Advisors: Dr. Ramune Braziunaite Dr. Ewart Skinner Krystal Ingman Communication Major International Focus Japanese Minor Chinese Minor Advisors: Dr. Ramune Braziunaite Dr. Ewart Skinner

The Creation, Sharing, and Promotion of Japanese Popular Culture on Tumblr: Exposure to Internationality in Early Adulthood こんにちは！　

Japanese Pop Culture: What is it? Anime アニメ Manga　 漫画 Soap operas ドラマ Video games　 テレビゲーム Fashion　 洋服と和服 Music 　 音楽 Sports 　 スポーツ Cuisine　 料理 Virtually anything imaginable!　 日本大衆文化について

What is tumblr? Founded in February 2007 by David Karp Multimedia/Multi-format social media platform Photos – including animated gifs Videos More! 288.4 million blogs 132.1 billion posts 378 employees 16 languages

“Tumblr empowers people to create something extraordinary.” Why tumblr? “Tumblr empowers people to create something extraordinary.”

Research Questions Do people who have a history of being exposed to international cultural products (chiefly Japanese products) early in life more likely to become interested in global affairs? Are people who are interested in international cultural products (chiefly Japanese products) more likely to pursue careers in global contexts later in life?

Method Content Analysis Step 1: find a congregate of bloggers interested in Japanese culture Step 2: follow the blogs and observe posted content Step 3: study themes and trends observed by bloggers Step 4: review findings

Definition of Terms: Blog To blog (or when used present progressively: blogging) is operationally defined by the researcher as a habit or hobby observed by a person who has broadband access to the Internet, and who additionally creates or shares content online via a social media platform on at least a semi-routine basis (or at least a few times during a month’s time).

Units of Analysis The study uses a blog (or blogs) as a unit of analysis. All content included in a blog was considered for analysis. This included all textual and visual material provided in the blog by its creator (or sharer). Content includes: photos, videos, text, quotes, links, audio, animated gifs, and emoji.

Time Frame/Data Sample Units: 50 blogs Demographics: College-aged people Bloggers’ origin: 11 different countries Timeframe: February 13th to February 27th Total amount of posts: 1,782 Daily mean of posts: 119 Daily mean of posts per blog: 2.38 Topics: 65 unique themes

CODING Sheet: Tumblr Post analysis February 13th, 2016 to February 27th, 2016

Preliminary Results Unsurprisingly popular topics: Cats Anime Fan art and fan fiction Surprisingly popular topics: Global politics Civil rights and liberties Self-help and encouragement

Implications & Future Research People exposed to Japanese culture, or any sort of international cultural product at a young age were more likely to be interested in international affairs in later life A survey based on the preliminary findings was created for future research Field observation and interviews are planned to gain more insight

Given to BGSU students, analyzed blogs, social media lurkers Survey Given to BGSU students, analyzed blogs, social media lurkers

Observation and interviews Field Work Observation and interviews stores.barnesandnoble.com japancrate.com mirai-usa.com