# Introduction he objective of this research study is to conduct a social media analysis with regard to the top twenty most connected Muslim leaders, scholars, opinion leaders or groups in Turkey that might be approached as premium account candidates for Islamic social networking platforms. As this is a scoping study, the approach taken was exploratory and aimed to cover a broad range of information relevant to the topic in a limited time. As a result, not all potential subjects could be covered in detail, and more in-depth research may be needed to confirm the findings of this research study. This study focused on: ? Gathering basic information about the uses of Facebook and Twitter by potential An Islamic social networking platform premium accounts in Turkey Author: University of Oxford. e-mail: ayshe.kok@gmail.com ? Analysing Islamic opinion leaders, scholars and groups' usage patterns of social media to determine strengths, challenges and needs in Turkey ? Exploring the use of social media for religious purposes and related purposes such as doing good by relevant Islamic groups in Turkey The research demonstrated the potential areas and types of content and features of applications that could be offered by An Islamic social networking platform for Muslim scholars, opinion leaders and groups in Turkey. The research also demonstrated often unique -or pronounced cultural sensibilities reflected on social networks. # II. # Literature Review The last decade has been witness to a shift from the individual to the constructive and social aspect of knowledge in the existing epistemologies (Easterby-Smith & Lyles, 2003). Such a direct shift of focus onto the social nature of meaning and practice can result in the redefinition of the organisation itself as a community of practice (CoP), with organisational dimensions that convey meaning to these practices meaning. The prominent scholars Lave and Wenger who firstly made a definition of CoP in their famous book with the title "Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation" studied how situated learning takes place as a result of the relationships built by "master practitioners" and "newcomers". CoP's can also refer to places in which which "communicative action" occurs (Polanyi, 2002). The mutual creation of knowledge mediates these actions (Wenger, 2004). While CoP's function as a ground for knowledge creation and transfer (Lesser & Prusak, 2000; Wenger, 2004;Wenger & Snyder, 2000) they exist at the crossroads of intellectual and social capital. Within the current body of literature it is a common belief among scholars that CoP's support the basis of social capital, which is mandatory for creating knowledge and its dissemination (Lesser & Prusak, 2000, p. 124). According to Wenger (1999), CoP framework can be implemented within both "intra" and "inter" dimensions of organizational settings due to being "an integral part of our daily lives" (Wenger, 1999, p. 6, 7). Building further upon the concept of CoP, Wenger utilized it to establish a comprehensive theory of how individuals within collective settings such as organizations work together (1999; 2000; 2004). In his book, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Wenger (1999) states that organizations can be considered as assemblies of CoP which can reach even beyond their confines and be situated either within or between formal networks (1998, p. 30). In addition, some scholars utilized the concept of CoP to put crosssector collaborations under scrutiny (Lathlean & le May, 2002; Dewhurst & Navarro, 2004). These scholars have also contributed to my motivation for approaching the CSC Program from the perspective of CoP. These studies suggest that organizational initiatives provide a fruitful ground to implement the CoP theory. The term "joint enterprise," referred to as the shared purpose of practitioners in a particular field is used as one of the main characteristics of a CoP (Wenger & Synder, 2000). Similarly, according to O'Donnell et al (2003) CoP's are formed around a common interest established upon the values of their members. These shared interests are set into a negotiation on a communal basis (Wenger, 1998, p. 78) around a common purpose. Wenger (1998) describes a "practice as a process by which meaning is provided for one's engagement within the world" (p. 51). According to Wenger (1998), "mutual accountability" (p. 81), which refers to the degree of reciprocal relationship among its members, acts as a glue in terms of holding these joint enterprises together. The "shared repertoire" is another feature underpinning CoP (Wenger, 1999, p. 82) and this "shared repertoire" includes the tools and techniques in order for negotiating the meaning and making learning happen (Wenger, 1999). Possible forms for this repertoire range from an informal discussion during a coffee break to a structured meeting based on some decision-making criteria. According to Wenger & Synder (2000), as CoP's often have connotations to business units or teams; additional effort is required to integrate them into organizational settings in order for their power to be realized (Wenger & Snyder, 2000). The subjects of the real-time content analysis in this study can be considered as communities of religious practitioners and their means of communication should also be taken into account. These means of communication range from face-to-face interactions to the use of various digital tools. In other words, it is not sufficient to focus only on the individual elements social networking tools, but in particular on their mutual interplay. Cross an et al. (1999) states that one of the main barriers against theory development with regard to any organizational practice is whether the unit of