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Ready for the world? Measuring the (trans-)national quality of political issue publics on twitter
[journal article]
Abstract This article presents a multi-method research design for measuring the (trans-)national quality of issue publics on Twitter. Online communication is widely perceived as having the potential to overcome nationally bound public spheres. Social media, in particular, are seen as platforms and drivers of... view more
This article presents a multi-method research design for measuring the (trans-)national quality of issue publics on Twitter. Online communication is widely perceived as having the potential to overcome nationally bound public spheres. Social media, in particular, are seen as platforms and drivers of transnational communication through which users can easily connect across borders. Transnational interactivity can be expected in particular for policy fields of global concern and elite or activist communication as practiced on Twitter. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of evidence for the enduring national structuration of political communication and publics as it results from a shared language (mostly), culturally defined media markets, established routines of social and political communication, and sociocultural stocks of knowledge. The study goes beyond measuring user interaction and also includes indicators of cross-referential cohesion. It applies a set of computational methods in network and discourse analysis and presents empirical evidence for Twitter communication on climate change being a prime issue of global concern and a globalized policy agenda. For empirical analysis, the study relies on a large Twitter dataset (N ≈ 6m tweets) with tweet messages and metadata collected between 2015 and 2018. Based on basic measurements such as geolocation and language use, the metrics allowed measurement of cross-national user interactions, user centrality in communicative networks, linking behaviour, and hashtag co-occurrences. The findings of the exploratory study suggest that a combined perspective on indicators of user interaction and cross-referential cohesion helps to develop a better and more nuanced understanding of online issue publics.... view less
Keywords
twitter; new media; social media; climate change; the public; structure; network analysis; communication
Classification
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Interactive, electronic Media
Ecology, Environment
Impact Research, Recipient Research
Free Keywords
Twitter; cross-referential cohesion; issue publics; national structuration; transnational communication
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 40-52
Journal
Media and Communication, 8 (2020) 4
Issue topic
The ongoing transformation of the digital public sphere
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed