1. Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
The impact of digitalization
and social networks on mass
media communication
Ilze Bērziņa
MBA, Riga Business School
Doctoral program, School of Business
Administration Turība
Latvia case
Agnis Stibe
MBA, Riga Business School
Mg. Comp. Sc., University of Latvia
Doctoral program, University of Latvia

2. Content
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
2Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.
Summary of key findings of
earlier researches
Conclusions

3. Past theories in today’s interpretation
• Medium is the message. Today medium – socially active person
• Media as a filter to organize and interpret social existence
• Media has to change ideologically, it cannot be blind supporter of elite
in power
• Elisabeth Noelle – Neumann theory not in force today
• Opinion leaders are as transmission agents or interpreters
• Klapper noted that communication better is transmitted by different
social lines
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 3
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.

4. What now?
• Preston name media as knowledge intensive service what may be located
at the forefront of current network society or knowledge economy
developments
• Castells notes that messages become enclosed in the medium, because
the medium has become comprehensive, diversified, it absorbs in the
same multimedia text the whole of human experience, past, present, and
future.
• The communication approach ‘many to many’ is becoming more
important as ‘one to many’ what is mass media communication principle
• Giddens concept of embeddedness to the processes of globalization
• Altering experiences - processes of individuation, whereby people come
to rely less on traditional norms, values, and institutions and more on
their own knowledge of things
4
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.

5. The main problem
• Pavlik research - changing technology and economics of online news are
undermining the traditional separation of editorial and business
functions in media organizations in USA
• Nygren states that financial motives are much stronger today in media
companies than 5 – 10 years ago and this corresponds to a relative
weakening of professional norms and journalistic values
5
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.

6. Solution
• Networks today have become as filters what absorb the information given
out by mass media
• Different social networks and micro blogging site Twitter have taken the
role of mass media because the members of these communities are
content creators and content consumers at the same time
• Twitter like a radio for tuning into the world
6
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.

7. 7
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.

8. Latvia case
• Why Twitter?
– Recent and fast developing community, 2006
– Became popular in Latvia, 2009
– Considerable amount of users in Latvia: 32 392 [Data provided by SIA Soon, 18.08.2010]
• Methodology
– Quantitative survey online
• 37 questions & 403 responses
– Invitations
• 7 tweets by authors
• 37 retweets
• 1 reference in technology blogger article
• 1 author’s blog entry in http://ilzeberzina.wordpress.com/
• Several messages in other social networks
8
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.

9. Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 9
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Rapid content generation
79%
85%

10. Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 10
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
It is real

11. Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 11
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
The choice of trust

12. Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 12
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Diversity and networking

13. Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 13
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Groups of interests
top
bottom

14. Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case. 14
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Paradigm shift
46%
62%

15. Conclusions
• Impact?
– Liberalization
• Less controlled environment
• Less dominance of commerce over free publicity
• Active participation
– Network formation
• Groups of interests
• Super normative members
• Freedom of choice
– Multidimensionality
• Content depth and breadth
• Mass interpersonal communication and persuasion
• Opinions diversity
15
Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
Ilze Bērziņa, Agnis Stibe: The impact of digitalization and social networks on mass media communication. Latvia Twitter case.

16. Kaunas, 08.10.2010.
The impact of digitalization
and social networks on mass
media communication
Ilze Bērziņa
@Pasniedzeja
imkomunikacija@inbox.lv
http://ilzeberzina.wordpress.com/
Latvia case.
Agnis Stibe
@agsti
agnis.stibe@gmail.com