An increasingly influential strand of research on social media relies on the concept of affordances to account for effects. However, hindering the possibility of a unified theory of affordances in social media is the conceptual blurring surrounding the concept. This article engages in a comprehensive review of the affordances literature in social media, aiming to provide an overview of the current state of the art and clarify the use of the concept. Through a systematic literature review, the characteristics of affordances research in social media are uncovered: the most prominent areas of application, research approaches, and dominant typologies and conceptualisations. Significant blurriness of the term ‘affordance’ is identified as well as an inconsistent use in research. To tackle these problems, a unified definition of affordances in social media is proposed based on the synthesis of knowledge on affordances in technology and social media. The suggested definition captures the core aspects of the concept to reduce ambiguity in the use of the concept and further the research on affordances of social media. The article provides the groundwork for future use of affordances theory in social media research.

While the public sector traditionally lags behind business in innovation, significant changes are anticipated with the broad diffusion of so-called disruptive technologies. The use of such technologies in public service, along with possible benefits, need to be well researched, and challenges be carefully discussed, analysed and evaluated. This paper applies scenario-based science and technology roadmapping to identify research and training needs in the implementation of disruptive technologies in public service. 70 experts reviewed 13 future scenarios and derived a number of research and training needs regarding internet of things, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, big data and other disruptive technologies. The identified needs serve as a starting point for a broader and more informed discussion about how such new (disruptive) technologies can be successfully deployed in the public sector - leveraging the benefits of these technologies while at the same time constraining the drawbacks affiliated with them.

The present article describes the results of research on online identity construction during the participation in the hospitality social networks. Specifi cally the user references are analy-sed to understand patterns that form the image of a member. CouchSurfi ng service (couch-surfi ng.org) allows users to leave short texts where the experience of hosting/being hosted by a CS member is described, is an evaluation of the CS members of each other’s personal traits, skills and common experience. Therefore references can become a good instrument for portraying a CouchSurfi ng member and understanding his or her particular traits. Refe-rences form an important part of a user’s virtual identity in the network. Using a sample of references of Spanish CouchSurfi ng users, the research established main characteristics of the references, which are the openness, readiness to share ideas and experiences and trustworthi-ness. These concepts illustrate the typical traits associated with a user of the network and also shed light on the activities common during offl ine CS meetings

Social Media has become an important political tool in Ukraine. During the 2013-2014 protests many Facebook groups were established. With the success of the protests and the change of the government, they did not disappear but rather switched their focus to raising awareness of internal corruption and providing support to the Ukrainian citizens involved in the conflict in the east of Ukraine. The research aims at filling the gap of understanding of social media civil activism in Ukraine in the context of ongoing military conflict in the east of the country. Paper provides attempt at categorizing the Facebook activist communities according to the type of published content and illustrates the Facebook activism in Ukraine through several recent examples.