First Draft of Paper #1

The Role of Writing in the Social Media Field

Over the last few years, the online world has been in a constant change. Specifically, the emergence of social media. Social media has not only impacted the way the world is able to communicate with each other, but has also opened the door in the marketing industry that has made it easier than ever for consumers to buy, sell, and learn from companies. Along with the new concept of social media, has come questions and interests about the topic. Both academic, and nonacademic pieces of writing have been crucial resources on informing the public of this new field.

Academic Writing

Due to the fact that social media is an extremely new phenomenon, academic writings are very prevalent in this field. Majority of academic writings about social media are studies, used to research and understand the effects that social media has on the world. Within these writings there are three main aspects that differentiate writings about social media, from writings about other topics. While writing academic papers, it is important for the writer to use the most effective language to reach the audience, structure the piece of writing in a way that makes sense to the reader, and use references that are credible awell as display them in the appropriate way.

While the topic of social media attracts a very broad and diverse audience of interest, the Academic writings on this topic are more targeted towards researchers and professionals within the field. Due to the fact that scholars are the majority audience, the author uses language that is more advanced and provides deeper meaning about the topic. For example, in a study done by Stanford University,  the author thoroughly explains the experiment conducted in a professional and scientific tone. The author doesn’t include any opinion and is very clear and concise within the paper. Later in the paper, the author states his findings: “Less than two percent of the sample failed to complete the endline survey, and the Treatment group’s compliance with deactivation exceeded 90 percent.” (Allcott, Braghieri, Eichmeyer,  Gentzkown, 2020, p.2). It is clear that within this quote there is advanced verbiage such as “sample” and “treatment group” that a person who isnt familiar with the topic might not understand. The author chooses to use words such as these because they are aware that their audience is educated enough to understand the meaning of the words. The author's ability to use advanced language and professional tone is extremely beneficial to the writing because it allows the author to explain his or her concepts without going into a detailed explanation.

Similarly to language, The type of references used in academic writing is important, because it ensures the reader that the information is credible. Due to the fact that in most cases those who are reading academic writings are scholars, it is crucial for them to know that the information they are receiving, and possibly contributing to their own research, is true. In an article written by the University of Oxford called The rise of social media, The article includes a significant amount of data about a large variety of social media apps. While reading the Data there is a special sources tab that descriptively explains when the data was collected, when the data was published, a detailed explanation of how they found their information, and a link from another website or article to confirm and support their findings. Once The audience is aware that the information within the article is supported by other researchers and writings, it will create a sense of trust between the source, and the reader.

Lastly, the structure of academic writings about social media is critical to understand. In an announcement this year, Snapchat posted on its website it’s fourth quarter and full year financial results, along with statistics about their company. In the report it is very clear that it is in an organized format. It first starts with their financial highlights, then goes on to a graph showing their finances, and lastly goes into several subsections about statistics within the app.

The reason why the person who wrote this Report, created it in such an organized and professional way is because they were aware of their audience. More than likely those interested in Snapchat‘s finances and company stats are investors or competitors. By formatting the report in an organized and professional fashion it allows investors to find and understand information in an efficient way, and competitors to be impressed.

Overall, pieces of academic writing about social media are very professional styles of writing. The writings tend to be over longer papers, filled with lots of information. Well academic writing might not be the best choice of an everyday person to read, they can be extremely beneficial to scholars who are trying to research more about the topic.

Non-Academic Writing

The other type of writing that is more commonly seen in the social media field is non-academic writing. The purpose of non-academic writing is to inform people who are not experts in the field. Non-academic writings are targeted towards average people who want to learn about social media. Because the audience is significantly different then academic writing, the author utilizes language, references, and structure in a different way to better inform the audience.

