Rosa Borge Bravo

Opinion leadership in parliamentary Twitter networks: A matter of layers of interaction?

This article seeks to test whether Twitter is contributing to the appearance of new opinion leaders or empowering already visible political leaders. The study is based on a data set spanning from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 that covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustains that having a parliamentarian position increases the probability of being an opinion leader of the following–follower and mention networks, but not so much of the retweet network. Although Twitter parliamentary networks reproduce leaderships “as usual,” the most central opinion leaders in the retweet network are not official party leaders. Twitter activity, not official leadership, is a stronger predictor of centrality for both retweets and mentions received.ABSTRACT This article seeks to test whether Twitter is contributing to the appearance of new opinion leaders or empowering already visible political leaders. The study is based on a data set spanning from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 that covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustains that having a parliamentarian position increases the probability of being an opinion leader of the following–follower and mention networks, but not so much of the retweet network. Although Twitter parliamentary networks reproduce leaderships “as usual,” the most central opinion leaders in the retweet network are not official party leaders. Twitter activity, not official leadership, is a stronger predictor of centrality for both retweets and mentions received.

Organization Still Matters: Parties' Characteristics, Posting and Followers' Reactions on Facebook

Use of social media by political parties has become a part of their communication strategies. In Catalonia, where around 20% of Internet users obtain political information through Facebook and Twitter, parties use these channels widely. This article has examined 814 posts, 5,772 comments, 52,470 likes and 25,907 shares from the official Facebook pages of Catalan parties in order to ascertain the relevance of the classical party characteristics party size, level of institutionalization, centralization of decision-making, position at the ideological cleavages on how parties and their followers behave on Facebook. The data sustain that the characteristics of Catalan parties have an influence on their posting behaviour on Facebook, and mould the reactions comments, likes and shares of their Facebook followers to these posts. The results further show that small and new parties achieve greater engagement than bigger and more institutionalized parties.

Political Polarisation and Network Leaderships in the Catalan Parliamentarians' Twitter Network *

This article seeks to test if Twitter is opening communication flows between parties and paving the way for the appearance of network leaderships or if it is reducing them to representatives of the same party or ideology and empowering party leaders. The study is based on a dataset spanning from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2014 which covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustain that the political polarisation of Catalan parliamentarians’ Twitter flows is deeper in the relationship and retweet networks than it is in the mention and that even if party leaders are still at the centre of communication flows, other parliamentarians are taking the floor and becoming network leaders.

Polarización política y liderazgos en la red de Twitter de los parlamentarios catalanes

This article seeks to test if Twitter is opening communication flows between parties and paving the way for the appearance of network leaderships or if it is reducing them to representatives of the same party or ideology and empowering party leaders. The study is based on a dataset spanning from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2014 which covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustain that the political polarisation of Catalan parliamentarians’ Twitter flows is deeper in the relationship and retweet networks than it is in the mention and that even if party leaders are still at the centre of communication flows, other parliamentarians are taking the floor and becoming network leaders.

Polarització política i lideratges a la xarxa de Twitter dels parlamentaris catalans

This article seeks to test if Twitter is opening communication flows between parties and paving the way for the appearance of network leaderships or if it is reducing them to representatives of the same party or ideology and empowering party leaders. The study is based on a dataset spanning from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2014 which covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustain that the political polarisation of Catalan parliamentarians’ Twitter flows is deeper in the relationship and retweet networks than it is in the mention and that even if party leaders are still at the centre of communication flows, other parliamentarians are taking the floor and becoming network leaders.