Itai Himelboim

Birds of a Feather Tweet Together: Integrating Network and Content Analyses to Examine Cross-Ideology Exposure on Twitter

This study integrates network and content analyses to examine exposure to cross-ideological political views on Twitter. We mapped the Twitter networks of 10 controversial political topics, discovered clusters - subgroups of highly self-connected users - and coded messages and links in them for political orientation. We found that Twitter users are unlikely to be exposed to cross-ideological content from the clusters of users they followed, as these were usually politically homogeneous. Links pointed at grassroots web pages e.g.: blogs more frequently than traditional media websites. Liberal messages, however, were more likely to link to traditional media. Last, we found that more specific topics of controversy had both conservative and liberal clusters, while in broader topics, dominant clusters reflected conservative sentiment.

Discussion catalysts in online political discussions: Content importers and conversation starters

This study addresses 3 research questions in the context of online political discussions: What is the distribution of successful topic starting practices, what characterizes the content of large thread-starting messages, and what is the source of that content? A 6-month analysis of almost 40,000 authors in 20 political Usenet newsgroups identified authors who received a disproportionate number of replies. We labeled these authors ‘‘discussion catalysts.’’ Content analysis revealed that 95 percent of discussion catalysts’ messages contained content imported from elsewhere on the web, about 2/3 from traditional news organizations. We conclude that the flow of information from the content creators to the readers and writers continues to be mediated by a few individuals who act as filters and amplifiers.

Cancer Talk on Twitter: Community Structure and Information Sources in Breast and Prostate Cancer Social Networks

This study suggests taking a social networks theoretical approach to predict and explain patterns of information exchange among Twitter prostate and breast cancer communities. The authors collected profiles and following relationship data about users who posted messages about either cancer over 1 composite week. Using social network analysis, the authors identified the main clusters of interconnected users and their most followed hubs (i.e., information sources sought). Findings suggest that users who populated the persistent-across-time core cancer communities created dense clusters, an indication of taking advantage of the technology to form relationships with one another in ways that traditional one-to-many communication technologies cannot support. The major information sources sought were very specific to the community health interest and were grassroots oriented (e.g., a blog about prostate cancer treatments). Accounts associated with health organizations and news media, despite their focus on health, did not play a role in these core health communities. Methodological and practical implications for researchers and health campaigners are discussed.

Civil Society and Online Political Discourse The Network Structure of Unrestricted Discussions

The goal of this study is to examine—theoretically and empirically—the implications of unrestricted, computer-mediated social interactions for civil society. Discussions of 207,419 participants in 35 newsgroups over 6 years are examined. Patterns of participation and attention attraction follow a power–law degree distribution—a highly skewed distribution—as is expected in large networks. Furthermore, analysis shows that these patterns are dependent on group size: The larger a group, the more skewed is its distribution. These patterns indicate hierarchical social structures that limit equality among participants and well-informed citizenry. The growth of discussions, which can empower civil society, is in fact making it more hierarchical.

Reply distribution in online discussions:A comparative network analysis of political and health newsgroups

IntroductionA major promise of the vast expansion of the Internet throughout the last decade isits potential to become a revolutionary platform for public discourse and informa-tion exchange. When connecting to the Internet, individuals are free to becomeactive participants in conversations and information seeking regarding a wide spec-trum of issues, including their social and civil lives.Joseph Nye (2002) discusses power in the information age and elaborates onSimon’s (1998) idea of the paradox of plenty.He argues that when information isaccessible through such a wide range of channels, attention - not information -becomes the scarce source. ‘‘A plenitude of information’’ Nye concludes, ‘‘leads toa poverty of attention’’ (p. 68). Network literature supports this assertion. Manylarge networks follow a power-law distribution, where links are distributeddisproportionally. The potential of the Internet to benefit individuals andsociety at large by encouraging civil discussion and exchange of informationshould, therefore, be examined neither by the mere ability of individuals toparticipate, nor simply by their actual contribution – volume or quality. Thepremise of this study is that the potential democratic contribution of the Internetshould be examined via the networks created by patterns of replies individualsevoke.The goal of this study is twofold. First, to explore the structure of Usenet news-groups as it is expressed by the distribution of replies among participants. Second, toidentify what affects this structure. Two independent variables are suggested topredict reply distributions in discussion groups: size and topic of discussions. Thesewill be discussed each in turn below.

