“Augmented Placemaking and community engagement: Exploring social media interaction in Brazoria County Rocks!” a research article by Dr. John A. McArthur and Alicia Jauregui was published in the 2019 issue of the Texas Speech Communication Journal. To better understand the effects of social media on placemaking – our experiential connection to geographic place — this study explored the use of social media posts by the residents of Brazoria County, Texas in the Brazoria County “Rocks!” Facebook group. This group is a unique integration of interpersonal communication, social media strategy, and geographic community.

Using a grounded theory analysis of group posts during the seminal month of the group, this study argues that social media, and Facebook in particular, can digitally augment human experience of geographic location. This research suggests that bringing a discussion of placemaking into the study of social media can create new conversations about interaction and engagement in communities that are at once geographic and digital.

Dr. McArthur is an associate professor of communication studies at Furman University in Greenville, SC. Alicia Jauregui is an alumna of the master of arts in communication program at Queens University of Charlotte.

Article citation: McArthur, J.A., & Jauregui, A. (2019). Augmented Placemaking and community engagement: Exploring social media interaction in Brazoria County Rocks! Texas Speech Communication Journal, 43, 55-66.

Read the full article here: