Tess Stone Annotated Bibliography

Madden, Amy, Ian Ruthven, and David McMenemy. "A Classification Scheme for Content Analyses of YouTube Video Comments." Journal of Documentation 69.5 (2013): 693-714. ProQuest. Web. 17 Sep. 2015.

Madden, Ruthven, and McMenemy’s article describes a study the goal of which is to create a classification of different types of YouTube comments.  They analyzed 66,637 comments on videos.  They drew comments from sixty videos in different categories, or genres, of video.  They drew on this content to create ten different categories of comments, and fifty-eight subcategories.  The ten main categories are as follows: information, advice, impression, opinion, responses, expression of personal feelings, general conversation, site processes, video content description, and non-response comments.  The study and resulting classification schema creates an easy way for comments to be separated for analysis.  Madden et al state that, “existing approaches to such problems often separate comments by the video to which the comments are attached and ignore the differences between comments.  One approach presents a classification scheme that classifies comments according to the purpose of leaving a comment … Using this schema (Madden, 2011) showed how the schema could reveal interesting differences between commenting behavior on videos from different genres.”  This study could be useful as a means of examining specific YouTube comments; or Madden et al’s categories might be examined in their own right and the purposes of leaving comments looked at more closely. 

Buchinger, Michael. "Emma Watson, Feminism and YouTube Comments: The Influence of Anonymity on Language Use Online." Emma Watson, Feminism and YouTube Comments: The Influence of Anonymity on Language Use Online. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Buchinger’s study examined comments on Emma Watson’s 2014 speech in which she declared herself a feminist.  Although the speech itself deals with a topic that is considered by some to be controversial, his examination demonstrates a correlation between anonymity and hate.  Out of the comments examined, more were supportive than unsupportive.  However, around half of supportive comments were anonymous while the vast majority of unsupportive comments were anonymous. 

Ring, Caitlin Elizabeth. "Hate Speech in Social Media: An Exploration of the Problem and its Proposed Solutions." Order No. 3607350 University of Colorado at Boulder, 2013. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 24 Sep. 2015.

Ring’s 167 page dissertation deals with hate speech in social media, and she focuses specifically on YouTube as an example.  Her writing focuses more on the regulation and removal of hate speech, rather than its connection with anonymity.  Her examination of YouTube emphasizes the current lack of regulation on many platforms, pointing out that hate speech is not limited to the comments section: there are many, many hate videos that are still live and watched despite their content.