User and Firm Generated Content on Online Social Media: A Review and Research Directions

2. Literature Review

Boyd and Ellison (2008, p. 211) define social media as “web based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they can share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” In past half a decade, social media websites have received a lot of attention in interpersonal communication and collaboration (Kane et al., 2014) and joined the mainstream of the global internet culture (Keen, 2007). These sites, having variety in their architecture, attracted millions of individuals to adopt them in their daily practices. Subsequently, communication and new information tools such as, blogging, audio/video/image sharing and mobile connectivity were incorporated with these sites (Boyd and Ellison, 2008).