1.
Political Networks on Twitter:
Tweeting the Queensland State
Election
Axel Bruns, Stephen Harrington, and Tim Highfield
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane, Australia
@snurb_dot_info | @_StephenH | @timhighfield
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/

2.
THE 2012 QUEENSLAND STATE ELECTION
• Main contestants:
– Australian Labor Party (ALP), led by Premier Anna Bligh
– Liberal / National Party (LNP), led by Campbell Newman
– Australian Greens
– Katter’s Australian Party
• Key Dates:
– 19 Feb. 2012: election called by Governor of Queensland
– 24 March 2012: election day

3.
TWITTER AND THE ELECTION
• Twitter and Australian politics:
– Day-to-day discussion dominated by small group (#auspol)
– Substantial, broad use in 2010 federal election (#ausvotes)
– #ausvotes activity focussed around election day itself
– By now, significant number of accounts by politicians and parties
• Twitter and the Queensland election:
– Substantial number of candidate accounts
– Few accounts with significant activity during campaign
– Indicative of party directives to candidates to create accounts?
– Limited use of relevant hashtags (#qldvotes, #qldpol)

4.
#AUSPOL
Follower/followee network:
~120,000 Australian Twitter users
(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012)
colour = #auspol tweets, size = indegree

5.
#AUSVOTES
Follower/followee network:
~120,000 Australian Twitter users
(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012)
colour = #ausvotes tweets, size = indegree

6.
#QLDPOL
Follower/followee network:
~120,000 Australian Twitter users
(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012)
colour = #qldpol tweets, size = indegree

7.
#QLDVOTES
Follower/followee network:
~120,000 Australian Twitter users
(of ~950,000 known accounts by early 2012)
colour = #qldvotes tweets, size = indegree

8.
CANDIDATE ACTIVITIES: TWEETS SENT

9.
TWEETING STYLES OF MAJOR ACCOUNTS

10.
THE REAL
CAMPBELL?
• 5 March 2012:
• Newman sets up
‘personal’
@CD_Track
account
(Can Do on Track)
• Discontinued after
ten tweets

11.
CANDIDATE ACTIVITIES: TWEETS RECEIVED

12.
(indegree 10+, edge colour = target)

13.
CANDIDATE NETWORKS

14.
CANDIDATE NETWORKS

15.
CONCLUSIONS
• Twitter in the 2012 Queensland state election:
– Substantial push to get candidates tweeting, but mixed take-up
– Clear differences in tweeting styles: PR vs. engagement
– ALP significantly more active than LNP
– Candidate interaction divided by party lines, with few exceptions:
talking about, not to, opponents; supporting leader and party
– Strong take-up by voters: substantial @mentions of accounts
– Focus mainly on leading (and problem) candidates
– But: few genuine conversations between candidates and voters
• Consider the context:
– Landslide election, long foreseen – no need for LNP to engage
– Social media use may be very different in tight contests

16.
http://mappingonlinepublics.net/
@snurb_dot_info
@jeanburgess
@_StephenH
@DrTNitins
@timhighfield
@cdtavijit