These proceedings represent the work of contributors to the 7th European Conference on Social Media (ECSM 2020), supported by UCLan Cyprus, Larnaca on 2-3 July 2020. The Conference Chair is Dr Christos Karpasitis and the Programme Chair is Mrs Christiana Varda, from the University of Central Lancashire - Cyprus (UCLan Cyprus). ECSM is a relatively new, but well-established event on the academic research calendar. Now, in its 7th year, the key aim remains the opportunity for participants to share ideas and meet. The conference was due to be held at UCLan Cyprus, but unfortunately, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic it was moved online to be held as a virtual event. The scope of papers will ensure an interesting conference. The subjects covered illustrate the wide range of topics that fall into this important and ever-growing area of research.

Conference Proceedings of 8th European Conference on Social Media

In current digital era, information is an important asset for our daily life as well as for small and large-scale businesses. The network technologies are the main enablers that connect the computing devices and resources together to collect, process and share vital information locally as well as globally. The network technologies provide efficient, flexible and seamless communication while maximizing productivity and resources for our day-to-day lives and business operations. For all its importance, this domain has evolved drastically, from the traditional wired networks to Bluetooth, infrared-waves, micro-waves, radio-waves and satellite networks. Nowadays, network technologies are not only restricted to computer laboratories, offices or homes; many other diverse areas have been witnessed where network technologies are being used based on the applications and needs, such as vehicular ad-hoc networks, underwater networks, and the Internet of Things. Along with the hardware-based and physical network technologies, a lot of research has been carried out by researchers from academia and industry to develop emerging software-based network technologies, such as network software architectures, middleware, and protocol stacks. The software-based network technologies become the main driving force behind the paradigm shift in this domain and have invented many new network technologies such as grid computing, cloud computing, fog computing, edge computing, software defined networks, content centric networks and so on. On the other hand, a lot of efforts have been made in cellular network technologies to improve the user experience and as a consequence, emerging cellular network technologies like LTE, VoLTE and 5G have been invented. Due to its demand and importance in present and future scenarios, numerous efforts have been done in the networking domain by the researchers, a lot of work is still ongoing, and many more possibilities have yet to be explored. Therefore, there is a need to keep track of advancements related to the network technologies and further investigate several ongoing research challenges for the ease of users. With this goal in mind, Research Advances in Network Technologies presents the most recent and notable research on network technologies.

Web3 is a term which refers to the third generation of the World Wide Web; it is a decentralized internet architecture that uses blockchain technology, smart contracts, and other decentralized technologies to create a more secure and transparent internet.Concepts, Technologies, Challenges, and the Future of Web 3 is led by researchers with a valuable mix of industry and academic experience. The book delves into the concepts of decentralization, trustlessness, and interoperability and explores the challenges of Web3, including scalability, security, and regulatory compliance. It examines the current and potential future use cases of Web3, such as decentralized finance, supply chain management, identity verification, and decentralized social networks. “The core building blocks of Web3” is not just for researchers, academics, and students in computer science and related fields but also for developers, entrepreneurs, and businesses looking to build applications and services in the Web3 space. It offers a clear understanding of the technical and conceptual frameworks underpinning Web3 and the challenges and opportunities in the decentralized web. Moreover, the book is valuable for policymakers, regulators, and legal professionals interested in understanding the regulatory frameworks and legal implications of Web3. It provides insights into the potential impact of Web3 on governance, regulation, and law, highlighting the need for new policy frameworks to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the decentralized web.

These proceedings represent the work of researchers participating in the 4th European Conference on Social Media (ECSM 2017) which is being hosted this year by Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania on 3-4 July 2017. ECSM is a recognised event on the international research conferences calendar and provides a valuable platform for individuals to present their research findings, display their work in progress and discuss conceptual and empirical advances in the areas of social media. It provides an important opportunity for researchers and practitioners to come together to share their experiences of researching in this varied and expanding field. The conference this year will be opened with a keynote presentation Dr. Edgaras Leichteris, who will address the topic Society in the cloud - what is the future of digitalization? The second day of the conference will be opened by Daiva Lialyte who will be talking about Practical point of view: push or pull strategy works on social media? With an initial submission of 115 abstracts, after the double blind, peer-review process there are 40 Academic Research papers, 10 PhD Research, 3 Masters Research and 1 Work in Progress papers published in these Conference Proceedings. These papers represent truly global research in the field, with contributions from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States of America.