Marc Ziegele

Privacy in Social Network Sites

Are we running out of privacy? Nowadays, for example, we are concerned about whether the maintenance of a private sphere in online environments has become a luxury commodity (Papacharissi 2009). Questions of this kind are justified as online communication plays an increasingly important role in people’s everyday life (cf., e.g., Lundby 2009). While it seems exaggerated to stigmatize today’s youth as “communication junkies” (Patalong 2010), online conversations are increasingly becoming a functional equivalent to face to face communication (Beer 2008). However, some significant differences between online and “offline” communication remain. Face to face communication may remain largely intimate in some situations. It does not necessarily require the disclosure of personal data nor does it leave behind traces (Dwyer et al. 2007; Tufekci 2008). In contrast, online communication is usually mediated by providers with commercial interests. These providers do not confine themselves to gathering personal data and the content of user communications, rather they try to make conversations as public as possible by default (Gross and Acquisti 2005; Acquisti and Gross 2006). Additionally, the speed of technological progress often exceeds the time Internet users need to cultivate awareness for potential risks resulting from the use of these communication measures (Livingstone 2008). Thus, questions about how users manage their privacy online are topical for a majority of social services of the Social Web.

Conceptualizing Online Discussion Value: A Multidimensional Framework for Analyzing User Comments on Mass-Media Websites

This chapter provides a micro-framework for analyzing the quantity and quality of online user comments on mass-media websites. On one dimension, news factors of news items and discussion factors of existing user comments are assumed to indicate the relevance of participating in online discussions. On a second dimension, specific motivational, social, and design factors are influential when reconstructing users’ decisions to participate in online discussions and when analyzing the content of online user comments. The two dimensions in combination describe the discussion value of news items. Potential applications of this framework on other forms of interpersonal communication are discussed.

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Privacy Calculus

The “privacy calculus” approach to studying online privacy implies that willingness to engage in disclosures on social network sites (SNSs) depends on evaluation of the resulting risks and benefits. In this article, we propose that cultural factors influence the perception of privacy risks and social gratifications. Based on survey data collected from participants from five countries (Germany [n = 740], the Netherlands [n = 89], the United Kingdom [n = 67], the United States [n = 489], and China [n = 165]), we successfully replicated the privacy calculus. Furthermore, we found that culture plays an important role: As expected, people from cultures ranking high in individualism found it less important to generate social gratifications on SNSs as compared to people from collectivist-oriented countries. However, the latter placed greater emphasis on privacy risks—presumably to safeguard the collective. Furthermore, we identified uncertainty avoidance to be a cultural dimension crucially influencing the perception of SNS risks and benefits. As expected, people from cultures ranking high in uncertainty avoidance found privacy risks to be more important when making privacy-related disclosure decisions. At the same time, these participants ascribed lower importance to social gratifications—possibly because social encounters are perceived to be less controllable in the social media environment.

The dynamics of online news discussions: effects of news articles and reader comments on users’ involvement, willingness to participate, and the civility of their contributions*

ABSTRACT This study investigates when and why news website visitors write civil or uncivil comments in response to news articles or related user comments. In an experiment, we manipulated the news value of news articles and the presence of ‘deliberative’ or ‘detrimental’ elements of comments to compare their impact on participants’ involvement, willingness to comment, and the comments they posted. News factors and comment characteristics increased participants’ willingness to comment via cognitive and affective involvement. Cognitive involvement made it less likely and affective involvement more likely that participants wrote uncivil comments. Additionally, involvement with previous comments increased participants’ willingness to comment on articles and vice versa. Results imply that news articles and comments dynamically shape the discussion value of online news.

Not Funny? The Effects of Factual Versus Sarcastic Journalistic Responses to Uncivil User Comments

Incivility in user comments on news websites has been discussed as a significant problem of online participation. Previous research suggests that news outlets should tackle this problem by interactively moderating uncivil postings and asking their authors to discuss more civilized. We argue that this kind of interactive comment moderation as well as different response styles to uncivil comments (i.e., factual vs. sarcastic) differently affect observers’ evaluations of the discussion atmosphere, the credibility of the news outlet, the quality of its stories, and ultimately observers’ willingness to participate in the discussions. Results from an online experiment show that factual responses to uncivil comments indirectly increase participation rates by suggesting a deliberative discussion atmosphere. In contrast, sarcastic responses indirectly deteriorate participation rates due to a decrease in the credibility of the news outlet and the quality of its stories. Sarcastic responses however increase the entertainment value of the discussions.

Outfit oder Output

Nicht nur bei der Prasentation gros angelegter Forschungsprojekte stehen Hochschullehrerinnen und -lehrer verstarkt im Fokus der Offentlichkeit und des interessierten Fachpublikums. Gerade vor dem Hintergrund des zunehmenden Evaluierungsdrucks in der Lehre mussen sie sich auch regelmasig der kritischen Beurteilung durch die Studierenden stellen. Der Ruf, den die Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler bei Studierenden geniesen, konnte dabei masgeblich sowohl von ihrer wissenschaftlichen Reputation als auch von ihrem auseren Auftreten abhangen. In einem Fragebogenexperiment mit 154 Studierenden verschiedener Fachbereiche geht die vorliegende Studie am Beispiel der Merkmale „Kleidungsstil“ und „akademische Leistung“ erstmals der Frage nach, wie sich fach- und erscheinungsbezogene Eigenschaften auf die Wahrnehmung und Bewertung von Hochschullehrern in Deutschland auswirken. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen deutlichen Einfluss der akademischen Leistung, wahrend dem Kleidungsstil tendenziell weniger Bedeutung beikommt. Die Befunde sind von groser Relevanz fur (einige) Hochschullehrer in Deutschland.

The digital outcry: What incites participation behavior in an online firestorm?:

Brands, celebrities, or politicians are increasingly facing enormous online outrages in response to moral misconducts. These online firestorms are characterized by high message volume, indignant tonality, and negative opinion climate. Based on the concept of moral panics, this article analyzes why people join online firestorms. We argue that participation behavior is driven by a moral compass and a desire for social recognition. Results of an experiment and a content analysis of user comments show that a higher number of participants decreases users’ willingness to participate but fosters compliance with the prevalent opinion and tonality of the comments. We also observe that a higher moral arousal of the issue increases perceived similarity with previous participants, which in turn affects whether and how people participate. In total, our results indicate the importance of social context for participation behavior in an online firestorm.