Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics

Kerric Harvey

Dec 2013 · SAGE Publications

About this ebook

The Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics explores how the rise of social media is altering politics both in the United States and in key moments, movements, and places around the world. Its scope encompasses the disruptive technologies and activities that are changing basic patterns in American politics and the amazing transformations that social media use is rendering in other political systems heretofore resistant to democratization and change. In a time when social media are revolutionizing and galvanizing politics in the United States and around the world, this encyclopedia is a must-have reference. It reflects the changing landscape of politics where old modes and methods of political communication from elites to the masses (top down) and from the masses to elites (bottom up) are being displaced rapidly by social media, and where activists are building new movements and protests using social media to alter mainstream political agendas.

Key Features:

• This three-volume A-to-Z encyclopedia set includes 600 short essays on high-interest topics that explore social media’s impact on politics, such as "Activists and Activism," "Issues and Social Media," "Politics and Social Media," and "Popular Uprisings and Protest."
• A stellar array of world renowned scholars have written entries in a clear and accessible style that invites readers to explore and reflect on the use of social media by political candidates in this country, as well as the use of social media in protests overseas
• Unique to this book is a detailed appendix with material unavailable anywhere else tracking and illustrating social media usage by U.S. Senators and Congressmen.

This encyclopedia set is a must-have general, non-technical resource for students and researchers who seek to understand how the changes in social networking through social media are affecting politics, both in the United States and in selected countries or regions around the world.

Key Themes:

• Opening Essays
• Celebrities and Pioneers in Social Media and Politics
• Congressional Social Media Usage (Most Active Members)
• Measuring Social Media′s Political Impact
• Misuse of Social Media in the Political Arena: Issues and Ethics
• Social Media, Candidates, and Campaigns
• Social Media, Politics, and Culture
• Social Media and Networking Websites
• Social Media and Political Unrest
• Social Media and Social Issues, Activism, and Movements
• Social Media Concepts and Theorie
• Social Media Regulation, Public Policy, and Actual Practice
• Social Media Types, Innovation and Technology

About the author

A tenured associate professor and the Associate Director of the Center for Innovative Media in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, Dr. Kerric Harvey is also a working playwright and multimedia producer who explores intercultural conflict in a wide variety of periods and places, including real-world, online, and social media landscapes. She also writes about the media arts and cultural archetypes in the public imagination, the anthropological effects of new media technologies, digital storytelling, and the relationship between new media narratives and political identity.In 1995 she was appointed as one of 33 participants who constituted a National Science Foundationn task force charged by the Clinton White House with setting a 21st-century national research agenda for Internet issues from the anthropological perspective. Her research and policy development work during the formative stages of the Internet era continued with a two-year stint on the Smithsonian Institution’s Curriculum Initiative Program National Advisory Board.Her work in new technologies and society continues through her appointment as a 2012 visiting scholar at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, by a host of publications ranging from books to juried academic articles, and by her many international academic presentations including recent talks at the Oxford Internet Institute and at the British Museum.An award-winning teacher, she has been on the George Washington University faculty for just over 20 years. Harvey worked as a reporter in Native American print journalism; in research, script development, and production for educational film; in production and operations in public access television; and with the International Documentary unit of the Seattle public television affiliate station. Harvey balances her academic career with international theater, multimedia, and documentary productions in both physical and virtual spaces. She has had her original dramatic work produced professionally in Scotland; Ireland; New York; Pennsylvania; Vancouver, Canada; and Washington, D.C.; as well as having original radio drama aired on Canadian public radio in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and on RTE-One, Ireland’s premiere public radio station, which broadcast her 2001 Driving in Ireland as a Play of the Week. She is a member of the University Film and Video Association, the Irish Film Institute, and the Dramatists Guild of America, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.