analysis should be individual, group, organizational and/or interorganizational. Furthermore, some theorists assert that an organizational practice would not be complete without the sharing of information and the development of common meaning (Daft & Weick, 1966;Huber, 1991;Stata, 1989). Consequently, as an organizational practice must be shared and integrated with the learning done by others (Brown, 1993;Daft & Huber, 1987;Daft & Weick, 1966) the unit of analysis should be the group. Other scholars assert that the unit of analysis should be the organization/bigger group itself as much needs to be done by organizations/bigger groups themselves due to the fact that the activity is stored with organizational structures, procedures or systems (Duncan & Weiss, 1979;Hedberg, 1981;Shrivastava, 1983;Fiol & Lyles, 1985;Levitt & March, 1988;Stata, 1989;Huber, 1991;Chi-Sum et al., 2008). By taking into account these theoretical perspectives, the unit of analysis of this study will be the single interest group as it entails all the different users following these religious opinion leaders. # III. # Methodology Before providing information about the general usage patterns of social networking sites in Turkey it might be a good idea to provide a general overview of the use of these sites for different purpose in Turkey in comparison to other countries. Based on the data above, it is obvious that religion plays an important role in the life of Turkish social media users. Within this regards, 25 most popular pages and user account with regard to Islamic opinion leaders/groups/celebrities have been identified. However, this is nowhere near exhaustive, as there are many other similar people and organisations that could not be included due to time limitations. A real time social media analysis has also been conducted with regard to the identification of these subjects by using Social Mention-an online real-time social media analysis platform. Social Mention provides scores with regard to the following aspects for each subject: The scan involved searching for a social media presence for the identified samples on Twitter and Facebook; other social media sites were not actively sought out due to the time limitations of the study. If the subject was an official account rather than a fan page Twitter, Facebook accounts were checked for consistency with official websites to prevent fake accounts from skewing the results. The scoping study included the following subjects (ranked in decreasing order based on the number of likes on Facebook) -it should be noted although screenshots of Facebook pages have been provided Social Mention score relates to both Twitter and Facebook analysis : In this study, data analysis involves an in-depth and real time content analytics. Content analytics refers to the means of understanding our audience, best practices, and proven methods of distribution. This needs to be central to the content strategy of Islamic social networking platforms. With that in mind, here are different ways to use social analysis tools to optimize the way an Islamic social networking platform creates and shares its content. The online analytics tool "Simply Measured" has been used for this purpose. Use case: "Nureddin Y?ld?z" (Official Facebook page of the popular Islamic thought leader and preacher managed by his Foundation. Spotlight: A Facebook content analysis for "Nureddin Y?ld?z" (Figure 5.0) shows that the sharing rate of his posts are higher than others which can be related to the fact that the contents are mostly in the form of video package. Key take-away: The low engagement rates for the popular figures on Facebook provide An Islamic social networking platform with an opportunity to emphasize its online communities for these premium accounts to reach a wider audience. Key take-away: Based on the prior content history of the premium account holders on other social media platforms An Islamic social networking platform can customize its offerings based on the preference of each user regarding the content type. Also, by putting the emphasis onto the provision of quality content An Islamic social networking platform can attract more innovators. IV. # Findings This study suggests that there is potential for An Islamic social networking platform to utilise its platform to support the advocacy of Islamic figures. Innovators could further attract media interest and responses through their An Islamic social networking platform presence as at the moment their social media efforts don't go beyond publishing links or sharing pictures. They also can use An Islamic social networking platform as a way to promote their research and other publications, to publish short videos, translate their videos via volunteers or offer quick digital learning packages by use of interactive tools offered by Islamic social networking platforms. In the literature, Facebook is most commonly mentioned as the social media tool with the highest level of public engagement and the highest level of uptake across non-profit organisations. However, this analysis demonstrates that when it comes to religious leaders, the influencing factors when deciding what An Islamic social networking platform applications to use were popularity, ability to engage with the desired network, and whether the tool was fit for the purpose. a) Summary of Findings -When it comes to increasing the user base of An Islamic social networking platform for its premium accounts a personalized approach should be followed for each opinion leader as they differ in their use of social media applications. Policy and procedures about use should be planned so that is tailored to the specific way that these individuals/groups wish to use Islamic social networking