Many websites nowadays allow social networking between their users in an explicit or implicit way. In this work, we show how the theory of argumentation schemes can provide a valuable help to formalize and structure on-line discussions and user opinions in decision support and business oriented websites that hold social networks among their users. Two real case studies are considered and analys...

The technologies and functions of social media have significantly changed interaction on the Internet. These changes affect the perceived attractiveness of websites. Prior research regarding classic Internet offers has only partly considered these specifics. The determinants of attractive social media websites and corresponding online instruments remain under-investigated. Therefore, this study...

Although scientists today rely on the World Wide Web to help them with their research, mainly using it to search for information, newer capabilities such as blogging, tagging, and social networking are only just beginning to be exploited by scientists. Over the past few years, the changes that have taken place in the ways that the World Wide Web is used are epitomized by the dramatic increase i...

CONTEXT Efforts to promote organ donation have traditionally relied on mass-mediated or interpersonal communication to promote donor registration. Despite its popularity, the use of online media has yet to be carefully evaluated as a platform to promote organ donation. OBJECTIVE To describe results of an intervention to promote donor registration that relies solely on online media to communic...

The field of technoethics explores the ethical challenges that technology poses to the different spheres of society. Recently, scholars have begun to explore the ethical implications of new digital technologies and social media, particularly in the realms of society and politics. A qualitative case study was conducted on Barack Obama’s campaign social networking site, my.barackobama.com, in ord...

Due to the increased popularity of social networking sites, a new platform called social commerce has emerged. Social commerce facilitates online interactions and user contributions to assist them in conducting commercial transactions. In this study, we rely on risk-return strategy in consumers’ decision making to study drivers and deterrents of social commerce use. We study both purchasing and...

"Web 2.0" heralds a breakthrough opportunity for empowering healthcare consumers of all types, and especially for those suffering from different forms of chronic illness. As the author shows using some data gathered from a popular social networking website--MySpace.com--this opportunity may be greatest for heavily stigmatized chronic health issues, such as obesity and mental illness.

This study examined online communication on social networking web pages in a longitudinal sample of 92 youths (39 male, 53 female). Participants' social and behavioral adjustment was assessed when they were ages 13-14 years and again at ages 20-22 years. At ages 20-22 years, participants' social networking website use and indicators of friendship quality on their web pages were coded by observe...

In recent years, a social networking service (SNS) not only thrives in digital content industries but also functions as a platform that focuses on facilitating the building of social interactions among people. Based on the DeLone and McLean model (2003), this study develops a modified model to examine the effect of the three website technology characteristics on user satisfaction, benefits of s...

Social media is used as a platform to not only make connections and share user-generated content but also to advertise products. We study the role of opinion leadership on the social media networking website of Facebook for product advertisements through news feeds and wall postings. We found that perceived benevolence of the opinion leader posting advertisements was significantly associated wi...