Unpacking the social media phenomenon - a review

One question that researchers are intensively dealing with today is 'how do we analyse social media?' The social media of today are undoubtedly large, complex and dynamic. This makes analysis a daunting task for those who want to build a deeper understanding of a certain platform. Jan H. Kietzmann and colleagues provide a basic honey comb shaped framework in their 2012 paper: "unpacking the social media phenomenon: towards a research agenda".

The honeycomb 'lenses' as suggested by Kietzmann et al.

When reading this paper it becomes very clear that even Kietzmann et al. don't have all the answers, but that is not the purpose of this text. What it tries to achieve is nothing more than a basic framework, a guideline if you will, that might help researchers to get started. There's nothing I appreciate more than researchers who are willing to take a multi-disciplinary approach, instead of focussing solely on their own limited field of expertise. Kietzmann et al. have more than succeeded at this, by blending this technology-heavy field with influences from social science, psychology, behavioral science and cognitive science.

But through all this well structured, well referenced and multi disciplinary information I can't help but feel there's something missing. The seven parts of the framework, or 'lenses' as they are called in the paper, can't be this separate from each other right? Though Kietzmann et al. do note that these lenses are not mutually exclusive, it seems to me that there are more interesting relations at play between these lenses. Relations that are worth mentioning and might yield more information for potential researchers.

For instance, when looking through the groups lense, certain group dynamics might influence other lenses. A group in which sharing is a much loved and appreciated practice, the group dynamic itself will strengthen the motivation for individuals to share. Similarly, when the reputation lense yields that the overall perceived reputation of a platform is low, we'll most likely see a decrease in the frequency of conversations, because people might not trust that their conversations are private.

As a whole, I have nothing but praise for the honeycomb model provided by Kietzmann et al. I would however like to suggest that an extended version is made, which takes these lense relations into account. Perhaps a honeycomb with weighted relations depending on influence.

Suggestion for a honeycomb with weighted relations