platforms. -A Facebook content analysis for popular religious figures show that although they have many followers the content is made up mostly of static pictures and links rather than videos which provides an opportunity for An Islamic social networking platform to offer services in the production and delivery of This analysis suggest that An Islamic social networking platform should not only target the leading Islamic figures as innovators or partners, but it should also position its tools/applications which best fit an individual or organisation's purpose and enable them to connect with the desired audience. V. # Conclusion This research study provided suggestions on how An Islamic social networking platform could further its systemic advocacy efforts of the Islamic leaders. It was anticipated that the key cost of using social media is staff time. So, if an innovator were to commence using social media, it would need to spend at least one day each week creating, uploading and monitoring social media content. It is suggested that innovators/partners that commence using An Islamic social networking platform should be provided with a personalized evaluation process to determine how well the existing social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are working as a tool for advocacy and whether these tools are being used appropriately for their needs. So, rather than expecting to make a complete transition onto An Islamic social networking platform an offer based on "best of all platforms" could be made to them. 1![Figure 1.0 : Pew Social Media Research Study on EMEA, 2012](image-2.png "Figure 1 .") ![a) Most Connected Islamic Figures/Groups on](image-3.png "") ![Facebook & TwitterBased on local know-how about the popular Islamic leaders and groups in Turkey, potential names with most popular accounts have been identified.](image-4.png "") 2![Figure 2.0 : Aspects of Real-time Social Media Analysis](image-5.png "Figure 2 .") 30![Figure 3.0 : Content analysis for the popular Sufi thought leader "Cemalnur Sargut"Spotlight: A Facebook content analysis for "Cemalnur Sargut" (Figure3.0) shows that although this is one of the most popular accounts the content is made up mostly of static pictures and links rather than videos.Key take-away: This provides an opportunity for An Islamic social networking platform to offer services in](image-6.png "Figure 3 . 0 :") 4![Figure 4.0 : Engagement research study for the popular Sufi thought leader "Cemalnur Sargut" Spotlight: The engagement research study for "Cemalnur Sargut" (Figure 4.0) shows that the fans mostly engage by liking or sharing rather than providing comments. Key take-away: An additional Q & A module in the form of a real-time chat-box or discussion board led by Cemalnur Sargut as offered by An Islamic social networking platform could further bring value to the users.](image-7.png "Figure 4 .") 5060![Figure 5.0 : Engagement research study based on type for the popular Islamic preacher "Nureddin Y?ld?z"](image-8.png "Figure 5 . 0 :Figure 6 . 0 :") 7080100![Figure 7.0 : Twitter workflow for the popular Islamic preacher "Nureddin Y?ld?z" Spotlight: A Twitter account analysis for "Nureddin Y?ld?z" (Figure 7.0) shows that in comparison to other popular Twitter accounts the mention rate is high, yet the response rate equals zero. Key take-away: This offers an opportunity for An Islamic social networking platform to fill in the gap of](image-9.png "Figure 7 . 0 :Figure 8 . 0 :Figure 10 . 0 :") 11012![Figure 11.0 : Comparative fan page analysis for three popular social media accounts](image-10.png "Figure 11 . 0 :Figure 12") ![on video editing/cutting, translation and scribing services. It is recommended for An Islamic social networking platform rather than replacing current advocacy processes of these individuals and groups on existing social media platforms, it should assist where there are gaps. -The analysis further shows that the fans mostly engage by liking or sharing rather than providing comments. So, an additional Q & A module in the form of a real-time chat-box or discussion board led by the account holders as offered by An Islamic social networking platform could further bring value to the users. -Features of the platform should also be utilized and customized for those parties to establish partnerships with An Islamic social networking platform such as the "Foundation for the Disabled in Turkey", yet who have not been included in the scoping study due to their small user base on Facebook and Twitter. -Social media is best learned through practical experience. Innovators/partners who are willing to have a premium accounts should begin trial use with the support of an Islamic social networking platform. -The innovator/partner should develop a specific plan for what it hopes to achieve with Islamic social networking platforms. This plan should be used as the framework for evaluating the success of any of its usage efforts.](image-11.png "") 14![Figure 14.0 : Decision-criteria for use of applications on an Islamic social networking platform](image-12.png "Figure 14 .") ![](image-13.png "") ![](image-14.png "") 1FacebookBriefNumbers of Followers/LikesSocial MentionAccountDescriptionScoreName"HzFacebookMuhammed"accountabout theProphet(s.a.w.w.)Year 201414"RecepOfficialTayyipFacebookErdogan"account ofthe PrimeMinister ofTurkey)"NihatFan page ofHatipoglu"the mostGlobal Journal of Human Social Science -"Abdullah Gül"popular religious opinion leader and preacher in Turkey Official Page of the President of TurkeyVolume XIV Issue VIII Version I 2 ( C Volume XIV Issue VIII Version I 2 ( C 2 ( C Year 2014 Global Journal of Human Social Science-18) © 2014 Global Journals Inc. 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