Research Papers by Kang Baek
Communication Research Reports, 2014
Hyperlinks are connective devices that allow users to direct each other in digital spaces while a... more Hyperlinks are connective devices that allow users to direct each other in digital spaces while also demonstrating their own interests in specific types of content. Communication scholars have analyzed motivations for the use of social network sites (SNSs) at a broad level, opening up questions about the impetus for sharing hyperlinks in these spaces. In particular, scholars have focused on Twitter as an important platform for news and information sharing and community building, exploring a variety of motivations for its use. This study expands upon recent research by analyzing user motivations for posting hyperlinks on Twitter. Through a survey of Twitter users, this study revealed a central social role for hyperlinks, indicating their use to seek information by soliciting reciprocal linking from other users. The findings provide new insights for researchers and practitioners into an increasingly important part of users’ engagement and information flows on Twitter. Broader implications for media scholars and practitioners are discussed.
Given the increasing uptake of the social network site Facebook, mass communication researchers h... more Given the increasing uptake of the social network site Facebook, mass communication researchers have begun focusing on what drives people to use the site and what kinds of information they interact with. Perhaps because of the relative novelty of Facebook, little research has scratched beneath the surface to explore why people engage in certain functions the site offers. Attention to these engagements and the motivations behind them could help improve current mass communication approaches, especially in critical industries such as news media, where traditional models are struggling to evolve. This study explored user motivations for engaging in link-sharing through Facebook, uncovering motives that extend beyond those of previous research. The findings also consider the influence of those motivations on linking frequency, and link content, introducing motivations that add to current viewpoints of social network sites as information hubs. It also provides new media researchers and practitioners with novel insight into an increasingly important Facebook behavior.
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Research Papers by Kang Baek