Mapping Online Publics (Part 1)

Mapping Online Publics
Axel Bruns / Jean BurgessARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology
a.bruns@qut.edu.au – @snurb_dot_info / je.burgess@qut.edu.au – @jeanburgesshttp://mappingonlinepublics.net – http://cci.edu.au/

Project: New Media and Public Communication
ARC Discovery (2010-12) – A$410.000
Axel Bruns (CI), Jean Burgess (SRF) – QUT, Brisbane
Lars Kirchhoff, Thomas Nicolai (PIs) – Sociomantic Labs, Berlin
Project blog: http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Social network sources:
YouTube
Flickr
Twitter
blogs
Research tool development and baseline data
Baseline information:
data extraction
content creation statistics
patterns in terms and themes
baseline social networking map
interconnections between social network spaces
Content creation patterns
Changes over time:
short-term statistics
regular / seasonal patterns
Cluster profiling:
common themes / patterns
lead users
Focus on specific events
Cultural dynamics:
rapid spread of new ideas
communication across clusters
thematic discourse analysis
relationship with mainstream media coverage
Research tools:
network crawler
content scraper
content analysis
network analysis

Methodology – Twapperkeeper

Twapperkeeper Data Structure

Analysis – Twapperkeeper

Methodology – Twitter

Key Tools
Data capture:
Twapperkeeper / yourTwapperkeeper
Follow and capture all tweets including set keywords
Export in standardised CSV / TSV format
Data processing:
Gawk
Process CSV / TSV files – filter, extract, summarise
Excel
Statistical analysis and graphing
Data visualisation:
Gephi
Static and dynamic network visualisation

#hashtag- / Keyword-Based Datasets
Hashtags:
Crises and other unforeseen acute events – #qldfloods, #spill
Foreseeable short-term events – #royalwedding, #comtech2011
Longer-term and periodic events – #ausvotes, #qanda
Hashtag communities – #auspol, #phdchat
Ironic and emotive hashtags – #winning, #fail
Hashtag memes – #ThanksGetUp, #tweetlikecharliesheen
Keywords:
Brands, celebrities, places – Qantas, Obama, Brisbane
Abbreviations and other unique identifiers – NATO, NBA, NCC1701
Markers for current themes – tsunami (vs. #tsunami)
Twitter user names – captures tweets mentioning them
What’s missing:
Pre-filtering of matching tweets (e.g. by location of participating users)
Capture of follow-on communication (if not using those terms)
‘Button’ retweets – not currently captured by yourTwapperkeeper

#ausvotes: Overall Activity (17 July – 24 Aug. 2010)

#ausvotes: Mentions of the Leaders

#ausvotes: Mentions of the Leaders (cumulative)

Keyword Co-Occurrence

#ausvotes: Key Themes

#ausvotes: Discussion Network17 July to 25 Aug. 2010 / All @replies / Node size: Indegree / Node colour: betweenness centrality

Dynamic @reply Network Visualisations
Dynamic visualisation:
Showing @replies / retweets as they are made
Connections fading again after a set timeframe, unless renewed
Network structure either fixed or dynamically adjusted
Rudd/Gillard leadership challenge, 23 June 2010:
#spill discussion – from first rumours to confirmed challenge
Visualised for 18:00 to midnight
see dynamic animation on Mapping Online Publics

Twitter and the 22 Feb. Christchurch Earthquake: #eqnz
22/2 23 24 25 26 27 28 1/3 2 3 4 5 6 7

Twitter and the Christchurch Earthquake: #eqnz @replies
mainstream media
authorities
utilities

Twitter and the Christchurch Earthquake: tweet types

Twitter and the Christchurch Earthquake: #eqnz @replies
Changing @reply patterns with the move from rescue to recovery:

Twitter and the Christchurch Earthquake: #eqnz Themes

Twitter and the Christchurch Earthquake
Towards better strategies for social media in disasters:
February 2011 earthquake building on lessons learnt in 2010
#eqnz and key Twitter accounts already established
Several key accounts sharing the load and dividing responsibilities
More experienced use of Twitter by residents and authorities
Clear shift in attention after the immediate rescue phase:
Marked differences in list of most @replied/retweeted accounts
Some tracking of current problems / issues / fears may be possible
Decline in overall tweet volume / diversification of #hashtags?

And now for something... – #royalwedding

...completely different – ‘Qantas’: @replies + #hashtags

Understanding Australian Twitter Use
What is the Australian Twitteruserbase?
Large-scale snowballing project
Starting from selected hashtag communities (e.g. #ausvotes, #qldfloods, #masterchef)
Identifying participating users, testing for ‘Australianness’:
Timezone setting, location information, profile information
Retrieving follower/followee information for each account (very slow)
Progress update:
~550,000 Australian users identified so far

Football (rugby)
Sports
Football (soccer)
Twitter Celebrities
South Australia
Wine
Business, PR, Marketing
Media, Journalism, Politics
Follower/followee network:~40,000 Australian Twitter users(of ~440,000 known accounts so far) in-degree 20+, dark lines = mutual,colour = indegree, size = outdegree
Music

http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
Image by campoalto
@snurb_dot_info
@jeanburgess

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Mapping Online Publics (Part 1)

by Axel Bruns on Jun 29, 2011

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Mapping Online Publics (Part 1) — Webinar Transcript