My PhD thesis topic is focused on organisational communication with publics in social media forums, analysing how digital media affects communication. We are excited about the original research that we are soon to commence, that will grant valuable insights about social media communication through methodological surveys and analysis of real social media communications; and look forward to applying them with real commercial companies.

Due to its ubiquity, ease of access, and low barriers to entry, social media is commonly considered to reduce the importance of traditional forms of authority and trust. This thesis identifies and examines new kinds of trust and authority generated in the context of social media, and considers how organisations might harness and assess these. Social media are media in which users invest their personal information and opinions, with organisations forced to alter their communicative approaches to fit the norms and expectations of the new medium. It is evident from the presented case studies that social media as a communications medium cannot be ignored without risking negative repercussions and neglecting opportunities to improve an organisation's reputation with the public.

The core purpose of my thesis is to describe a framework of methods or guidelines that organisations might utilise to generate trust and to engender a sense of authority in their interactive discussions with users in the social media forum. The proposed thesis will consider organisational communication with users in social media forums with regard to companies in the soft drinks and babycare industries, with examples of organisational responses to pending, past or current commercial issues or crises being used when appropriate to highlight communicatory topics.

Traditional theories such as Aristotle's theories of rhetoric, Foucault, French and Raven's theories of communicative power and Weber's charismatic leader theories, will be combined with contemporary social media research, in order to pursue the topic. Norms of communication seem to include frequent updates, lack of obvious marketing intent, and interactivity with publics. Sartrean theories will be utilised in an attempt to clarify the otherwise slippery notions of trust, authority, and co-operation.

The research that will be conducted will include primary sources such as surveys and methodological analyses of companies and social media users with regard to organizations' reputation and conveyance of trust and authority, and communication efficacy on social media sites. Examinations of organization-public communication on Facebook, Twitter, and Website Forums, will be the focus of original research.