Vad håller vi på med? En kartläggning av kommunikationsprocessen kring kampanjen "Vad håller du på med?"

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to use Gabriel Tardes theories concerning imitation, repetition and the public opinion as a way of understanding how transmedial communication develops over time. This involves a study of social media, traditional press and public organizations in relation to each other. The campaign, What are you doing? (Vad håller du på med?, 2013), launched by the Swedish military as a way of drafting more soldiers, is used as an example of how the theories can be applied to help us understand connections, patterns and social behavior in the rapid mutation and viral spreading of information. By discussing the campaign and its effects, the ambition is to give an understanding of how a campaign of this scale could be planned for and structured. In other words the results could be used as a guide for future campaigns with an attitude changing purpose. In a larger sense the thesis also comments on how the public discourse is formed online and in news-media. My findings are that the communication largely rests on a structure of imitations and repetitions. Several of Gabriel Tarde’s social psychological features are realized in the communication process. Tarde's view on desires and beliefs interact on both a micro and macro level where they reinforce each other. The social aspect of a publication or a behavior is also shown as an important aspect in the case of a so called “viral spreading”. It is also found that a concrete form of a Tardian public is created around the publications on the Internet and in social media - something that has implications on how the public sphere is formed. In conclusion, the thesis gives concrete suggestions on how one can think about attitude changing campaigns to avoid the form of negative publicity that the current campaign suffered from.