Presentation of Twitter hashtag analysis of East Los High and strategies for organizations to improve outreach and cultivate a vibrant community at Social Media & Society International Conference 2014, Toronto.

1. Network Structures For A Better Twitter Community
Hua (Helen) Wang, Ph.D.
Weiai (Wayne) Xu, M.A.
Gregory D. Saxton, Ph.D.
University at Buffalo, SUNY
2014 Social Media & Society International Conference (September 27-28, Toronto)

2. Social Media for Health Promotion and Social Change
• Rapid adoption by organizations
• Benefits
• Information dissemination at no/low cost
• Increased accessibility and reach
• Opportunities for social interactions and support
• Challenges
• Information quality control
• User engagement and retention
• Building a strong and sustainable community
an account
doesn’t
guarantee
social engagement
Is key to
goal achievement
(Korda & Itani, 2013; Moorhead et al., 2013) 2

3. • A Hulu Exclusive Series
http://www.eastloshigh.com
• Promoting sexual health
3

4. The Value of Understanding Network Structures
[Divided]
Polarized Crowds
[Unified]
Tight Crowd
[Fragmented]
Brand Clusters
[Clustered]
Community Clusters
[In-Hub & Spoke]
Broadcast Network
[Out-Hub & Spoke]
Support Network
(Gruzd & Haythornthwaite, 2013; Smith et al., 2014; Welser et al., 2007) 4

5. Hashtag
network
(1004 edges)
Mention network
(774 edges)
136
54 58
RT network
(356 edges)
631
179
65
405
ELH
Twitter
networks
5

6. Hashtag
network
(1004 edges)
@EastLosHighShow
& 2,136 followers
Tweets, RTs, mentions (replies)
#ELH
#ELHaddict(s)
#EastLosHigh
May 1, 2013 ~ January 31, 2014
@EastLosHighShow
Follower A
Follower B ELH
Twitter
networks
6

7. Peeling the “Onion”
1,724 or 80.7% were isolates:
This means they are following ELH
but didn’t tweet, RT, or mention ELH
7

8. Peeling the “Onion”
85 (4.0%) had 0 out-degree:
This means they were RT/mentioned,
but not vice versa
8

9. Peeling the “Onion”
316 (14.8%) had 1 to 11 out-degrees:
This means they did tweet, RT, or
mention ELH sporadically
Top ELH fans on Twitter:
• @hecdavidelh
• @shoshanamb
• @valerie_mia
• @vayaconfashion
• @lena_thang
• @cicily3192
• @mercy2much4you
• @shadeacrobat
• @nitzy15
• @myjunior760 9

10. Peeling the “Onion”
Only 9 (0.4%) had out-degrees and
in-degrees above 11:
This means they are the core ELH
discussion group on Twitter
Twitter user Out-degree In-degree
@eastloshighshow 147 227
@gabriel_iswitit 62 112
@tracy_perez 32 29
@aliciasixtos 28 53
@hecdavidjr 20 44
@inoemigonzalez 18 22
@themsdaniv 15 22
@janinelarina 14 26
@iamjorgediaz 11 32
10

11. ELH Twitter List (N=125)
14
19
92
Cast members
Advisors
Youth
media/Influencer
s
• All cast members are following and
actively interacting with ELH.
• Only 7 (37%) advisors are following
ELH; 1 used ELH hashtags, 1 mentioned
ELH, and 1 retweeted ELH.
• Only 12 (13%) influencers are following
ELH; 4 used ELH hashtags, 4 mentioned
ELH, and 3 retweeted ELH.
11

12. ELH Twitter List (N=125)
14
19
92
Cast members
Advisors
Youth
media/Influencer
s
Examples of listed influential advisors
who are not following ELH back:
• @PPact (104,000 followers)
• @getschooled (46100 followers)
• @WahtToExpect (25,000 followers)
• @BedSider (20,300 followers)
• @loveisrespect (14,900 followers)
• @NDVH (12,200 followers)
12

13. ELH Twitter List (N=125)
14
19
92
Cast members
Advisors
Youth
media/Influencer
s
Examples of listed influential youth
media/influencers who are not following
ELH back:
• @Latina (80,004 followers)
• @ChelseaKrost (54,300 followers)
• @dreamhampton (53,900 followers)
• @urbanjibaro (26,848 followers)
• @DJEddieOne (27,238 followers)
• @yalsa (23,646 followers)
• @julito77 (12,963 followers)
• @Maria_Hinojosa (11,689 followers)
13

14. Strategies for Building a Better Twitter Community
1. ELH maintains the enthusiastic hub of core members but also mindfully
engages the fans to join their conversations. Particularly, the top fans can
be promoted to become the show’s ambassadors.
2. ELH immediately activates the salient latent ties and encourage their
listed advisors and connected media organizations (especially those with
high number of followers) to follow back and help promote the show.
3. ELH converts the isolated followers from passive lurkers to active
participants in discussions about the show, the cast, and the social and
health issues, perhaps with some meaningful incentives.
14

15. Acknowledgement
University at Buffalo, SUNY
• Dr. Hua (Helen) Wang
• Dr. Gregory D. Saxton
• Weiai (Wayne) Xu
• Georges Khalil
• Kristin Maki
• Dana Himoff
• Susan Kum
• Mike Reinti
The University of Taxes at El Paso
• Dr. Arvind Singhal
• Carliene Quist
• Anu Sachdev
• Gabe Lira
• Claudia Boyd
• Dr. Lucia Dura

16. References
• Gruzd, A., & Haythornthwaite, C. (2013). Enabling community through social media. Journal of Internet Medical
Research, 15(10), e248. doi:10.2196/jmir.2796
• Korda, H., & Itani, Z. (2013). Harnessing social media for health promotion and behavior change. Health Promotion
Practice, 14, 15-23. DOI: 10.1177/1524839911405850
• Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business
Horizons, 52, 357-365. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002
• Moorhead, S. A., Hazlett, D. E., Harrison, L., Carroll, J. K., Irwin, A., & Hoving, C. (2013). A new dimension of health
care: Systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. Journal of
Internet Medical Research, 15(4), e85. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1933
• Smith, M., Rainie, L., Shneiderman, B., & Himelboim, I. (2014, February 20). Mapping Twitter Topic Networks: From
Polarized Crowds to Community Clusters, Pew Internet & American Life Project.
• Welser, H. T., Gleave, E., Fisher, D. & Smith, M. (2007). Visualizing the Signatures of Social Roles in Online
Discussion Groups. The Journal of Social Structure. 8(2).

17. Thank you!
Comments?
Questions?
Helen Wang: hwang23@buffalo.edu
Wayne Xu: weiaixu@buffalo.edu
Gregory Saxton: gdsaxton@buffalo.edu