Resource mobilization on social network site

As the popularity of social networking sites increases, strategists and activists show interest in its utilization. Two experiments were conducted to verify the utility of social network sites (SNS) as a strategic device and to test how descriptive social norms function online. In the study 1, path analyses were used to generate a model outlining the nature of the relationships between several relational variables and enacted support. Results indicate that relationship characteristics including the level of reciprocity, contact frequency and a composite measure of tie strength were all positively related to enacted support. In the study 2, a 2 (tie strength: strong, weak) x 2 (support type: pro-social, instrumental) x 3 (norm type: no norm, weak provincial norm, strong provincial norm) between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance was performed on two dependent variables: time spent labeling images, and the number of images labeled. Results suggest that people asked with strong provincial norms spend more time and energy fulfilling requests than those asked without norms. The degree to which people are fulfilling online requests was also affected by tie strength, perceived level of reciprocity between sender and receiver, and receiver's level of altruism. However, online helping behavior was not associated with support type-the provision of either pro-social or instrumental support. Recommendations were offered for the applicability of this study to those involved with online mobilization and social norms.