COLUMBIA, 7/15/11 (Beat Byte) -- Local government
agencies pitching tax increases should listen up: Public expressions of anger
displayed on Internet sites can perpetuate negative perceptions of an
organization, claims Bo Kyung Kim, a doctoral student in the University
of Missouri School of Journalism who has scientifically confirmed what
most people have long suspected.
Kim urges organizations to take online comments as "critical information
that has a direct impact on the public in general." The vast majority of online
commenters have greeted recent local proposals for tax and fee increases with
outright hostility.
"In any fashion, organizations need to monitor their online presence
closely to prevent the negative perceptions from spiraling out of control," Kim
says she learned from a study that measured perceptions of four automobile
corporations.
Participants first read a news story about a crisis at each automobile
corporation. Secondly, Kim asked about their perceptions of each corporation.
Thirdly, participants were shown negative online comments from Facebook,
Twitter, and other online message boards in response to each crisis. Finally,
participants were asked to respond the same questions about their perceptions of
each corporation.
Negative online comments affected participants’ perceptions negatively, Kim
confirmed.
The study was co-authored by Hyunmin Lee, an assistant professor at St.
Louis University and former doctoral candidate at MU.
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