NEW TRENDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA
NEW TRENDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Author(s): Beata Bialy, Sanda Svetoka
Contributor(s): Juris Benkis (Editor), Linda Curika (Editor)
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Economy, Media studies, Communication studies, Sociology, Methodology and research technology, Policy, planning, forecast and speculation, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Globalization
Published by: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
Keywords: media; social media; globalization; trends; information; communication; internet; news; control;
Summary/Abstract: In the current media landscape, social media has taken on a very prominent role. It has evolved into a mainstream information channel and developed into a new online platform through which people organise their lives. Social media influences almost every aspect of human interaction, and the online and offline worlds are increasingly merging. Social media has become one of the main channels through which people connect and communicate, as well as getting news, however as the technology develops, social media consumption habits and communication models are also changing unpredictably, both in terms of speed and direction. Social media has also emerged as a powerful weapon, used more and more frequently in information warfare. Since its development in the early 2000s, social media has become an important tool for influencing people’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. Both states and terrorist groups are exploiting social media platforms effectively and experimenting with the engagement techniques and types of content that best achieve their political or military goals. In order to be better prepared for this rapidly changing information environment, the Polish National Ministry of Defence requested that the NATO StratCom Centre of Excellence explore the current trends in social media, analyse its potential development in the future, including usage patterns, models of communication and engagement techniques. This report is the outcome of that request and will seek to: - Identify social media trends in types of platform and content. - Analyse usage patterns. - Analyse the expectations from the further opportunities social media offers NATO and its member states. - Discuss the threats and opportunities presented by the use of social media, as well as analyse current gaps in NATO’s communications via social media. - Develop recommendations on how to further improve current communication techniques in order to support the strategic communication needs of governments, armed forces and NATO in the future. The report summarises the conclusions of the expert seminar New Trends in Social Media, organised in Riga on 18-19 April 2016 by NATO StratCom COE. The seminar attracted more than 50 communication practitioners, industry representatives and academics. The report includes social media usage statistics and a literature review, as well as lessons learned from the communication efforts during recent NATO exercises. Finally, it presents the main outcome from the survey carried out by NATO StratCom COE on the perception, understanding and use of social media by NATO communication personnel.

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