Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics

by Jeremy H. Lipschultz

This updated fourth edition presents a wide-scale, interdisciplinary guide to social media communication. Examining platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, the book analyzes social media's use in journalism, public relations, advertising and marketing.

Lipschultz focuses on key concepts, best practices, data analyses, law and ethics – all promoting the critical thinking that is needed to use new, evolving and maturing networking tools effectively within social and mobile media spaces. Featuring historical markers and contemporary case studies, essays from some of the industry’s leading social media innovators and a comprehensive glossary, this practical, multipurpose textbook gives readers the resources they will need to both evaluate and utilize current and future forms of social media communication. Updates to the fourth edition include expanded discussion of disinformation, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), natural language chatbots, virtual and augmented reality technologies and the COVID-19 infodemic.

Social Media Communication is the perfect social media primer for students and professionals and, with a dedicated online teaching guide, ideal for instructors, too.

Genres: Textbooks

441 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Riley Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lipschultz has created a comprehensive overview of how social media has changed many occupations (Journalism, PR, Advertising), how it works and the cultural that it has formed. As a scholarly text is an engaging read that guides you through technical social media terms and concepts with ease. It uses many real world examples as evidence to show the advantages of Journalists becoming Twitter personalities, or the spread of fake news developing unnecessary crisis (i.e. Fake news led to Pakistan and Israel threatening each other with nuclear war).

One of the important ideas suggested by Lipshultz is the importance of being social media literate. In a marketplace of ideas and news media, often it is difficult to read the context of a tweet or the lie behind a Facebook post. Being media literate can sometimes be the difference between conflict and peace, disgrace or honour, a laugh react or an angry retweet. As social media moves forward we must learn to understand it better and move it in the right direction.

[Shelby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written like a grad student's lit review. Concepts, jargon, etc. used and never explained despite statements that they're "important to know." Not good for teaching undergrads SM concepts

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as textbooks go, it was pretty okay!!

[Molls 🍀 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class. Not organized well but I guess I learned something. Kind of already outdated and too focused on Facebook lawsuits.