Tweeting Apart: Applying Network Analysis to Detect Selective Exposure Clusters in Twitter

Twitter users see content mostly from the other users they select to follow. Networks of connected users on Twitter define the set of content to which each user is exposed. We developed a Selective Exposure Cluster (SEC) method to study these connected networks and their discussion patterns in Twitter. To illustrate the SEC method, we collected networks of connections among users who talked about a shared topic: the U.S. Presidents State of the Union speech in 2012. Cluster analysis was applied to identify subgroups of users who were densely interconnected. These users followed users from their own cluster more than they connected to users in other clusters. In each cluster, the primary distributors of information—the hub users—were identified, along with the hashtags, hyperlinks, and top-mentioned usernames in the content of the messages. Each of these indicators was labeled in terms of its political orientation. An analysis of the resulting patterns of selective exposure suggests that users participate in fragmented interactions and form divided groups in which people tune in to a narrow segment of the wider range of politically oriented information sources. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed Selective Exposure Cluster method.

PLAYING IN THE SAME TWITTER NETWORK

New media platforms such as Twitter allow users to choose from a wide range of political information sources including traditional media, politicians, bloggers and other Twitter users. This study extends the theory of channel complementarity by considering the complementary selection of information sources that occur within a single social media space. This study also conceptualizes information seeking as a social network created by follow relationships on Twitter, allowing tracking actual patterns of source selection. We applied this theoretical and methodological framework to examine information seeking on Twitter related to four US gubernatorial races. We identified the main types of highly followed accounts (i.e. information hubs). Traditional news media outlets (national and local) accounted for nearly half of the information hubs, and grassroots sources such as activists and other users accounted for nearly a third. The patterns of follow relationships indicated local and national subgroups (i.e. clusters) of users identified based on network topology. Local clusters included a subgroup of more densely interconnected users in which local news media and political candidates were hubs. National clusters included a subgroup of more sparsely interconnected users in which national media and online-only news sources served as hubs. High-density clusters were also more likely to host information sources that exhibited two-way information flow with other users, while low-density clusters preferred hubs that follow traditional one-to-many information flow. Theoretical and practical implications for news media and political candidates are discussed.

Social Media and Online Political Communication: The Role of Interpersonal Informational Trust and Openness

This study examines relationships among interpersonal informational trust and openness with Internet-based political activities and attitudes. Conceptually, it proposes the categorization of online spaces and activities as consumption or interaction types, and classifies interpersonal informational trust within inner and outer circles. Interpersonal informational trust was found to be positively associated with perception of online activities as political participation. It also was associated with use of all types of online media for purposes of political communication, but mostly with online spaces that require interaction with others. Interpersonal political openness showed positive association with the use of interactive-type Web sites for purposes of political communication.

New technology, old practices Examining news websites from a professional perspective

This study takes a journalistic professional approach to examine integration patterns of interactive features in news media websites. It draws from two aspects of journalistic work – the relationship with audiences and medium-related practices. Consequently, two frameworks are proposed for categorizing interactive features: the first is based on the relationships news media allow their audiences to have with news content – consuming content, influencing content, or passing it beyond the news site; the second is based on the characteristics of features – textual or visual. Findings from 100 news organizations show that, overall, news media preferred applying features that allow users to interact with content, but without the ability to influence it. In addition, the use of features was tightly related to the technology associated with a news organization; newspapers’ websites were more likely to use text-based features and vice versa.

Just a guy in pajamas? Framing the blogs in mainstream US newspaper coverage (1999—2005)

When new technologies are introduced to the public, their widespread adoption is dependent, in part, on news coverage (Rogers, 1995).Yet, as weblogs began to play major role in the public spheres of politics and journalism, journalists faced a paradox: how to cover a social phenomenon that was too large to ignore and posed a significant threat to their profession. This article examines how blogs were framed by US newspapers as the public became more aware of the blogging world. A content analysis of blog-related stories in major US newspapers from 1999 to 2005 was conducted. Findings suggest that newspaper coverage framed blogs as more beneficial to individuals and small cohorts than to larger social entities such as politics, business and journalism. Moreover, only in the realm of journalism were blogs framed as more of a threat than a benefit, and rarely were blogs considered an actual form of journalism.