Communicating on Twitter for Charity: Understanding the Wall of Kindness Initiative in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan

Authors

  • M. Laeeq Khan Assistant Professor, School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University
  • Zulfia Zaher PhD Candidate, School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University
  • Bowen Gao PhD Student, School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University

Keywords:

social media, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, content analysis, thematic, sharing, charity, Wall of Kindness

Abstract

This study highlights the important role of social media for charity through an analysis of tweets about the Wall of Kindness charity initiative in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we employ a theoretical lens of social influence to explore how individuals and organizations used Twitter to promote charitable initiatives. User engagement on Twitter centered on content sharing and identification through hashtags, and imitative behaviors promoted the Wall of Kindness initiative across countries. Results from the thematic analysis reveal that Twitter users were tweeting about the Wall of Kindness to provide information, encourage donations, inspire others to action, and build an online community. Our content analysis reveals that a majority of the tweets were neutral and supportive of the initiative; users mostly shared textual information, followed by sharing images and videos, tweeting news links, and soliciting donations about the Wall of Kindness. Furthermore, media organizations, wall enthusiasts, and journalists were most active in tweeting about the charity initiative. Implications for future research are discussed.

Author Biographies

M. Laeeq Khan, Assistant Professor, School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University

Dr. Khan is an Assistant Professor in the School of Media Arts & Studies at Ohio University. He is also the Director of the Social Media Analytics lab at Scripps College of Communication. He has a diverse educational background with an MS in Telecommunications Systems Management and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). He received his PhD in Media & Information Studies from Michigan State University. His teaching experience spans several years where he has served as an Assistant Professor and later the coordinator of a business program, designing curriculum, establishing standards and quality benchmarks. In 2012, he was conferred with an award of teaching excellence–AT&T Faculty and Staff Instructional Technology Award. Prior to joining Ohio University, Dr. Khan served as an Assistant Professor at the American University in the UAE, where he helped establish a communication program and led efforts in creating a media lab. He has extensive professional experience as a social media strategist consulting for various organizations. His research concentrates on user engagement focusing on social media use for business, learning, and public relations. Dr. Khan has published in major refereed journals of international repute, authored book chapters, and presented at prominent conferences in the field of media, communication and information systems. He has also worked on various funded research projects from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Zulfia Zaher, PhD Candidate, School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University

PhD Candidate

Bowen Gao, PhD Student, School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University

PhD Student

Downloads

Published

2018-01-29

Issue

Vol. 12 (2018)

Section

Articles

License

The International Journal of Communication is an academic journal. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of information. For this reason, IJoC is freely available to individuals and institutions. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. However, commercial use of the IJoC website or the articles contained herein is expressly prohibited without the written consent of the editor. Authors who publish in The International Journal of Communication will release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) license. This license allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given. For details of the rights authors grants users of their work, see the "human-readable summary" of the license, with a link to the full license. (Note that "you" refers to a user, not an author, in the summary.) This journal utilizes the LOCKSSsystem to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may:
  • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials;
  • Use material consistent with original license terms;
  • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair.
 

Fair Use

The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 specifies, in Section 107, the terms of the Fair Use exception: Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; &
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the International Journal of Communication believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.

The International Journal of Communication encourages authors to employ fair use in their scholarly publishing wherever appropriate. Fair use is the right to use unlicensed copyrighted material (whether it is text, images, audio-visual, or other) in your own work, in some circumstances. We consult the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication, created by the International Communication Association and endorsed by the National Communication Association, and you should too. If you have any questions about whether fair use applies to your uses of copyrighted material (whether it is text, images, audio-visual, or other) in your scholarship, simply include your rationale, grounded in the Best Practices, as a supplementary document with your submission.