“Making the world more open and connected”: Mark Zuckerberg and the discursive construction of Facebook and its users

Anna Lauren Hoffmann; Nicholas Proferes; Michael Zimmer

doi:10.1177/1461444816660784

“Making the world more open and connected”: Mark Zuckerberg and the discursive construction of Facebook and its users

Anna Lauren Hoffmann, Nicholas Proferes, Michael Zimmer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

84 Scopus citations

Abstract

The dominance of online social networking sites (SNSs) sparks questions and concerns regarding information privacy, online identity, and the complexities of social life online. Since messages created by a technology’s purveyors can play an influential role in our understanding of a technology, we argue that gaining a complete understanding of the role of social media in contemporary life must include qualitative exploration of how public figures discuss and frame these platforms. Accordingly, this article reports the results of a discourse analysis of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s public language, foregrounding the evolution of his discourse surrounding Facebook’s self-definitions, the construction of user identity, and the relationship between Facebook and its users.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	199-218
Number of pages	20
Journal	New Media and Society
Volume	20
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816660784
State	Published - Jan 1 2018
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Discourse
Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg
identity
social networking
users

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Communication
Sociology and Political Science

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10.1177/1461444816660784

Cite this

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abstract = "The dominance of online social networking sites (SNSs) sparks questions and concerns regarding information privacy, online identity, and the complexities of social life online. Since messages created by a technology{\textquoteright}s purveyors can play an influential role in our understanding of a technology, we argue that gaining a complete understanding of the role of social media in contemporary life must include qualitative exploration of how public figures discuss and frame these platforms. Accordingly, this article reports the results of a discourse analysis of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg{\textquoteright}s public language, foregrounding the evolution of his discourse surrounding Facebook{\textquoteright}s self-definitions, the construction of user identity, and the relationship between Facebook and its users.",

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“Making the world more open and connected”: Mark Zuckerberg and the discursive construction of Facebook and its users

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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