How Do You Cite a Social Media Page?
Social media can be defined as any technology-enabled activity that facilitates sharing information and/or ideas between people. This could include photo sharing, blogging, wikis, private web messaging or social networking services.
Citing social media posts in your references is fairly easy once you understand all of its options, with MLA 9, APA and Chicago being equally straightforward methods for doing it.
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Citing tweets in a work requires following an appropriate format, to help readers easily recognize and find them quickly, while also eliminating confusion about author intentions or opinions. There are a variety of styles you can select from when it comes to citing, each with its own set of requirements; however, the general principles remain the same across them all; usually author and date should be prominent components. When using Chicago Manual of Style citation style as an example: for CMOS tweet citations must include screen name of author along with full content of post as well as date/time of publication information for example CMOS requires full content as well as author name/author name/post author as part of its citation structure for example citation.
Citing a tweet requires beginning with its author’s Twitter handle (beginning with @ sign), any unique nickname they may have (if any), group name instead of individual last names if applicable, full text of tweet (excluding quotation marks and punctuation marks ), timestamp, date(s), approximate year of publication etc.
If the tweet contains links to another source, include their URL as the third element and list their full title in italics as the final element. If the tweet contains photos or videos, list their titles within square brackets. Also be sure to include any available website titles if applicable.
Many universities advise using MLA or APA styles for citing social media posts and personal communications, with Sheffield Hallam University’s LibGuide offering guidance and tutorials on both MLA and APA style formats; Purdue’s OWL also has sections dedicated to these formats – it would be wise to consult these resources before writing your references.
Citing Facebook posts requires using the same basic elements as any other citation: the author’s name, title of post (without quotation marks), date and URL. If your post links to another website, make sure you include that as well. When writing in plain language and spelling out acronyms and abbreviations will help with accessibility issues for readers.
Social media posts differ significantly from academic articles and books in that they do not generally qualify as works cited lists according to MLA style guidelines; as a result, most references for them should instead be added into an author’s notes section instead of having separate works cited lists.
Social media sites range widely in their information offerings, from professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn to video-sharing apps such as TikTok. Because each social media site varies significantly in what content it shares, its rules for documenting that content are often complex and unpredictable; MLA guidelines can serve as a good starting point when it comes to citing social media websites.
If you are using social media sites to publish research, it’s essential that your posts are as accessible as possible. This can be achieved by offering multiple points of entry – including linking out to external websites in your blog posts or embedding a widget of Facebook feed onto agency’s website. In addition, using plain language and camel case can make content easier for readers with accessibility needs to read.
Citations should also include the date of access, as social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok may frequently update content. If no date of access is available, use “n.d.” or “ca. 2010” instead as an indication of when content was created and published.
If you are citing a social media post, there are a few key things you should keep in mind. Citation guidelines differ slightly for social media posts compared with articles or blogs as social media is often treated more as personal communications than academic works; as a result they don’t need as many stringent requirements regarding format and content. Furthermore, information provided can often vary on these platforms and could even have been deleted completely – for instance Twitter feeds could no longer exist and therefore should provide access dates in their references if applicable.
Referencing social media requires including the author or username as well as a link to their original post or tweet, including in some instances its title and/or tweet thread number. You should also indicate which type of post it was (e.g. “Facebook update” or “Twitter feed”) as well as when and where you retrieved it; additionally you should include the URL for their social media platform in your reference list.
LinkedIn requires members to create a unique URL for their profiles in order to differentiate themselves from other LinkedIn users and make it easy for people to locate them. To start this process, go into your LinkedIn account and select “Edit public profile URL” in the upper right corner.
Citations is comprised of including the author’s name, title of their post and date of publication. If they hold professional credentials as well, include that as well. When using posts published from company accounts as examples for citation, use “The name of organization in quotation marks is appropriate.
If the post includes photographs or videos, these should be included within the text of the citation; otherwise they should be left out. Also if it contains links to other sites or pages, including any quotations or paraphrases from them; any times when its content cannot be accessed due to privacy settings or restricted access, citation should include it as personal communication instead.
Instagram is an increasingly popular social media platform where users post images and videos. It has also become a reliable source for news and information, and is frequently utilized academically. When citing an Instagram post, be sure to include: the author’s last name and initials, screen name, date of the post, URL address. Please be mindful that posts on social media should not be considered reliable sources as they could change or disappear at any time; so when adding it as part of your reference list entry be sure only the latest version is included.
Citing an Instagram photo requires starting with the author’s last name and initials (or single username), the screen name which can be found above their profile picture or their full Twitter handle @username with period. If there is a title for the post included within brackets if available; otherwise use “n.d.”
If a post contains a caption, it should be italicized. If it’s a video post, include details about its author as well as a summary of its content. If it includes links in its caption, include its URL with square brackets.
After listing all relevant details about a post (carousel, Instagram Stories or Highlights), it’s also essential to specify its type. Unfortunately, many citation styles do not differentiate among these posts.
Citing an Instagram story requires specifying both hashtags used and location details of photos posted to it, which can help when tracking down original copies. When citing tweets specifically, add their author’s Twitter handle at either end of your citation – especially helpful if citing it for research papers – or create a soft copy and use that instead.