Su Jung Kim is an assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. She received her Ph.D. degree in the Media, Technology, and Society program in the School of Communication, and was a post-doctoral research associate in the Spiegel Center for Digital and Database Marketing at Northwestern University before joining Iowa State University. Her research centers on the use of big data in communication, advertising, and marketing. Her research interests include cross-platform media use and its effects, social media and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), and mobile customer engagement. Her current projects examine how online product reviews influence the perceptions and behaviors of consumers.
Su Jung is an active member of the American Academy of Advertising, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and International Communication Association. She is on the Editorial Board for the Korean Society for Journalism & Communication Studies. She has been selected as a fellow for the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication and National Association of Television Program Executives Faculty Fellowship Program. Her research has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, including the Journal of Interactive Marketing, International Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Communication, Decision Support Systems, New Media & Society, and Computers in Human Behavior. Her co-authored article on the effects of branded mobile app adoption and use on purchase behaviors has been selected as the Best Paper in 2016.
What is the greatest challenge in today’s digital landscape?
The greatest challenge in today’s digital landscape would be to measure, analyze, and interpret various forms of audience data coming from multiple digital platforms.
What is the greatest opportunity in today’s digital landscape?
Ironically, the challenge of today’s digital landscape can also be the opportunity. Virtually any activities on digital media are traceable (e.g., big data), which allows researchers and professionals to estimate and model human perceptions and behaviors more accurately.
What should students graduating from the Greenlee School know about today’s digital landscape?
Social media is not the universe of today’s digital landscape. Try to understand how different groups (e.g., different generations, different genders, different ethnic groups, etc.) use digital media differently to have a holistic approach to understanding digital media consumption.