Social media, with its immense and continuous flow of information, has in recent years growntremendously in terms of users and content. This increase has led companies and organizations keen to be seen within these channels of communication, but do they always have a clear idea of how andwhy, and are they aware of the risks that are associated with it? Current research on social media is somewhat divided in two. The debate concerns, among other things, what value the information on social media has, and whether the media is really a good communication channel or not. This raises several questions, for example can a company really afford to remain outside of social media with allthe information it generates? This research aims at answering these questions in order to further understand how organizations discuss social media presence and strategies.

AbstractTitle:A study of the internal communication at The Swedish Department of Taxes (En studie av den interna kommunikationen på Skatteverket)Number of pages: 36 (52 including enclosures)Author: Emma KreüTutor: Peder Hård af SegerstadCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: Atumn 2006University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Sciense,Uppsala UniversityPurpose/Aim: To resarch the internal communication within The Swedish Department of Taxes and the relationship between information sender and reciver.Material/Method: By contedning critical discourse analysis on The Swedish Department of Taxes? policy for internal communication and accomplish interviews with co-wokers in position of reciving information, in position of sending information and section managers.Main Results: The co-workers in position of reciving information felt they had a good communicational relastionship with their closest section manager, but not with the upper management.Keywords: Internal communication, communicational leadership, organizational communication..

ABSTRACTPurpose/aim: Are there any differences between how ?old? and ?young? groups within social movements in Sweden view (value) and use alternative and mainstream media?Material/method: The answer to the research problem is sought by conducting qualitative research interviews with representatives of four different groups: Alternativ Stad, Folkkampanjen mot Kärnkraft-Kärnvapen, Attac Sverige and Ingen Människa är Illegal. The theoretical framework consists of research on social movements, especially on their relation to media, and on alternative media.Main results: There exist some, but not great, differences between how ?old? and ?young? groups view and use mainstream and alternative media. The differences are relatively small when it comes to views on media and somewhat larger concerning media use.

Purpose:The purpose of this paper is to investigate and clarify some of the factors that influence organizations to adopt or reject the social media, and if the emergence of social media influenced the organization's communication.Metohodology:A qualitative methodology has been used to execute the study. The source has been semi structured interviews with chosen representatives from several organizations.Theoretical perspective:The theoretical basis for the execution of the methodology is based on the provisional theoretical demarcation uses and gratifications theory. For analysis diffusion of innovations theory is applied.Emperical findings:The empirical material includes interviews with representatives from twelve selected organizations, defined as companies in the industry and authorities, in seven different industries.Conclusion: The main factors affecting an adoption of social media is the organization?s open structure, the ability to see opportunities with social media and that they are seen as a natural part of development in the communications field. The main factors affecting a rejection of social media is ignorance, the organization's governance and that there must be a need that social media can fill.

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explain and discover how a Swedish commune works with their external crisis communication during a large crisis. The case study revolved around a simulation exercise with Mjölby commune that was and organized by the company VSL Systems AB. The study addresses the difficulties that arise within the crisis communication, and shows witch factors that are important to consider, when you are responsible for an entire community.Our result shows that the relationship with media could be utilized in a better way and both parties could benefit from cooperation. The commune could have used varied communication channels to create more effective crisis communication which had reached a bigger group of people. The information was not adapted to the different groups to the extent it could have been..

This study aims to research how digital media can be used for communication and information management between teachers at preschools and children?s homes. To get an understanding of this we have investigated which channels are being used and for what purposes. The interest has also been to explore preschool teachers and caregivers? attitudes towards digital communication in preschools.A qualitative case study of comparative nature has been conducted, where two preschools were selected because of their use and non-use of digital media for communication with caregivers.

In this report we examine the NFC (Near Field Communication) technology as far as the development has come until today. We adress different use areas and explain the technical funcionality. By using data collection methods as a specialist interview and also a survery we want to detect potential risks and safety-issues in implementation of the new technology. Our main-focus in this report is to examine how NFC can play an important role in the developement of social interaction and social media. By compiling our data and research materials we will analyze and present a report conslusion.

Purpose: The purpose of the essay is; to explain and clarify how the company is acting to lead members in social media to achieve valuable external communication. The authors believe that it is important to act with credibility and quality in social media, to accomplish long lasting relationships. When employees communicate with consumers their conduct is relevant to the company's credibility.Methodology: An inductive approach has been used for the empirical data collection since the authors have been studying the reality without existing theories. A qualitative research method has been used for collecting the empirical material. Primary data was collected from telephone interviews with seven companies, active in social media.Conclusions: The study shows that the power of employees? can be used when designing strategies for social media.

