Digital Dialogue? Australian Politicians' use of the Social Network Tool Twitter

Bibliographic Data

ID6233899
AuthorsWill J Grant, Will Grant (0000-0001-9674-6488, Australian National University), Brenda Moon (0000-0003-2571-0650, Australian National University), Janie Busby Grant (0000-0001-7330-0213, University of Canberra)
Year2010
Volume45
Issue4
Pages579-604
Publication date2010-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1036-1146 • E-ISSN: 1363-030X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10361146.2010.517176
OpenAlexW2068407456
LanguageEN
Citations received112
References cited17

The recent emergence of online social media has had a significant effect on the contemporary political landscape, yet our understanding of this remains less than complete. This article adds to current understanding of the online engagement between politicians and the public by presenting the first quantitative analysis of the utilisation of the social network tool Twitter by Australian politicians. The analysis suggests that politicians are attempting to use Twitter for political engagement, though some are more successful in this than others. Politicians are noisier than Australians in general on Twitter, though this is due more to broadcasting than conversing. Those who use Twitter to converse appear to gain more political benefit from the platform than others. Though politicians cluster by party, a relatively 'small world' network is evident in the Australian political discussion on Twitter

Broadcasting (networking · Converse · Media studies · Political communication · Political science · Politics · Public engagement · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · Computer Science · E-Government and Public Services · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Law · Social Media and Politics

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access