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Political Networks on Twitter: Tweeting the Queensland State ElectionAxel Bruns, Stephen Harrington, and Tim HighfieldQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbane, Australia
@snurb_dot_info | @_StephenH | @timhighfield
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
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THE 2012 QUEENSLAND STATE ELECTION
• Main contestants:– Australian Labor Party (ALP), led by Premier Anna Bligh– Liberal / National Party (LNP), led by Campbell Newman– Australian Greens– Katter’s Australian Party
• Key Dates:– 19 Feb. 2012: election called by Governor of Queensland– 24 March 2012: election day
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TWITTER AND THE ELECTION
• Twitter and Australian politics:– Day-to-day discussion dominated by small group (#auspol)– Substantial, broad use in 2010 federal election (#ausvotes)– #ausvotes activity focussed around election day itself– By now, significant number of accounts by politicians and
parties
• Twitter and the Queensland election:– Substantial number of candidate accounts– Few accounts with significant activity during campaign– Indicative of party directives to candidates to create accounts?– Limited use of relevant hashtags (#qldvotes, #qldpol)
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#AUSPOL
Follower/followee network:~120,000 Australian Twitter users(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012) colour = #auspol tweets, size = indegree
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#AUSVOTES
Follower/followee network:~120,000 Australian Twitter users(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012) colour = #ausvotes tweets, size = indegree
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#QLDPOL
Follower/followee network:~120,000 Australian Twitter users(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012) colour = #qldpol tweets, size = indegree
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#QLDVOTES
Follower/followee network:~120,000 Australian Twitter users(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012) colour = #qldvotes tweets, size = indegree
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CANDIDATE ACTIVITIES: TWEETS SENT
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TWEETING STYLES OF MAJOR ACCOUNTS
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THE REAL CAMPBELL?
• 5 March 2012:• Newman sets up
‘personal’ @CD_Track account(Can Do on Track)
• Discontinued after ten tweets
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CANDIDATE ACTIVITIES: TWEETS RECEIVED
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FULL NETWORK
(indegree 10+, edge colour = target)
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CANDIDATE NETWORKS
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CANDIDATE NETWORKS
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CONCLUSIONS
• Twitter in the 2012 Queensland state election:– Substantial push to get candidates tweeting, but mixed take-up– Clear differences in tweeting styles: PR vs. engagement– ALP significantly more active than LNP– Candidate interaction divided by party lines, with few exceptions:
talking about, not to, opponents; supporting leader and party– Strong take-up by voters: substantial @mentions of accounts– Focus mainly on leading (and problem) candidates– But: few genuine conversations between candidates and voters
• Consider the context:– Landslide election, long foreseen – no need for LNP to engage– Social media use may be very different in tight contests
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