Language in Social Media

COURSE OBJECTIVE
The student obtains insight into the scientific theories and empirical findings regarding electronic word of mouth and webcare;
The student can apply theories about electronic word of mouth and webcare on case studies;
The student is able to collect and analyze webcare messages on visual and linguistic features;
The student can formulate a webcare strategy in which scientific theories and empirical findings are applied.

COURSE CONTENT
This course focuses on language in social media by investigating electronic word of mouth and webcare. Since the rise of social media,
consumers are enabled to voice their complaints, questions, and remarks to a large audience (i.e., electronic word of mouth). For instance,
consumers post a negative review of their restaurant visit on Tripadvisor or tweet about their positive experience with an electronic device they recently ordered. Electronic word of mouth impacts the reputation of brands. To prevent and control potential negative impact of dissatisfying customer experiences, organizations have appointed organizational representatives to monitor the online interaction (i.e.,
who are talking in which sentiment about our organization/products/services?). When deemed necessary, these representatives intervene by responding to questions, complaints, and compliments. Such practices have become known as webcare. Recently, webcare has become a topic of interest in scientific research. There have been numerous experimental studies in which the effects of specific webcare interventions are examined. But it is still unclear which determinants play a role in this process and which (psychological, linguistic, interpersonal) theoretical models can be related to the phenomenon of webcare. The course teaches the theoretical principles related to webcare, as well as providing students hands-on experience (monitoring and analyzing consumer messages).

TEACHING METHODS
Lectures and seminars

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT
Written exam, oral group presentation, written group report

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Students must have passed Language, Media, and Communication.