How the Fourth Revolution is Changing the World and How Newspapers Must Take Advantage of It - Essay Example

In a qualitative study that attempts to explore the many ways in which users are experiencing the use of Facebook and Twitter in reference to The Sun and The Daily Telegraph, the ways in which the newspaper industry can find advantages to using online social networks will be examined.

The explosion of the internet into a global phenomenon of information has created a substantial increase in the way that businesses can communicate about their services. As a business, the newspaper industry has the opportunity to take advantage of a great many advantages that the rise of social networks has provided. Services such as Facebook and Twitter provide a forum that can act as both a promotional tool and an outlet for information that the newspaper wishes to share. As well, the community can utilize the information in such a way as to create informed choices as to which newspaper represents their point of view in reporting.

The study that is being undertaken has been designed to discuss the use of social networks, specifically Facebook and Twitter, in order to understand the way in which these two networks provide advantages to the readers for newspapers. Without an understanding of the experience, it will be more difficult in future research to interpret quantitative values. Therefore, this study has been designed to use a phenomenological approach in order to study the experience of the readership, rather than to only explore the statistical relationships. In using this form of research, it is hoped that a more clear understanding of the use of social networks for the media can be established.

The study will use the interpretive stance on phenomenological research in order to provide the framework in which the study is developed. According to Bryman and Bell (2007, p. 20), the interpretive stance on phenomenological research can be determined through a sense of empathetic interactions between the researcher and the participants.