Information spread in online communities: Example of the Czech foodie community

This master's diploma thesis focuses on the dissemination of information in the context of the Czech community of so-called foodies (people who like good food and are constantly looking for new experiences in this field). The theoretical part outlines the development of online communities environments, from web forums to social media. It also examines the possibility of applying Katz and Lazarsfeld's model of the two-step flow of communication in the online environment. We also explain the features of online food communication and present widespread social media foodie platforms, including the Czech app Scuk. The research part of the thesis uses the social network analysis method to identify opinion leaders of this online community in the environment of Twitter, Instagram and Scuk and examines how the information spread and the form of this community changes with regards to the particular online environment in question. The thesis also includes qualitative research on the impact of the online information spread on the offline environment - more specifically, on sales, visit rate and reputation of selected Prague restaurants