I am pleased to announce the latest title in Morgan & Claypool's series on
Human-Centered Informatics:

 

Social Media and Civic Engagement: History, Theory, and Practice
Scott P. Robertson, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Paperback ISBN: 9781627053945
eBook ISBN: 9781627053952

Hardcover ISBN: 9781681733166
May 2018, 137 pages
http://www.morganclaypoolpublishers.com/catalog_Orig/product_info.php?produc
ts_id=1247

 

Abstract:

Social media platforms are the latest manifestation in a series of
sociotechnical innovations designed to enhance civic engagement, political
participation, and global activism. While many researchers started out as
optimists about the promise of social media for broadening participation and
enhancing civic engagement, recent events have tempered that optimism. As
this book goes to press, Facebook is fighting a battle over the massive
disclosure of user information during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign,
social analytics company Cambridge Analytica is being revealed as a major
player in micro profiling voters in that same election, bots and fake news
factories are undermining democratic discourse via social media worldwide,
and the president of the United States is unnerving the world as a
stream-of-consciousness Twitter user.

This book is a foundational review of current research on social media and
civic engagement organized in terms of history, theory, practice, and
challenges. History reviews how researchers and developers have continuously
pushed the envelope to explore technology enhancements for political and
social discourse. Theory reveals that the use of globally-networked social
technologies touches many fields including political science, sociology,
psychology, media studies, network science, and more. Practice is examined
through studies of political engagement both in democratic situations and in
confrontational situations. Challenges are identified in order to find ways
forward.

For better or worse, social media for civic engagement has come of age.
Citizens, politicians, and activists are utilizing social media in
innovative ways, while bad actors are discovering possibilities for
spreading dissension and undermining trust. We are at a sobering inflection
point, and this book is your foundation for understanding how we got here
and where we are going.

Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / History /
Theory / Engagement / Challenges/ Epilogue / Bibliography / Author Biography

 

 

Series: Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics

Editor: John M. Carroll, Penn State University

 
<http://www.morganclaypoolpublishers.com/catalog_Orig/index.php?cPath=22&sor
t=2d&series=30>
http://www.morganclaypoolpublishers.com/catalog_Orig/index.php?cPath=22&sort
=2d&series=30


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