Web Communication: A Content Analysis of Green Hosting Companies

Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis,Nikos Antonopoulos

doi:10.3390/su13020495

Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis, Nikos Antonopoulos

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020495

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Jan 7, 2021
Citations: 13	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Hong Kong Baptist University

Abstract

While many studies in the field of environmental communication have focused on exploring the environmental impact of social media, this research paper takes a different turn. It investigates, through a qualitative content analysis, 391 websites that support and provide green hosting services. This study is considered the first in the field that aims to examine in-depth how these green websites tend to communicate their green services. Therefore, its contribution is to enhance the relevant bibliography and present more insights regarding green websites and sustainability. The results showed that most of the websites were trying to highlight the positive impact their services will have on the environment. In addition, many websites tried to educate their consumers concerning sustainable development and make them part of a broader green cultural tradition. Nevertheless, on many websites, green hosting seemed a supplementary factor for choosing the company’s services.

Highlights

IntroductionThere was a rapid development concerning new technologies
In the last decade, there was a rapid development concerning new technologies
Despite its significance, as there is there is considerable power consumption for those services, studies focusing on green considerable power consumption for those services, studies focusing on green hosting are hosting are on the margins of the research, especially in communication studies

Summary

Introduction

There was a rapid development concerning new technologies. The daily use of services, such as websites, social media platforms, and phone applications, has led to an increase in power consumption. Despite not being highlighted usually, the new technologies are to be blamed for crucial environmental phenomena such as climate change and the reduction of natural resources. It is estimated that around the globe exist more than almost two billion websites and almost eight million web-facing computers [1]. These impressive numbers are accompanied by the constant use of certain websites by a large scale of individuals, such as social media platforms. YouTube, and Twitter had around 4.5 billion users in 2018 [2]

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Discussion

Conclusion