Are Twitter researchers going to hell? Slides for a talk at the QUT Digital Media Recearch Center on May 29th 2015

1. Are Twitter researchers going to
hell?
29-05-2015 1

2. Will I go to hell ?
29-05-2015 · 2

3. 29-05-2015 · 3

4. 29-05-2015 · 4
}Lust: In the second circle
of Hell are those overcome
by lust. Dante condemns
these "carnal malefactors"
for letting their appetites
sway their reason.

5. 29-05-2015 · 5

6. - Social media users are not a representative
sample…
- Facebook: 53% (of US population)
- LinkedIn: 19%
- Twitter: 13%
(PEW data 2013 – Hargittai 2015)
29-05-2015 · 6
}Is Twitter a good proxy
of social life?
U
S
T
w
i
t
t
e
r

7. This is where it goes…
29-05-2015 · 7
Temporal Patterns of Happiness and
Information in a Global Social Network:
Hedonometrics and Twitter
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0026752

8. - Twitter users are largely
unknown
- There are no reasons to
expect any “trickle down
effect” from Twitter to
society
29-05-2015 · 8
}Is Twitter a good proxy
of social life?

9. 29-05-2015 · 9
}Heresy: In the sixth circle,
Heretics, such as Epicureans
("the soul dies with the
body") are trapped in flaming
tombs.

10. - Research questions are
defined by the possibilities
offered through the API
- Data monetization has been
a clear strategy behind the
evolution of Twitter API
29-05-2015 · 10
}Dealing with
privately-own data
1)

11. - API (stream/rest) based acquisition do not provide
representative samples for big events (Morstatter et al. 2013)
- Using Twitter data providers can be extremely expensive
(for average research budget in social sciences /
humanities)
[e.g. Rule Text: eurovision
Start Date: 05/18/2015
End Date: 05/25/2015
Estimated Activities: 2,042,000
The total cost of accepting this job is $580.00. ]
29-05-2015 · 11
}Dealing with
privately-own data
2)

12. 29-05-2015 · 12
}
Fraud: Sorcerers,
astrologers, and false
prophets here have their
heads twisted around on
their bodies backward, so
that they "found it necessary
to walk backward, / because
they could not see ahead of
them.”.

13. Hard methods for “soft” data
29-05-2015 · 13

14. Quantitative methods often
assume the stability of the
research field.
Can we still cite/use Twitter
data published in 2007 or 2008
?
29-05-2015 · 14

15. “Connect with your friends — and
other fascinating people. Get in-the-
moment updates on the things that
interest you. And watch events
unfold, in real time, from every
angle.”
Practices –> structure
29-05-2015 · 15
“What’s happening?”“What are you doing?”

16. 29-05-2015 · 16

17. Are we doing the research we want to do
or the research we can do ? And what
are the – systemic – forces affectingt this
process?
One more thing
29-05-2015 · 17

18. 29-05-2015 · 18
Thank you