Thesis Topics in New Media

Corporate Use of Open Government Data
The US, British and Austrian governments are providing numerous governmental data sources for free access on the Internet and invite members of the public to combine these data to provide new functionality. Given the success of these initiative, other governments will follow suit and open up their data to the public. This thesis will investigate how companies could benefit from the open government data movement. Which data sets and applications provide real value for companies, and which corporate strategies are most appropriate?
Supervisor: Sabou
New Media Representation of Democracy
A systematic observation shall document how democracy and representatives of democratic institutions and the government are currently represented on new media (Web sites, social networking sites, etc.). Special interest lies on the affective components involved: Do the representations convey positive or negative images? Are they based on stereotypes, if yes, on which? To which extent do they show the social capital component of trust in institutions? To which extent authoritarian thoughts?
Supervisor: Ponocny
New Media Representation of Tourism
A systematic observation shall document how tourism, tourists and members of the tourism industry are currently represented in new media formats (Web sites, social networking sites, etc.). Special interest lies on the affective components involved: Do the representations convey positive or negative images? Are they based on stereotypes? Do they show desirable and/or undesirable behavior by tourists? Do they acknowledge and reflect the importance of sustainable tourism?
Supervisor: Ponocny
Social Media as a Market Research and Public Relations Instrument
User-generated content is becoming increasingly important in shaping the public image of companies and their products. As a result, a plethora of tools are now available on the market that allow companies to collect, synthesize and analyze public opinion from large scale social media data. This thesis will investigate how social media applications such as blogs, microblogs and social networking platforms can be used to measure the image of a company, track user perceptions over time, and assist in broadcasting positive messages in a consistent manner. The thesis will identify the most influential social media sites, the most effective strategies of using these sites, and tools for utilizing social media intelligence in a corporate context.
Supervisor: Sabou
Online Media Monitoring and Web Intelligence
Investigate the rapidly evolving area of online media monitoring and Web intelligence, comprising methods to capture, aggregate, analyze and visualize large amounts of Web data to gain a competitive advantage. Based on a thorough literature review, classify and evaluate (i) available sources of Web data, (ii) methods to capture and analyze the gathered data, and (iii) available third-party tools and services. An overview of business scenarios should conclude with a case study that identifies a concrete informational need and applies publicly available Web intelligence services to address it.
Supervisor: Scharl