Build, manage, and evaluate: Information practices and personal reputations on social media platforms

Build, manage, and evaluate: Information practices
and personal reputations on social media platforms
@FrancesRyanPhD | frances@francesryanphd.com | www.FrancesRyanPhD.com
Presented by
Frances VC Ryan
Conceptions of Library and Information Science
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
16 – 19 June 2019
Co-authors: Hazel Hall, Peter Cruickshank, and Alistair Lawson
Edinburgh Napier University | Centre for Social Informatics

Frances VC Ryan | @FrancesRyanPhD | www.FrancesRyanPhD.com
A brief overview
►How online information contributes to the building, maintenance, and
evaluation of personal reputations
►Personal reputation: Private individuals, rather than corporate identity and brand
►Considers both “private” and “professional” reputation – and how the two merge
or blur together
►The term “private” relates to a person’s private life not privacy settings
►Set against a theoretical framework that compares social media practices to similar
citation practices undertaken by academics

The research question
How do information behaviours related to the building,
management, and evaluation of personal reputation on
social media reflect citation practices related to the building,
management, and evaluation of academic reputation?

The literature

The framework
Theme Practices discussed in the citation
analysis literature
Possible similar practices in social
media
Linking or connecting
with other individuals
as a means of showing
agreement or similarity
Citing well-respected authors
Citing an someone within the
main content of a paper
Making note of someone in
acknowledgements or footnotes
of a paper
Co-authoring papers with well-
respected academics
Following academics on
networking platforms
Interacting with online content
created by others
Re-posting content created by
others
Linking self-created content to
content created by others
Linking to well-respected bloggers
Tagging others in online content
Hosting or providing guest blogs
Self-promotion Self-citation or referencing
previous works by one’s self
Sharing details of work on
professional networking sites or
other online platforms
Sharing on social media platforms
Linking to or posting self-created
content to the social media
profiles of others
Cross-linking or cross-posting self-
created content across several
platforms
Strategic placement of
content in favourable
locations
Agreeing to coerced citations
Citing well-known authors in
specific fields of study
Participation in blogs and online
communities
Tagging well-known individuals in
online content via user names to
Strategic placement of
content in favourable
locations
Agreeing to coerced citations
Citing well-known authors in
specific fields of study
Sharing through social media
platforms
Participation in blogs and online
communities
Tagging well-known individuals in
online content via user names to
form an alignment
Sharing information on social
media platforms
Connecting with
individuals to boost
own reputation
Citing well-respected authors
Following academics on
Co-authoring papers, or providing
“gift” co-authorships
Friending, following, or otherwise
connecting with individuals online
Fraudulent practices or
identity masking
Coercive self-citations or other
citations added at the request of a
publisher or editor
Sharing information online under
a pseudonym or via an
anonymous account
Theme Practices discussed in the citation
analysis literature
Possible similar practices in social
media
Self-promotion Self-citation or referencing
previous works by one’s self
Sharing details of work on
professional networking sites or
other online platforms
Linking to or posting self-created
content to the social media
profiles of others
Cross-linking or cross-posting self-
created content across several
platforms
Evaluating the
connections of others
to determine their
reputation
Reviewing list of contacts on
Reviewing reference lists in
articles
Reviewing social media activities
of connections
Reviewing lists of online
connections
Evaluating individuals
based on their overall
visibility
Reviewing citation indexes Reviewing online footprints of
others
Table 1: Similarities between practices discussed in the citation analysis literature and possible
related practices found on social media platforms

The framework… simplified
(Cat & Mouse, 2019)
Linking or connecting to show agreement
Self-promotion
(Guru, 2019; Important, 2018; Super-Star, 2019)
Strategic placement of content
Evaluating othersConnecting to
boost reputation
(Pinky & Brain, 2019)
(Ryan, Hall, Cruickshank
and Lawson, 2019)

The methods
►Qualitative methods
►Multi-step data collection process
►Participant diaries (one week)
►In-depth, semi-structured interviews (1 hour)
►Coding structure based on themes from
the literature and participant data

The sample
►45 UK-based participants
►Recruited in generation groups
►Aged 22-69 (in 2016)
►31 females; 14 males
►Social media users
►Moderate to heavy users (41)
►Higher than average education levels
►In employment or recently retired

The findings
►Findings reveal how social media users build, manage, and evaluate personal
reputations online
►Social media practices may be aligned to the citation practices of academics
►The findings relate to:
►Social media content for self-promotion
►Social media to form connections
►Social media to strengthen connections
►Censoring social media content