Because social media it’s a relatively new concept, it is important for the author to explain their ideas and concepts in a way the audience can understand. For example, in an article written by MTG, about how social media has changed that game to marketing, the author uses extreme detail in order to convey the message to the audience. Many times the author explains the concept, then goes into deeper detail on what they are trying to say, “So, what are the key factors influencing the shift toward social media advertising? MDG Advertising’s newly updated infographic, How Social Media Has Changed the Ad Game, will help you answer that question.”(How Social Media Changed the game, 2018). The article then goes into deep exclamation about the key factors. This quote is also a great example of how the author uses a tone that is engaging towards the audience. While an academic paper would refrain from using punctuation such as exclamation points and rhetorical questions, non-academic writing includes these devices in an attempt to engage and interest the reader. It can be argued that tone and language are even more important in non-academic writing because it’s purpose is to convince the reader to continue reading and further increase their interest in the topic.

The type of reference used in non-academic writing is not as prevalent as academic writing. Due to the fact that most readers of non-academic writings are new to learning about the subject of social media, rarely do they check to ensure the credibility of the source they are reading from. Therefore, the majority of non-academic writing about social media does not emphasize the source of the information they are using within their writing. In an article written by buffer.com, The article lists several statistics without directly citing their source. For example, “According to one survey, ‘47 percent of social media users saw Pinterest as the platform for discovering and shopping for products—more than three times higher than those who cited Facebook or Instagram.’” (Haily Griffis, 2019). Instead of including the citing of the statistics within the text, the article instead attaches a link to the word survey that leads to the original site where the survey was conducted. By doing this the author is putting the responsibility on the audience to check and see if the information they are reading is credible. The purpose of doing so is to create a more simplified, and easier piece of writing for the reader to understand, while also giving them the opportunity to do their own research, and learn more about the statistics within the writing.

It can be argued that structure is one of the most important parts of non-academic writing about social media. When the typical audience of non-academic writing is inexperienced with the topic, it is important to include certain featuresthat are easy for the audience to understand, and keeps them engaged with the writing content. In an article written by Andrew Hutchinson on The demographics of social media, hutchinson includes four different infographics with pictures and facts. Including infographics in the writing is extremely beneficial for the reader because it allows them to understand the content easier. It emphasizes the most important facts and information in bright colors, and also includes visuals such as bar graphs to allow easy data comparison. Many non-academic writings about social media also structure their writing in subsections which allows the reader to navigate the article easier. For example, In the article written by buffer.com on ways brands can leverage Pinterest to make sales, the author creates five different subsections filled with information that is convenient to learn from. Majority of the time readers of non-academic writing want quick simplified answers. Subsections allow readers to easily scroll through the article and find what they’re interested in, without needing to read the whole piece of article.

Pieces of non-academic writing on social media tend to be very simplified.

The authors use concise and simplified information in order to reach the audience. They also include features such as exciting language, and easy to read graphs to ensure the audience understands the information.

Overall, on the topic of social media academic and nonacademic are both extremely important genres of writing for this field of study. Each genre of writing takes its own approach to ensure that the message they are trying to convey is relayed to the audience in the most efficient way possible. Both allow people from all different backgrounds to learn more about an impactful industry that is constantly changing the way people share information, and grow companies.

Refrences

Gigante, M. D. (2018, October 2). How Social Media Has Changed The Ad Game [Infographic]. Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://www.mdgadvertising.com/marketing-insights/infographics/how-social-media-changed-the-ad-game-infographic/

Griffis, H. (2020, January 24). How Brands Can Leverage Pinterest To Make Sales. Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://buffer.com/resources/how-brands-can-leverage-pinterest-to-make-sales

Hutchinson, A. (2019, July 31). The Demographics of Social Media in 2019 [Infographic]. Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-demographics-of-social-media-in-2019-infographic/559894/

Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019, September 18). The rise of social media. Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media

Snap Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Financial Results. (2n.d., February 4). Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://investor.snap.com/news-releases/2020/02-04-2020-210906650

The welfare effects of social media. (2019, January 1). Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://siepr.stanford.edu/research/publications/welfare-effects-social-media