{"id":{"repo_id":"texas-state","oai_identifier":"oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/12387"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/texas-state/oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/12387","repository":{"repo_id":"texas-state","name":"Texas State University","base_url":"https://digital.library.txst.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Virtual Opinion Leaders and Opinion Change: An Examination of Blogging through the Framework of the Two-step Flow of Communication","abstract":"The introduction of a new medium provides an opportunity for scholars to revisit existing theories of mass communication. Blogging is a medium that has grown tremendously in recent years, from just a few dozen blogs in 1999 to more than 42 million blogs today. One function of blogging is providing opinion and commentary on news from the mainstream media. In this way bloggers act as intermediaries, much in the same way Lazarsfeld described opinion leaders in his two-step flow of information theory. This research examined blogging from the framework of the two-step flow to see if readers looked to bloggers as opinion leaders. Results showed that bloggers were not opinion leaders and blogs were perceived as less credible than mainstream media sources, but that blogs do play a role in opinion consideration and opinion reinforcement.","abstract_html":"The introduction of a new medium provides an opportunity for scholars to revisit existing theories of mass communication. Blogging is a medium that has grown tremendously in recent years, from just a few dozen blogs in 1999 to more than 42 million blogs today. One function of blogging is providing opinion and commentary on news from the mainstream media. In this way bloggers act as intermediaries, much in the same way Lazarsfeld described opinion leaders in his two-step flow of information theory. This research examined blogging from the framework of the two-step flow to see if readers looked to bloggers as opinion leaders. Results showed that bloggers were not opinion leaders and blogs were perceived as less credible than mainstream media sources, but that blogs do play a role in opinion consideration and opinion reinforcement.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Quackenbush, Dara"],"institution":"Texas State University-San Marcos","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Communication Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Niekamp, Raymond"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-08","date_published":"2006-08","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:22:45Z","subjects":["blogs","mass media","public opinions","communication flows"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10877/12387","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Niekamp, Raymond"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Quackenbush, Dara"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-08-12T17:09:34Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-08-12T17:09:34Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2006-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Texas State University-San Marcos"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["blogs","mass media","public opinions","communication flows"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10877/12387"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The introduction of a new medium provides an opportunity for scholars to revisit existing theories of mass communication. Blogging is a medium that has grown tremendously in recent years, from just a few dozen blogs in 1999 to more than 42 million blogs today. One function of blogging is providing opinion and commentary on news from the mainstream media. In this way bloggers act as intermediaries, much in the same way Lazarsfeld described opinion leaders in his two-step flow of information theory. This research examined blogging from the framework of the two-step flow to see if readers looked to bloggers as opinion leaders. Results showed that bloggers were not opinion leaders and blogs were perceived as less credible than mainstream media sources, but that blogs do play a role in opinion consideration and opinion reinforcement."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["Text"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["1 file (.pdf)"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Virtual Opinion Leaders and Opinion Change: An Examination of Blogging through the Framework of the Two-step Flow of Communication"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Niekamp, Raymond"],"dc:creator":["Quackenbush, Dara"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-08-12T17:09:34Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-08-12T17:09:34Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2006-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["The introduction of a new medium provides an opportunity for scholars to revisit existing theories of mass communication. Blogging is a medium that has grown tremendously in recent years, from just a few dozen blogs in 1999 to more than 42 million blogs today. One function of blogging is providing opinion and commentary on news from the mainstream media. In this way bloggers act as intermediaries, much in the same way Lazarsfeld described opinion leaders in his two-step flow of information theory. This research examined blogging from the framework of the two-step flow to see if readers looked to bloggers as opinion leaders. Results showed that bloggers were not opinion leaders and blogs were perceived as less credible than mainstream media sources, but that blogs do play a role in opinion consideration and opinion reinforcement."],"dc:format":["Text"],"dc:format.medium":["1 file (.pdf)"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10877/12387"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:subject":["blogs","mass media","public opinions","communication flows"],"dc:title":["Virtual Opinion Leaders and Opinion Change: An Examination of Blogging through the Framework of the Two-step Flow of Communication"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["Texas State University-San Marcos"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:22:45Z"}