Mapping Online Publics:Understanding How Australians Use Social Media

Assoc. Prof. Axel BrunsARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and InnovationQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbane, Australia

a.bruns@qut.edu.au / @snurb_dot_infohttp://mappingonlinepublics.net/

Image by campoalto

Social Media in Australia

• Significant usage:

• Facebook, Twitter, blogs – and many others

• Social media as part of everyday media use – complementing mainstream media

• Notable differences:

• e.g. Facebook: built around personal networks; semi-private; discussion threads

• e.g. Twitter: open, flat network; public #hashtag conversations; update stream

• ‘Ambient’ uses (Hermida 2010):

• Always on in the background – substantial role during major events

• Rapid, ad hoc development of new conventions as required

• Issues and challenges:

• Significant user influx and churn – very fluid field

• Proprietary platforms – precarious environment for users and researchers

Twitter and Beyond

• #hashtag studies:

• Selected #hashtags captured from the Twitter API using yourTwapperkeeper

• Data processing using custom-made tools – keyword and network analysis

• Statistic and network visualisations – including dynamic visualisations

• Broader research:

• #hashtags are limited – much additional activity outside #hashtags

• But how much – need to establish reliable baseline figures on social media usage

• How do #hashtags emerge, how do users encounter and choose them?

• How much does Twitter use during crises differ from everyday usage?

• Mapping Online Publics:

• ARC Discovery project, 2010-12: Assoc. Prof. Axel Bruns and Dr. Jean Burgess, QUT

• Methodology and outcomes: http://mappingonlinepublics.net/

• Further projects on social media and crisis communication under development

Twitter and the Queensland Floods: #qldfloods tweets

10 June 2011 11 June 2011 12 June 2011 13 June 2011 14 June 2011 15 June 2011

Local Focus: #qldfloods from Toowoomba to Brisbane

• Toowoomba vs. Lockyer/Grantham vs. Ipswich vs. Brisbane slide

10 June 2011 11 June 2011 12 June 2011 13 June 2011 14 June 2011 15 June 2011

Twitter and the Queensland Floods: #qldfloods posters

retweet feeds

mainstream media

Qld Police

Twitter and the Queensland Floods: #qldfloods @replies

mainstream media

authorities

Twitter and the Christchurch Earthquake: #eqnz @replies

mainstream media

authorities

utilities

Key Accounts over Time

@QPSmedia as Central #qldfloods Information Source

#qldfloods Network Map – Most Active Accounts Only(Degree >= 15 / Node size: indegree / node colour: outdegree)

Twitter and the Queensland Floods

• First lessons:

• #qldfloods as coordinating tool – one central hashtag

• Go where the users are – and help establish hashtag

• Plus inventive additions – e.g. @QPSmedia #Mythbuster tweets

• Most activity by individuals – but key official accounts cut through

• Enable easy retweeting and sharing of messages

• Respond and engage – value voluntary contributions from ‘average’ users

• Mainstream media are important in social media environments, too

• Twitter as an amplifier of key messages

• Twitter vs. Facebook – which works when?

Twitter Events in Perspective: Comparing the Main 24h

Beyond Crises

• Where to from here? Further applications:

• Identifying overall Twitter participation patterns – key themes, key users

• How does information travel across the Twittersphere?

• How can we ensure and enhance the distribution of important messages?

• What is the structure of the Twitter community?

• Mapping online publics: network structure, clusters, interconnections, themes

• Identifying key participants: opinion leaders, information hubs, connectors

• Change over time: fluidity of network structures, response to stimuli

• How does Twitter sit in the wider media ecology?

• Use of materials from elsewhere: distribution of attention through links

• Interconnections between Twitter and other media: tweets about TV, newspapers, ...

http://mappingonlinepublics.net/ @snurb_dot_info@jeanburgess

Image by campoalto