writing theory literature review

7/30/2019 Writing Theory Literature Review

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Alexis Smith

English 301

10/25/12

Literature Review Draft

Introduction

The focus of this literature review is determining the positive and negative effects social

networking sites have on corporations versus non- profit organizations. Both groups want to

spread information about their organizations, but for very different reasons. As a result, they use

social networking sites in different ways. The goal of this review is to discern the ways in which

social networking works for and against corporations and on-profits. The audience for this

review consists of professional writers interested in social networking, as well as individuals

interested in business and charity/community work.

Sources

1. Westland, J. J. (2012). The adoption of social networking technologies in cinemareleases. Information Technology & Management, 13(3), 167-181.

doi:10.1007/s10799-012-0114-0

This article discusses the ways in which social networking promotion affects cinema

releases. The author argues that social networking strategies are more "cost-effective"

(Westland), since traditional advertising campaigns that include tv and print

advertising spots are so expensive. Westland uses data from internet search engines to

conduct his research. The quantitative data that results from his research will help me


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illustrate the effects of social networking in advertising. Also, the idea that

advertising through social networks is so much cheaper than traditional advertising

campaigns strikes me as a point I should research further.

2. A systematic examination of the use of Online social networking sites for sexual

health promotion. (2011). BMC Public Health, 11(1), 583-591. doi:10.1186/1471-

2458-11-583

This article examines how and with what frequency social networking sites are used

for sexual health promotion. It argues that organizations decided to start using the

sites to promote awareness because of the ever increasing interest in social

networking. Researchers gathered data and information from scientific literature,

electronic sources, and social networking sites. This type of research yields both

quantitative and qualitative data. In the end, the researchers exemplified 178

examples of sexual health promotion on social networking sites. This article offers a

different type of advertising perspective to my research question, since it does not

deal with companies selling a product, but rather mostly non-profit organizations

raising sexual health awareness. It's research and data showed me how advertising

through social networking can be used for the good of communities, rather than just

financial gain.

3. Ardito, S. C. (2012). Pharma's Battle With Social Media. Searcher, 20(2), 44-48.

This article explores the conflict that followed Facebook's 2011 decision to take away

pharmaceutical companies' ability to restrict users from commenting on company


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Facebook pages. Pharmaceutical companies want the FDA to create rules and

regulations to prevent Facebook users from criticizing companies/brands, as well as

discussing adverse effects that companies would then have to report and investigate.

Another major problem social networking sites present for companies is that the

criticisms will remain on the internet unless they are manually removed, even after

the issues brought up are resolved. This article is valuable to my research because it

depicts how advertising and publicity through social networking sites can be

problematic for companies and organizations. The concept that regulatory laws

should be enacted to protect companies from damaging criticism is a point I would

like to explore further.

4. Waters, R. D., Burnett, E., Lamm, A., & Lucas, J. (2009). Engaging stakeholders

through social networking: How nonprofit organizations are using Facebook. Public

Relations Review, 35(2), 102-106. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.01.006

This article discusses how organizations have started using social network sites as a main

component of their public relations strategies. The author touches on the fact that for-

profit organizations use social networking to promote products, and then acknowledges

that there is a lack if information relating to social networking use by non-profits. The

article analyzes 275 Facebook profiles associated with non-profits, hoping to shed light

on how they are used. This article is valuable to my research questions because it

identifies an area where there are gaps in research. The methods they use to analyze the

profiles could help me further the study of non-profit social networking.

5. Lovejoy, K., Waters, R. D., & Saxton, G. D. (2012). Engaging stakeholders through

Twitter: How nonprofit organizations are getting more out of 140 characters or less.

Public Relations Review, 38(2), 313-318. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.01.005


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This article discusses the features of Twitter and studies the way non-profits use the site

to engage viewers. The article analyzes non-profit organizations and their activities on

Twitter. Activities they focus on are tweet frequency, following behavior, hyperlinks,

hashtags, public messages, retweets, and multimedia files. After examining these factors,

the article determines that non-profits are not successfully engaging the public through

the social networking site. These findings are interesting, because they show areas where

non-profits can improve to better utilize social networking.

6. Quain, J. R. (2010). Social Network Cause and Effect. U.S. News & World Report,

147(10), 36-38.

This article examines the ways in which charities use social networking sites to promote

their causes and the use of the sites to actually create charitable organizations. It also

discusses how social networking can encourage volunteerism for various causes. This

article is relevant because it further explains how non-profits utilize social networking

and also adds something new by discussing volunteerism.

7. Krause, S., & Quick, D. (2011). Using technology to help save mothers and babies.

Forced Migration Review, (38), 16-17.

This article discusses how a particular non-profit organization, Mama: Together for Safe

Births in Crises, uses social networking. It emphasizes the fact that social networking

helps create a community of health care workers around the world. Through the online

community, members can share information and tools to benefit the cause. This article is

important because it focuses on a specific non-profit, allowing it to go into more detail.

Also, it emphasizes the globalized nature and potential of social networking sites.


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8. Switzer, C. (2012). How Charities Can Face Down Troublemakers on Social

Networks. Chronicle Of Philanthropy, 24(8), 1.

This article explains how non-profit organizations deal with criticism on social

networking sites, such as Facebook. Apparently, many non-profits have issues with

continuous criticism by certain individuals who are only interested in starting fights.

These confrontations mainly occur because not everyone agrees with some non-profits

causes. This subject is interesting because there are not many studies that address how

social networking can work against non-profits and their causes.

Conclusion

The information and sources included in this review cover the general ways in

which corporations and non-profits use social networking sites. In order to contribute to

the existing research, it would be beneficial to study more specific corporations and

organizations. Also, more studies should be conducted on the negative effects of social

networking, because there is a lack of research in that area.

References

Smitko, K. (2012). Donor engagement through Twitter. Public Relations Review, 38(4), 633-635.

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.05.012


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Berkman, J. (2011). In Reaching Young Adults, Nonprofits Seek to Appeal to Them as a 'Tribe'. Chronicle Of

Philanthropy, 23(16), 23-24.

Switzer, C. (2012). How Charities Can Face Down Troublemakers on Social Networks.

Chronicle of Philanthropy, 24(8), 1.

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