ABSTRACT
The 21st Century has been tagged the digital information age. The emergence and growing interest in blogs and blogging has dramatically increased recently making information seekers to bypass the traditional media access to information. This project aimed at audience assessment of blog as information sharing platform in a globalized era, with reference to Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi. A survey research design was adopted. 150 questionnaires were administered to the respondents using Accidental Sampling Techniques, Descriptive Statistic, Mean and Standard Deviation was used to analyze data. From the analysis of data collected, the findings revealed that investing in blogs as information platform will spur organization to greater accomplishment and that audience preference for blog information is on the increase. Individual and institutions should therefore align their information design system to meet up with blogging platforms. However, the results shows that blogs as information platform provides the individual or organization with good information needed for planning brand positioning advertising products as well as developing better customer relationship and social interaction. Based on the findings, recommendation were made such as effort should be gear towards installing blogs experts in the institutions with a view to guiding the staff and students on the effective use of the medium as information platform and also educate them in the aspect of information management, especially in the age of globalization, also, stakeholders at all levels should maintain some degree of patronage, encouragement and demonstrate the habit of using blogs. This practice will help to sustain professionalism in the information management.
WORDS COUNT: 250
KEY WORDS: Blogs, Globalization, Information Sharing Platforms, Social Network media, Information Science.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page ——————————————————————————ii
Certification ————————————————————————–iii
Declaration —————————————————————————iv
Dedication —————————————————————————–v
Abstract ——————————————————————————-vi
Acknowledgments ——————————————————————vii
Table of Contents ——————————————————————viii
List of Tables ————————————————————————–x
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background of the Study —————————————————-1
- Statement of the Problem —————————————————-3
- Objective of the Study ——————————————————-4
- Research Questions ———————————————————–4
- Scope of the Study ————————————————————5
- Significance of the Study —————————————————-5
- Limitation of the Study ——————————————————5
- Operational Definition of Terms ——————————————–5
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
- Introduction ——————————————————————–7
- Business Evolution of Blogs ————————————————7
- Importance of Blogs ———————————————————-9
- Characteristics of Blogs —————————————————-13
- Theoretical Framework —————————————————–14
- Appraisal of the Literature ————————————————-16
CHAPTER THREE
Research Methodology
- Introduction ——————————————————————17
- Research Design ————————————————————-17
- Study Population ————————————————————17
- Sampling Techniques and Sample Size ———————————-18
- Research Instrument ——————————————————–18
- Validity of Instrument ——————————————————18
- Procedure of Data Collection ———————————————-19
- Data Analysis —————————————————————-19
CHAPTER FOUR
Data Analysis, Interpretation and Discussion of Findings
Introduction ——————————————————————20
- Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Respondents ——————-20
- Analysis of the Research Questions Formulated for the Study ——-23
- Discussion of Findings —————————————————–30
CHAPTER FIVE
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
Introduction ——————————————————————32
- Summary of Findings ——————————————————-32
- Conclusion ——————————————————————-33
- Recommendation ————————————————————34
- Contribution of the Study to Knowledge ———————————36
- Suggestion for Further Research ——————————————35
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Various Disciplines that used Blogs ———————–12
Table 4.1: Age Distribution of Respondents ————————–20
Table 4.2: Sex Distribution of Respondents—————————21
Table 4.3: Academic Qualification of Respondents —————–21
Table 4.4: Distribution by Marital Status ——————————22
Table 4.5: Years of Work of Respondents —————————-22
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the Study
The advent and consequent use of information channels for services and operations have had profound impact on the users. Advances in this field have further had huge impact in the number of ways platforms of information gathering, sharing and dissemination made possible to deliver information accurately and faster, cost effective, ease of use and Really Simple Syndication (RSS), create a new and powerful push-pull publishing concept. Consequently, blogs have become widely used platforms for information delivery. The 21st Century has seen the emergence and growing interest in blogs and blogging which has dramatically increased in recent years thereby making it possible for information seekers to bypass the traditional media access to information as asserted by Casey and Sawastinuk (2007), Thelwall and Goody (2007).
Weblogs or blogs can be described as a form of personal easy to manage website with content presented in a reverse, chorological order Schrano (2004) as well as discussion and informational site publish on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entities. The term “Weblog” was coined by John Berger on 17 of December, 1997. The short term blog was coined by Peter Merholz in May 1999 after its first appearance in the late 1990s. Blogging is a concept publishing text on the web is combined with its syndication. The central virtue of blogging is an online market place of idea. For the purpose of this study, a blog would be defined as a form of mediated expression as well as discussion, informational and unique platform to share thoughts, feelings, opinions or experience. In all human endevours communication is certainly the most important thing man needed mostly to send ideas, messages and information.