Using social media content for self-promotion
►Sharing information specifically for the purposes of
building professional reputation
► Done through “self-promotion” activities or by “creating a brand”
Self-promotion tactics are viewed as an “intentional” way
of “branding” their professional selves. (Wendy and Sharon)
“[It is] important that my [work] is visible, so
promoting [it] is kind of important.” (Yvonne)

Using social media to form connections
►Connecting with others online signals relationships or links between individuals
►Decisions to connect made based on platform
►Different criteria for private platforms and professional platforms
Private Professional

►Connect to create alignments
► Especially those beneficial to professional advancement, reputational
gain, and job seeking
LinkedIn connections viewed as possible future employers. (Kevin)
Connect with people on Twitter who “are leaders in their fields”
with the hopes of “actually have a conversation with them.” (Joanne)

►Not all connections are made willingly
► Some connections formed out of obligation or to be “polite”
► Obligatory connections are formed to spare awkward encounters in an
offline environment
Connected with family to avoid appearing like a “not
very nice person” by not accepting a request. (Joanne)
Connecting with someone from a running group because
it would be “socially awkward and rude” not to. (Gillian)

Using social media to strengthen connections
►By re-posting content created by others
►To deliberately build professional reputations
Re-posting as a way to “curate”
information that is “relevant.” (Jennifer)
Re-posting content that that will be “interesting to [their]
network” whilst also signalling to the original poster that
they are “reading” and “enjoying” the content. (Gillian)

Using social media to strengthen connections
►Interacting with content that has been shared by others
Commenting on content to be “polite”, signalling
an awareness of proper “etiquette.” (Diane)
“Likes” to signal that they have either viewed
or felt positively towards the content. (Karen)
Tagging potential collaborators who are “influential
people” to signal an interest in their work. (Amanda)
“Likes” out of obligation if “everybody” at work
is also interacting with the content. (Alison)

Censoring social media content
►Censorship emerged as a key practice
► Especially in respect of protecting professional reputations
Censorship by:
►Completely refraining from sharing certain types of
information
►Avoiding re-posting content due to a reluctance to be
associated with certain types of content or information
►Censoring interactions
► Avoid being linked or connected to the content
► Avoid encouraging similar content in the future
Avoid sharing certain forms of
information so that connections
do not think someone is an
“offensive person.” (Kevin)
It is “important to be aware” that
content is ultimately accessible to
a wider audience that you might
intend. (Andrew)

Do these practices match up?
► Academics cite another academic or mention them in acknowledgements or footnotes, creating a link
or an alignment
►The social media practices of re-posting, liking, and tagging online information creates links or
alignments in a similar manner
► Academic cite with the express desire of the cited author being made aware of the citer’s work
►Social media users interact with online content through liking as a way of signalling that they are
engaged with another individual’s social media content
► In academia, connections are formed through citations that create a link between the citer and citee
►Social media users do this by requesting or accepting connections with others

Do these practices match up? (cont.)
► Only limited parallels have been found related to the evaluation of reputations
► The citation analysis literature shows that academics evaluate the reputations of their peers
►For example, by reviewing the reference list in a published article to determine who the author has
cited or reviewing another academic’s lists of connections on social networking platforms
► These practices are not generally undertaken as a basis for evaluation in social media practice
►Possibly because social media users connect with people online after an offline relationship as
already been determined

Conclusions and further work
►This work has been shown where the similarities and differences exist between
citation practices and related information practices on social media
► Further explorations of these similarities and differences in recently completed PhD thesis (ask me for details!)
►Limitations: Conclusions are drawn in relation to a particular demographic, and
considers just three platforms
►Further work recommendations:
► Explore the motivations and decision-making processes that academics use in determining who they will cite
as well as their decisions to not cite
► Consider the longevity of academic alignments made through citation practices, as well as the ways in which
academics might break alignments if the need arises

Frances VC Ryan
@FrancesRyanPhD
www.FrancesRyanPhD.com
frances@francesryanphd.com
Build, manage, and evaluate:
Information practices and
personal reputations on
social media platforms
Hazel Hall
@hazelh
www.hazelhall.org
h.hall@napier.ac.uk
Peter Cruickshank
@spartakan
www.napier.ac.uk/people/peter-cruickshank
p.cruickshank@napier.ac.uk
Alistair Lawson
www.napier.ac.uk/people/alistair-lawson
a.lawson@napier.ac.uk
Hvala!

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