More than a hunt for likes : A study of the Swedish National Archives use of Instagram

This thesis analyzes how the Swedish National Archives manages its presence in social media by examining five local sections use of Instagram. By studying different forms of practices in relation to Instagram, the aim of the thesis is to define in what way the Swedish National Archives work with outreach activities on new forms of media platforms, here exemplified with Instagram. The thesis is based on semi-structured interviews with five archivists responsible for handling Instagram, analysis of the National Archives policy documents as well as an analysis of a selection of posts made by local sections of the National Archives on Instagram. The theoretical foundation of the thesis lies in practice theory and is based on an understanding of practice that focuses on statements, actions and rules that together constructs different forms of practices in regard to their context. The analysis of the three sources is a cross-examination of how these different forms of actions contribute to form practices which defines the National Archives use of Instagram. The results of the thesis indicate that the National Archives of Sweden, in line with many other archive institutions, mainly uses social media as a one-way communication form where primarily text-based information is distributed to interested followers. The interactive practices typical of social media is only used to a lesser extent. This is mainly due to the institution’s workload, a view on social media as a lesser form of outreach and several practices related to the national archives public mission as a provider of infor-mation. The findings also indicate that organizations use of social media is based on practices of trial-and-error that creates individual practices of posting material online within the organization