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Networks, disrupted: Media use as an organizing mechanism for rebuilding

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New Media & Society

Published online on

Abstract

Longitudinal interorganizational relationships in New Orleans are used to assess the ways in which organizations employed information and communication technologies to (re)connect to their social networks and with what impact regarding post-disruption capacity building. Findings reveal tensions in old and new media use and that using multiple media is an organizing mechanism that improves rebuilding efficiency and effectiveness. Specifically, using mixed media, more so than any one old or new media, facilitated bridging and bonding social capital to expand network capacity. An Organizational Media Spectrum model integrates media intimacy, familiarity, and network capacity to illustrate the relationship between media strategies and organizing processes for building capacity in social networks.