Can parasocial relationships (one-way bonds with media figures) positively influence body esteem for men, counteracting the negative impact of unattainable muscular physiques? Bonding with Batman could make you stronger: http://bit.ly/Pp0jhp Google+: View post on Google+
How people get local news & information differs by community type
But we're all still highly interested. This new Pew study looks not only at sources but also what topics we're most interested in and how we participate in local news including commenting, sharing, and contributing: http://bit.ly/PoWM2p Google+: View post on Google+
Is the type of media we trust linked to political beliefs?
Pew's new Politics on Social Networking Sites study (http://bit.ly/QiHFti) shows Democrats and liberals place more importance on social media than Republicans or Independents. This seems to fit with the Democratic party's outreach through sites like Tumblr and Reddit while the Republican party concentrates on the value of advertising (http://bit.ly/N7B05C) in social media. Google+: View post […]
Reddit's Reasonable Requests for IAmA
There's a lot of talk today about Obama's Reddit IAmA and Reddit itself. The articles cover some basic topics, but what's missing is the best part: One year ago Reddit's own IAmA guidelines said "Second, reasonable requests only. 'IAmA Request: Obama!' is not acceptable." It has been updated to God at some point — but […]
From potted begonias to user profiles: Visualizing community
What are the visible signs of community that we look for online … Photo galleries? Creative avatars? Well-organized and tended conversation threads? Complete user profiles? Read more: http://www.senseofcommunityresearch.org/online-community-2/from-potted-begonias-to-user-profiles-visualizing-community Google+: View post on Google+
Lesser-Known Benefits of Video Games
“Game play is where we learn,” said Pamela B. Rutledge, PhD, of the Media Psychology Research Center. “You have to learn to play, and when you learn, you make progress.” Check out the symposium summary from the 2012 APA Convention: http://buff.ly/MsFbKl Excellent topic! Google+: View post on Google+
Sherry Turkle on TED: Connected, but alone?
If you haven't heard of Sherry Turkle, she is a brilliant psychologist studying how we live with technology. I don't always agree with her, but I do always learn from her. This talk is a great follow up to her books and shows the evolution in her thinking. Embedded Link Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone? […]
Whenever I read about the differences between social media and other media because…
Whenever I read about the differences between social media and other media because they are platforms it reminds me of this excellent insight from Tarleton Gillespie. Embedded Link eCommons@Cornell: The Politics of ‘Platforms’ Title: The Politics of ‘Platforms’. Authors: Gillespie, Tarleton. Keywords: platform YouTube. Google policy discourse distribution video. Internet. Issue Date: 20-May-2009. Abstract: Online […]
Placement matters in the choices we make
In this study on objects things in the middle were chosen more often. Earlier research on sequence showed a preference for the extremes. Embedded Link BPS Research Digest: People prefer the middle option When objects are arranged in an array from left to right, the central item jumps up and down and calls out […]