Study on City Use of Social Media
A Masters student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is preparing a study of how the City and County of Honolulu is using, and could make better use of, social media services. Cassandra Harris (@CasandraThesis) is working on her graduation research project at the School of Communications with Professor Jenifer Winter, and will be conducting a focus group meeting next week on the UH campus.
“This study is a two-phase study: interviews with City & County officials, and focus group discussions with citizens,” she tweeted tonight. “The discussion among your fellow citizens should prove interesting, and I plan to share the results of this study with the City and County.”
Specifically, Harris is studying citizens’ thoughts on the use — actual or potential — of Facebook and Twitter by the City and County, and to determine ways they could use these communications vehicles.
Harris launched her search for participants by looking up people who were connected to various city accounts on Facebook on Twitter, but said she would welcome the participation of anyone who might have thoughts to share on the topic.
The focus group for people who are following city accounts will convene on Wednesday, Sept. 1 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Campus Center. Pupus and drinks will be provided, and arrangements can be made for parking. Harris adds that she’s running a second focus group for people who are active on Twitter and Facebook but are not following city accounts the day before, Tuesday, Aug. 31.
If you’re interested in participating, contact Harris on Twitter or via email to csharris@hawaii.edu.
