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This paper aims to investigate the multihoming behavior of users on social networking web sites in the absence or the presence of product differentiation.

The approach is to build a theoretical model to explain the multihoming behavior of users on social networking web sites.

Under multihoming without product differentiation, all members of the smaller network multihome to the bigger network and the social networking web site with the bigger network size benefits from multihoming. Under multihoming with product differentiation, when the smaller network differentiates its product from the bigger network, then all members of the bigger network will multihome to the smaller network. Welfare is higher for both sided multihoming and both sided multihoming will happen only when the social networking web sites are differentiated in terms of features.

The model is a theoretical model and will need to be tested empirically.

The results of the model indicate that multihoming results in increased utility for the users of social networking web sites when the two web sites are differentiated in terms of features.

From the literature available in the public domain, the paper has not found any existing theoretical model to explain multihoming behavior of users on social networking web sites. The paper fulfils this objective.

The purpose of the studies was to test if extent of prior social media activity could predict likelihood that a consumer would post reviews on a new review website.

Two online surveys were conducted presenting scenarios in which users were asked about prior social media activity, the number of social networks they belonged to in study one, and how actively they had posted reviews in study two. These questions were followed by descriptions of new review websites, a general local merchant review website in study one and a local restaurant review website in study two.

Although demographics did a poor job of predicting who would post reviews on the new review websites, prior active social media use and review posting did modestly predict intention to post reviews on the new review websites.

This is not an experimental study and so causality cannot be claimed. Descriptively, although the results were consistent in two studies using different stimuli, other factors might prove to be better predictors of active user‐generated content for other types of sites.

The findings suggest a simple and effective way for two‐sided platform managers to identify potential active reviewers so that they can target them through marketing strategies to encourage their essential participation and less‐active users can be similarly targeted to encourage modest use.

No other studies can be found that focus on this aspect of managing two‐sided platforms. The results might be important for managers of other similar websites that depend on user‐generated content for their value.

There exist large gaps in research about social networking services, for example in their development. Most of these networks lack any scientific or engineered base in their designing and developing processes. In this paper, a holistic model will be described for the development of social network sites and parts of a scientific social network (SSN) will be developed using it. Users of this site are faculties, students and R&D personnel of a university or an enterprise. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this paper, a SSN site is designed along with a brief description of a social network site development methodology. The structure of methodology is based on conceptual template for the construction of a methodology. Using this methodology, a group of 50 users (from all three types of end-users) have been chosen to be interviewed about their expectations from the mentioned site.

Based on the interview, it was discovered that their view about social networks is inflexible and they do not have any new visions about functionalities of these networks. Their emphasis was mostly on exchanging and sharing role of this site. Design and development of social network sites based on the proposed methodology is easily understandable because of using state machine notations.

The innovation of this study is to propose a soft model for social network sites design based on these site's special specifications and regarding differences of them with other regular ones. This can pave the way for investors of such sites for setting up distinct social sites with new functionalities in an innovative approach.

The goal of this paper is to examine the use of the major social networking tools in academic libraries in the USA. As college students are heavy users of social networking, such efforts provide academic libraries with outreach possibilities to students who do not use the physical library. The paper also seeks to examine the concerns about their use both from students and within the academic library.

The paper summarizes findings from articles published since 2006 found in the Library Literature and Information Full Text database. The first author also examined librarian blogs and library accounts in various social networking sites.

Social networking can be an effective method of student outreach in academic libraries if libraries take care to respect student privacy and to provide equal coverage for all subject areas.

Most information about social networking is anecdotal with very little statistical analysis of its effectiveness. The popularity of the various social networking sites can change quickly.

Academic libraries should consider using social networking as an outreach effort but take care to avoid the potential negative consequences.

This paper provides a snapshot on the use of social networking in academic libraries through a thorough review of the available literature and an examination of the libraries' presence on the most popular social networking sites. It also provides help for academic libraries wishing to implement social networking.

Direct marketing faces challenges and opportunities associated with the emergence of social network media. Companies need to address target audiences both directly and also indirectly through social media. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the changing media landscape of direct marketing, and proposes a model of direct and indirect targeting of buyers.

A conceptual model is presented which brings together the needs of producers, sellers and communities. Customer experience is used as an integrative framework for reconciling the sometimes differing needs of these groups.

The literature is reviewed, noting changes in media habits. Previous studies of social network users provide a picture of the benefits sought by members of online communities.

Assessment of direct marketing has traditionally emphasised cognitive and behavioural metrics. This paper has proposed an experiential framework which may be more difficult to measure, but evidence is presented that emotions associated with use of social network web sites may be more important as a key success factor for direct marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the news is discussed in social network web sites.