The aim of this study is to examine which communication channels and communication strategies Umea? municipality could use for information concerning outdoor recreation. To achieve this aim the following theories and views have been applied: social communication, communication strategies, two-way symmetrical communication, social media and uses and gratifications. The study was conducted through four focus group interviews and one informant interview. The focus groups consisted of four groups of outdoor enthusiasts in Umea? municipality: outdoor interested students, organized outdoor enthusiasts, active families and active seniors.

Purpose/aim: The purpose of this thesis is to examine if, and in that case how, the municipality of Umeå worked strategically with its communication during 2014 when Umeå was chosen as ?European Capital of Culture?. The research is mainly focused on the outlines of their communication plan, main goals, what  communication strategies the municipality has chosen to and their choice of media channels.Material/method: Two methods are used for this research; qualitative interviews with four employees within the communication team during Umeå2014 and a text analysis of three formal documents which provide the framework of communication policies and media strategies during Umeå2014.Results: The results clearly indicate a well structured, strategic planning outlined in the formal documents. The four people intreviewed all had a good knowledge of the policies and strategies in the documents, they also described their work in accordance with these..

This study is based on an inductive approach where the collected empirical data has been categorized in themes on which we have based the discussion in this paper. Using a qualitative method, nine appropriately selected respondents were questioned with an unstructured interview guide. The transition to a society characterized by interaction has caused a greater part for bilateral communication between consumer and consumer but also between consumer and company. The increased usage and integration on Internet has resulted in so called social media channels. User generated material is published on these media channels which leads to discussions about companies, products and services.

The technological progress of the world has had a massive effect on how we communicate with one and other, it also has had an big impact on how companies communicate with their customers and consumers. Today you cannot only communicate a ?promise to your costumers and consumers you also have to ?deliver? what it is you promise. Strategic communication is today not only to market your product but to ensure that your strategic communication is shown even in you innovation, design and product development.  This thesis is conducted in collaboration with No Picnic AB.The purpose of this study was to get an insight in how Swedish companies use their strategic communication. We aim on bringing a new point of view of strategic communication with innovation, design and product development also as a communication channel.

Title The User Created Fire ? Risks and Opportunities with Crisis Communication in Social Network SitesAuthor Charbel SaderCourse Master Thesis in Media? and Communication Studies, Department of Journalism and Communication, University of GothenburgSemester Spring semester of 2013Tutor Nicklas HåkanssonNumberof pages 75Purpose To find a deeper understanding of the digital media?s role in Swedish society in relation to crisis communication.Method Qualitative approach using focus group interviewsMaterial Semi structured focus group interviews with a total of 18 participants in five groups. The focus group sessions were made during February, March and April 2012.Main results The main findings in this study are that users expect the communication flow in social network sites (SNS) during a crisis is to be a shortcut to information without a detour through organizations or traditional media. Although we find personal gratification, like interpersonal communication, quick information and sharing feelings and experience with others by using SNS during a crisis, users also tend to be hesitant about the credibility of the shared information. Alongside the user created content, we look to professional media experts and organizations as a guarantee for the veracity of the shared information.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the conditions that prevail when companies put their marketing in social media with the purpose of creating a perception of the risks and opportunities it brings to businesses and ultimately how it may affect the corporate image and identity.Theories: The basis of the problem area are presented through a theoretical framework with the purpose of highlighting the notions of social media, communi- cation, marketing communication, groundswell, corporate identity and image.Methodology: To investigate the research questions this study adopted a qualitative approach in which the authors study the properties of a phenomenon in order to seek a deeper understanding of the problems we have presented. There is an exploratory approach to knowledge and the authors have chosen to conduct qualitative research interviews based upon three themes: driving forces, challenges and impacts.Conclusion: The study revealed that traditional models of communication are no longer applicable in social media. Companies are up for a challenge and must clarify their sole purpose when establishing communication in the social landscape. The general motivation for marketing in social media is making profit, however, building relationships is not a natural motive for most companies. The risks companies expe- rience is the exposure caused by social media and the study also reveals that this fear is firmly attached to their lack of knowledge of these new channels of communicat- ion and their primary areas of use which indicates that skilled employees plays a vi- tal role with their use of social media in their communication process.

The study examines how social media can be used in a business-to-business context. To understand the communication conditions, factors has been identified that affects the choice of communication channels for different types of information transferred between parts. Furthermore, the study investigates the underlying reasons for why certain communication channels are chosen before others, in different situations. The study results are based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with employees in a small engineering consulting company. The investigation has focused on employee communication and choice of communication tools primarily in relation to the business relationship.