. Sampling and recruitment of participants ...................................................................37 3.4.2. Initial meetings ............................................................................................................40 3.4.3. Interview design ..........................................................................................................40 3.4.4. Pre-test ........................................................................................................................41 3.4.5. Interviews ....................................................................................................................41 3.4.6. Data analysis ...............................................................................................................42 3.4.7. Participants ..................................................................................................................43 3.5. Validation ...........................................................................................................................44 3.6 Study Limitations ................................................................................................................45 Chapter 4: Findings .......................................................................................................................47 v 4.1. Commercial Content on Mother Blogs: Overview ............................................................47 4.1.1 How is commercial activity represented in the content? ..............................................47 4.2. Credibility Assessment Interviews: Overview ...................................................................60 4.2.1 How do readers perceive and interpret these posts? .....................................................62 4.2.2 How do bloggers perceive and interpret these posts?...................................................73 4.3. Summary ............................................................................................................................81 Chapter 5: Discussion ...................................................................................................................83 5.1. Information, Interaction and Credibility ............................................................................83 5.2. Credibility and Disclosure of Material Connections .........................................................84 5.3. "Mommy Blogs" and Credibility Predisposition ...............................................................85 5.4. Summary ............................................................................................................................87 Chapter 6: Conclusion ...................................................................................................................88 6.1. Research Summary ............................................................................................................88 6.2. Implications and Opportunities