Governance within social media websites: Ruling new frontiers

Governance within social media websites can be evaluated in terms of conformity to or transgression of external legal requirements, social mores, and economic incentives. By examining social media websites as frontiers and heterotopias in which rule is indeterminate, this paper explores the way rule is established and changed. The authors illustrate this approach using the case of changing governance within Formspring.

► Social media websites are sites of politics and governance. ► Governance within social media websites conforms to or transgresses external norms. ► External norms include legal requirements, social mores, and economic incentives. ► Social media websites can be understood as frontier-like heterotopias. ► Transgression of external norms can be the rule in frontier-like heterotopias.