Digital communication took many forms including Usenet commercial online services such as Genie Bix and the early CompuServe e-mail list and Bulletins Board System (BBS) before blogging become popular.
Ashbee (2003) and Sweetser (2007) revealed that bloggers are also frequently described as influential agenda setters in the coverage of politics. This follows from the observation that blog is a form of mediated human expression and blogging a human activity that is of interest to academic, from a variety of scientific discipline.
Edelmam and Intellissek (2005), Robert J. Key 2005 argued that many weblogs began sporadically as variety publishing because any one with an opinion about anything could create, in a matter of minutes, his or her own web site for publishing news, opinion, commentary and links to other sites.
A look at the history of blogs reveals that they have been around since the late 1990s, depending upon the interest of the author (blogger) typically focus on a single area politics, technology, health etc. A number of bloggers have received substantial media attention after being fired for positing comments critical of their employers, revealing organizational secretes, discussing their world environments or for breaking stones about organizational events that they were party to as employees Edelmam and Nielson Buzzmetrics 2005, and Rainie 2006.
Many blogs have also received media attention for timely and biting coverage of social and political issues. It is important to note at this point that blogs are weeks ahead of the mainstream media when reporting stories in their own industry/profession, comp0uters, data storage, music, politics, telecommunication etc. There are currently over 60 million blogs existing and 75,000 new ones emerging on daily basis.
- Statement of the Problem
Recently, blogs and blogging have dramatically increased as a niche community for personalized information sharing platforms. Blogs therefore supports traditional media outreach and is also an effective part of a larger outreach package, which also include press release, media interviews, social networking and public dialogue events.
According to Fredman (2012) blogs arose in the first place because people like to express themselves. Before the internet people who wanted to express themselves needed to get published in the traditional mass media. The internet blog has changed this by bypassing the mass media gate keepers and giving everyone the opportunity to reach a large audience. Buttressing this fact, Duda and Garneth (2008) assert that blog are part of an online community of writers, creating a social environment for feedback, and allowing students and teachers to share ideas and feelings and encourage both peer and teacher reflective writing and reading, bouncing ideas and questions at one another.
Previous research suggest the advert and importance of blogging (Lawry 2006, Hilary 2012, Sweetser 2007). Similarly, a renewed faith among bloger is the ability of blog displays to capture consumer’s attention and draw them into an information platform has guaranteed renewed interest in this communication tool in recent times (Zadah, 2012).
An extensive search of leading electronic journal database, including Google Scholar, EBSCO Host and Proquest, suggest that no academic research has examine audience assessment of blogs as information sharing platform in the age of globalization. Hence the need for an uncommon platform that could help fosters quick and accelerates sustainable human development.
The core research questions that will guide this study therefore are:
- To what extent has blog as information sharing platform helped in the growth and development of individual organization?
- To what degree has blogs help in the growth and development of audience?
- To what degree does audience prefer blogs as information platform to others?
- Objective of the Study
The objectives of this research is to investigate audience assessment of blogs as information sharing platform in the age of globalization. The specific objectives include to:
- To determine the extent to which blogs as information sharing platform has helped in the growth and development of the individual.
- To ascertain the level of audience exposure, assessment and awareness towards the growing trend of blog and blogging.
- To ascertain if blogs are the most preferred information platform used by majority both in the public and private sector.
- Research Questions
The following research questions were developed to guide the study.
- To what extent has blogs as information sharing platform helped in the growth and development of individual organization?
- To what degree has blogs help in the growth and development of audience?
- To what degree does audience prefer blogs as information platform to others?
- Scope of the Study
In terms of coverage, this study focuses on audience assessment of blogs as information sharing platform in the age of globalization. This means that issues relating to blogs as information platform will be explained. The target population of this study includes students, staff and various heads of information unit in Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi.
- Significance of the Study
This study will be of immense benefit to the organizations communities and societies to interact and connected. It will help them to know the relevance of using blogs. The research if conducted will expose the strength and weakness of audience analysis of blogs.
- Limitation of the Study
The researcher encountered a number of problems in the course of carrying out this study. The time frame to carry out the study was rather too short; there was also financial constraint and access to relevant information sources were the major challenges encountered.
- Operational Definitions of Terms
- Blogs: This is a truncation of the expression web log. A discussion or informational site publishes on the World Wide Web.
- Multi-Author Blogs (AMBs): These refer to blogs developed by different member of authors and professionally edited.
- Edublogs: This refers to blogs used for instructional sources or educational purposes.
- Bloggers: This is related to a constant user or owner of a blog account.
- Threads: This refers to a topical connection between messages on a virtual.
- Blogroll: A list on a website of other linked website that the website owner links are useful or interesting.
- Globalization: The fact that different countries and economic system around the world are becoming connected and similar to each other because of improve communication.
- Audience: The group of peoples who have gathered to watch or listen to something.
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