Degree Name

MA (Master of Arts)

Program

Communication, Professional

Date of Award

12-2012

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Stephen W. Marshall

Committee Members

Beichen Liang, John M. King

Abstract

With the development of technology, the communication between people has changed rapidly. Social media is a type of digital network designed to share content with other internet users based on their preferences and associations. The purpose of this research was to understand how industry press and the professional market place frame social media today. Moreover, this research showed the explored current social media pedagogy in business and communication programs to see if it matches the need of industry expectations. This study was a content analysis of the text-based study that uses a qualitative software-Leximancer to analyze data. The result suggested both industry press and the job market expect professionals to understand the skills of how to master the social media platforms, especially Facebook. Finally, universities offer few courses about social media, with primary objective of marketing and communication programs focusing on teaching students to be professional in business and organizations.

Document Type

Thesis - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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