The medium is the joke: online humor about and by networked computers

Shifman, Limor; Blondheim, Menahem

doi:10.1177/1461444810365311

Cited by 25 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Even though humor use in traditional forms of media has been relatively well studied, particularly in advertising, the digital media realm is still ripe for exploration (Shifman & Blondheim, 2010). Indeed, the majority of Americans now turn to the Internet to seek information about science (National Science Board, 2018).…”

Section: Social Media Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Intentions to Engage With Scientific Messages on Twitter: The Roles of Mirth and Need for Humor

Yeo

Cacciatore

et al. 2020

Science Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although humor is a recommended strategy for scientists to connect with publics, there is a lack of empirical evidence concerning its effectiveness. We conduct an experiment to test how funny science on Twitter affects engagement intentions. We find that different humor types caused viewers to experience different levels of mirth, which mediated the relationship between our experimental manipulation and engagement intentions. We also find need for humor, an individual trait, to moderate the relationship between mirth and engagement intentions. These findings extend our understanding of humor in science communication and offer empirical evidence on which practical advice can be grounded.

show abstract

Section: Social Media Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Intentions to Engage With Scientific Messages on Twitter: The Roles of Mirth and Need for Humor

Yeo

Cacciatore

et al. 2020

Science Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There have also been studies that code the content of messages to determine their impact on diffusion. Research has found that humor is one of the elements that can help content spread (Kirby & Marsden, ; Shifman & Blondheim, ), and content analysis of tweets labeled as “novel” are more likely to be retweeted (Petrovic, Osborne, & Lavrenko, ; Uysal & Croft, ). Messages labeled as having a positive emotion are more likely to spread (Kim & Yoo, ; Stieglitz & Dang‐Xuan, ), as are messages that “resonate” with the audience (Asur & Huberman, ).…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Tweets That Resonate: Information Flows and the Growth of Twitter's Universal Basic Income Discussion Space

Hemsley¹,

García‐Murillo²,

MacInnes³

2018

Policy & Internet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social media are an important space for people to discuss novel policy innovations. In particular, Twitter, whose user base is skewed toward those who disproportionately affect news coverage, and by extension the public agenda, represents a particularly useful platform for policy advocates wishing to grow their audience. This article extends theoretical understandings of information flows and the growth of networked discussion spaces by examining the online discussion space around a Universal Basic Income (UBI), which has been proposed to alleviate social tensions relating to joblessness resulting from technological advances. Using content analysis and statistical methods, we show that tweets in the UBI discussion space that inform others are the most likely to be shared, but tweets that emotionally resonate with users are the most likely to reach new audiences and therefore bring new actors into the discussion space. These findings contribute to the literature on viral events and dynamic networks, providing insight into how policies like UBI are discussed and diffuse on social media platforms like Twitter.

show abstract

“…Literature addresses these decision phases by looking at properties of the content , by sender/receiver motivations and by network structure . From the content perspective, researchers have identified the following influences on the decision to consume and share information: emotional appeal [20, 21], resonance [22], humor [23, 24], salience [25, 26] and usability [27]. …”

Section: Theory Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consume, Modify, Share (CMS): The Interplay between Individual Decisions and Structural Network Properties in the Diffusion of Information

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Widely used information diffusion models such as Independent Cascade Model, Susceptible Infected Recovered (SIR) and others fail to acknowledge that information is constantly subject to modification. Some aspects of information diffusion are best explained by network structural characteristics while in some cases strong influence comes from individual decisions. We introduce reinvention, the ability to modify information, as an individual level decision that affects the diffusion process as a whole. Based on a combination of constructs from the Diffusion of Innovations and the Critical Mass Theories, the present study advances the CMS (consume, modify, share) model which accounts for the interplay between network structure and human behavior and interactions. The model's building blocks include processes leading up to and following the formation of a critical mass of information adopters and disseminators. We examine the formation of an inflection point, information reach, sustainability of the diffusion process and collective value creation. The CMS model is tested on two directed networks and one undirected network, assuming weak or strong ties and applying constant and relative modification schemes. While all three networks are designed for disseminating new knowledge they differ in structural properties. Our findings suggest that modification enhances the diffusion of information in networks that support undirected connections and carries the biggest effect when information is shared via weak ties. Rogers' diffusion model and traditional information contagion models are fine tuned. Our results show that modifications not only contribute to a sustainable diffusion process, but also aid information in reaching remote areas of the network. The results point to the importance of cultivating weak ties, allowing reciprocal interaction among nodes and supporting the modification of information in promoting diffusion processes. These results have theoretical and practical implications for designing networks aimed at accelerating the creation and diffusion of information.

show abstract

The medium is the joke: online humor about and by networked computers

Cited by 25 publications

References 14 publications

Predicting Intentions to Engage With Scientific Messages on Twitter: The Roles of Mirth and Need for Humor

Predicting Intentions to Engage With Scientific Messages on Twitter: The Roles of Mirth and Need for Humor

Tweets That Resonate: Information Flows and the Growth of Twitter's Universal Basic Income Discussion Space

Consume, Modify, Share (CMS): The Interplay between Individual Decisions and Structural Network Properties in the Diffusion of Information

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About