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Purpose -This research seeks to focus on the benefits of social networking service (SNS) based on the principle of six degrees of separation. Since the inception of web 2.0, the popularity of social networks (SNS) has continued to increase. Some SNS are based on six degrees of separation (6SNS), and these have emerged as the most frequently visited WWW sites. Design/methodology/approach -Using a randomized control group pre-test-post-test experimental design, responses to a questionnaire to test the differences among 6SNS users and non-users on 12 issues of benefit were analyzed. Findings -The tests show, first, that, compared with traditional virtual communities, SNS evoke higher ratings for "trust in website," "trust in other members," and "quality of friends." Second, SNS can provide users with entertainment and greater social involvement. People who use these sites express positive attitudes about them. Third, no significant differences were found between SNS and traditional internet media on "meeting new friends," "maintaining relationships," "searching for friends," "searching for information," and "understanding and learning." These results can be attributed to language differences. Originality/value -The value of 6SNS is recognized by the business world. In October 2007, Microsoft invested $240 million to buy 1.6 percent shares of Facebook. Today Facebook alone has more than 300 million users. In addition to the perspective from the business world, how the users themselves view 6SNS and what benefits they can get are crucial to its sustainability.

Politicians, scholars, and young viewers have been paying increased attention to political content in late night comedy over the past decade. Because young viewers seem to treat the content as a source of news, a survey examined perceptions of bias in comedy content as compared to those for mainstream, broadcast news. Political content in comedy programs was rated by respondents as more biased than such content in traditional news programs. Further, a hostile media effect was found for political content about three topics across five comedy shows, with republicans, democrats, and independents reporting significantly different perceptions of the extent of bias in the content.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence college students’ smartphone use for academic purposes by identifying the task-technology fit (TTF) of smartphones. A research model is proposed to explain how TTF of smartphones affects college students’ perceived academic performance and smartphone use. Design/methodology/approach Online surveys were administered to college students at a South Korean university that has offered online academic services for more than five years, and 1,923 valid responses were analyzed. The study used partial least squares path modeling to evaluate the measurement model, and the bootstrapping technique to test the significance of the hypotheses. Findings The findings highlight that the TTF of smartphones has a direct influence on students’ perceptions of performance impact and an indirect influence on smartphone use through a precursor of utilization, such as attitude toward smartphone use, social norms and facilitating conditions. Research limitations/implications Despite a reasonably large sample, a single cross-sectional survey has a likelihood of selection bias in the sample. Practical implications This study applies the TTF model to smartphone use among college students and suggests an effective way to motivate them to use mobile technologies for their academic activities. Originality/value The present study develops an empirical model to assess the adoption of smartphones and its effect on college students’ academic performance. Above all, the study identifies a causal relationship among TTF, precursor of utilization, smartphone use and a perceived impact on academic performance based on the development and validation of the TTF constructs of smartphones.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to understand consumers' preferences for answers about sexually transmitted diseases on social question and answer (Q&A) sites by employing message features and information sources as conceptual frameworks. Design/methodology/approach -The study compared best answers selected by questioners with their randomly drawn counterpart non-best answers on Yahoo! Answers as a paired sample (n ¼ 180). Findings -The findings indicate that questioners on social Q&A sites were more likely to prefer answers including message features such as numeric information, social norms, optimistic information, and loss-framing, as well as information sources that featured expertise, references, and links to other websites. Pessimistic information was negatively associated with questioners' preference for answers.Research limitations/implications -The study extended the discussion of consumers' selection of best answers to message features and information sources as additional criteria. Practical implications -The findings suggest that answerers on social Q&A sites communicate more effectively with their audiences by utilizing persuasive communication. Social implications -There is a quality issue on social Q&A sites. The findings will be helpful for health professionals to develop answers that are more likely to be selected as best answers, which will enhance overall quality of health information on social Q&A sites. Originality/value -Consumers' preference criteria for health information have been investigated using many different approaches. However, no study has used a persuasion framework to examine how consumers appraise answer quality. The present study confirmed consumers' preference criteria as found in previous social Q&A studies and extended the discussion of consumers' perceptions of answer quality by applying the frameworks of message features and information sources.