This article reports a quantitative analysis of the text of 26,953 Windows Live Spaces from September 2006 to February 2007 using a heuristic designed to detect news discussions. In addition, a comparative link and page analysis of 20 popular general social network environments (e.g. MySpace and Facebook) and 11 popular blog environments (e.g. Typepad and Blogger) is presented.

The text analysis suggests that news plays little role in most Windows Live Spaces, but the link and page analysis suggests that the key difference is less between social network environments and blog environments than between free standardised environments (e.g. MySpace and Blogger) and professional or semi‐professional blogs, with the former tending to carry relatively little news‐related content.

The methods used are exploratory rather than giving definitive conclusions.

Those interested in public reactions to the news should focus on blogs and blog‐like social network sites rather than general social network sites, and should expect only a tiny proportion of the discussions to be news‐related.

Although the role of blogs in reporting, discussing and making the news has been analysed frequently, this is the first study about the extent to which general social networking sites engage with (mass media) news.

Over the past decade, the rapid evolution of social media has impacted the field of human resource management in numerous ways. In response, scholars and practitioners have sought to begin an investigation of the myriad of ways that social media impacts organizations. To date, research evidence on a range of HR-related topics are just beginning to emerge, but are scattered across a range of diverse literatures. The principal aim of this chapter is to review the current literature on the study of social media in HRM and to integrate these disparate emerging literatures. During our review, we discuss the existent research, describe the theoretical foundations of such work, and summarize key research findings and themes into a coherent social media framework relevant to HRM. Finally, we offer recommendations for future work that can enhance knowledge of social media’s impact in organizations.

Social media is increasingly used by institutions of higher education to connect with students, with the goal of establishing a link with students through technology that they are already using at a significant rate. However, guidelines and policies describing the institutions' strategy and expectations for the use of social media are being utilized at a much lower rate than the use of social media itself. This has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of social media by institutions of higher education, and to create a barrier in the use of social media before the benefits can even be fully realized. This chapter explores current research regarding existence of guidelines for the use of social media in higher education, details a number of current issues, which have resulted from the use of social media, and describes general guidelines, which can be used to help institutions avoid the issues that can result from the use of social media. The chapter describes specific sections that should be part of social media guidelines, defines who in the institution will be impacted by the guidelines, and provides examples of effective social media guidelines. Additionally, the chapter describes research that is needed to help administrators and educators understand the issues that can result from the use of social media by an institution and how to prevent issues from occurring through the use of appropriate guidelines, standards, and policies.

Although the inplementation of online social networking (OSN) within the hospitality industry is relatively new, its parameters possess unique implications for hospitality industry constituencies including guests, staff members, and management. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution, scope and types of online social networks and potential implications for hospitality businesses.

This paper is based on an in‐depth review of literature, including intended and unintended consequences of social media.

While social networking can assist a hospitality firm in strengthening guest loyalty and satisfaction, it may also expose itself to unfair criticism and unfounded speculation. In addition, some hospitality firms have sponsored coworker sites in an attempt to incentivize interactivity by encouraging peer‐to‐peer and staff‐to‐administrator participation, only to risk exposure of negative relationships and strained working conditions.

The literature related to hospitality OSNs is relatively sparse and thus this paper is intended to provide a basis for future investigation.

The literature related to hospitality OSNs is relatively sparse and thus this paper is intended to provide a basis for future investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of social media (including social networking technologies) on migration strategies and integration, focusing on the use of new technologies for information seeking and dissemination, as well as personal communication.

A total of 26 Polish nationals resident in Ireland were interviewed in 2008, using semi‐structured interviews.

Results indicated a significant use of new social media, especially social networking technologies based in Poland and largely used by Polish language speakers. The use of social networking technologies enabled “media rich” and resilient social groups to develop, founded on the latent monitoring of activities characteristic of face‐to‐face, geographically delimited communities. The resulting social groups incorporated friends and relations based in Poland, Ireland and throughout the world. These networks tended to minimize integration into Irish society, as most Polish nationals interacted only with other Polish people, whether resident in Ireland or elsewhere.

This research demonstrates that new technologies are having a significant impact on patterns of migration. New social media are changing the character of international migration, with an emphasis on mobility rather than assimilation. Where foreign nationals previously tended to integrate into the societies where they resided, migrants are now more likely to be peripatetic mobile workers. Furthermore, while these migrants often no longer live in physical ghettos, they now live in “virtual” ghettos or enclaves, as they use new technologies to create separate lives within the wider society in which they work and live.