Can Social Media Save a Neighborhood Organization?

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the success of social media as a community engagement tool at the neighborhood level and, thus, expand on existing theories and practices in regards to social media and place-based communities. We found a neighborhood association that was considering dismantling after 38 years due to low participation rates. In a last effort to rebuild, they were willing to try social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. After the initial launch and promotion of the online tools, they gained no comments, responses, or retweets, and only 5 "likes", 3 Twitter followers, and 2 people for the email listserv out of a possible 550 households. We conducted a survey with neighborhood residents in order to understand why members of the neighborhood did not join these social media networks and why they were not engaged with the neighborhood association in general.Our findings indicate that previous research recommending multiple types of communication to reach everyone in a neighborhood is valid but neighborhood organizations should also target their communication to maximize often limited resources. In our case study, the neighbors who said social media were good ways to communicate with the neighborhood were also the ones who said they wanted a neighborhood association. This was not the case for those choosing email or mail options. We also found a mismatch between "neighborly" ties and the more intimate ties associated with "friends" on social media, desires for inclusive communication, and expectations regarding face-to-face communication within a neighborhood setting. These results show the different roles of neighborhood organizations (sociability versus political representation or a mix of both) and how social media fits with these different roles. Based on the survey results, advice for using social media to revive a neighborhood organization is offered.3

Social Network Sites and Knowledge Transfer: An Urban Perspective

“…In the same vein, planning literature recognized the capacity of SNS in supporting self-organized communities (Afzalan and Evans-Cowley 2015). Examples can be found in the literature regarding how SNS usage led to the jumpstart of failing structures such as neighborhood associations (Johnson and Halegoua 2015). The role of SNS to act as a disaster management tool has also been extensively discussed in the literature because of their capacity to communicate messages and coordinate collective actions (Zook 2017).…”

Seeing Like a Neighbor: Rethinking Neighborhoods as Service-oriented Communities

“…The research presented in this article is a continuation of a project started in 2012 to examine one neighborhood (Indian Hills), its neighborhood organization, and the use of social network sites (SNS) to create and bolster collective efficacy (Johnson and Halegoua 2014, 2015). In 2013, we received completed surveys from 212 households out of 573 within the IHNA boundaries.…”

Disconnected in the Mecca? Black social media usage and levels of engagement in Atlanta

“…It is possible those social media users who connected with their neighbors used face-to-face or other methods of interaction (Johnson & Halegoua, 2014). Thus, two separate propositions could be true-social media readily connects its users to communities outside of their neighborhoods (Mok et al, 2010) and social media is one of the tools that can spur neighborhood group or local organizational interactions (Johnson & Halegoua, 2015). The second hypothesis tests the relationship between social media, neighborhood-level ties, and neighborhood group activity.…”