When the Gates Swing Open: Examining Network Gatekeeping in a Social Media Setting

This study draws on the concept of network gatekeeping to examine the ways in which organizations have adapted the processes of gatekeeping to respond to the collaborative, communicative power of users upon which they are exercising their gatekeeping authority. Through a case study of the unprecedented “Social Suite” provided for social media-using fans of Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians, this article explores the methods the gatekeeper has used to both subvert and reinforce its traditional role. Gatekeepers are found to extend their authority into networked realms by allowing for greater access, freedom, and relationship while applying more subtle gatekeeping filters, and the Social Suite's users play a role as active, though gated, participants in the gatekeeping process. The findings of this article expand on current gatekeeping research to address the fluid, emerging roles of gatekeepers and gated communities within networked environments.