Twitter is an online social network that has gained a lot of attention and popularity among users, both young and middle aged especially due to its ease of use and peer pressure. It is a social network that revolves around the aspect of followers where an individual follows a number of people. The social network works under the principle of being at per with what is happening among an individual’s followers at different times.
This is because by choosing to follow some people or Twitter users their tweets appear on your main Twitter page. As the author of the article states, Twitter is on a move of changing the way people live. This is because of the influence it has had on the members and although it has not been there for a long time, its impact on people’s lives is evident (O’Reilly and Milstein, 2009).
I agree with most of Johnson’s claims in regard to the topic of discussion, that is, “Twitter will change the way we live.” Twitter has for example enabled members to be at per with almost everything that is happening not only around them but also around the world. This has been made possible through various techniques for instance the most recent search box that allows one to attain information of any given topic in real time.
Real life and national experiences and conversations have helped in molding people behaviors due to exposure to some important life issues on any advancement and happenings in different parts of the world (McFedries, 2010).
Various kinds of information are conveyed through Twitter other than just being a communication tool. This is through use of links that give details on different issues including videos and articles. In other words, Twitter has proved to be an efficient supplier of credible information that is up-to-date for instance news and advertisements (Thomases 2010).
This has changed peoples’ perception of life through informing them and thus doing away with ignorance. It has also fostered a lot of end user innovations through allowing users to not only use the tool but do some developments (Johnson, 2009).
One major change is how people communicate in their personal life as well as in their business life in a positive way. It has also made people bold through sharing their experiences. Creativity among followers has also grown in the course of using twitter through honing of individuals’ talents through information and encouragement from people. One is able to influence change without difficulties.
Twitter has also made people to be a source of inspiration to others an aspect that boosts ones self esteem and morale. Through sharing, people have learnt to be kind and to help others achieve success in life where they can help, that is, it has enhanced problem solving.
The fact that Twitter allows people to know of what exist beyond their backyard is another point that the author has used to support the topic of discussion of which it is justifiable. Twitter has also facilitated learning on different issues (one just has to follow the right people) (Belardo, 2010).
Although twitter has negative impacts on peoples’ lives Johnson the author of the article emphasizes on the positive aspects on the way Twitter have changed peoples’ lives. The claims brought forth are justifiable and realistic proving Twitter to be a positive tool in shaping a person’s life.
This paper aims to look at the impact and influence of Twitter on the Arab spring. An online questionnaire was distributed among respondents who have twitter accounts and took part in the event. The results showed that a large number took part in the Arab spring through Twitter. The report showed that Twitter was a tool to organize the Arab Spring as well as share pictures and videos about what was going on the ground. It is recommended that Twitter is considered as an important tool for political developments. It is a powerful media to share information with a wide audience.
Social media has emerged as a vital tool in the demand for political changes within a country. The Arab Spring that occurred in Egypt, Tunisia, and other areas of the Middle East relied on the use of social media to organize followers and make arrangements in the activities. Social media and more specifically Twitter as an immoral tool for the uprising. Twitter greatly fined Arab sorting as it was used in the organization of the social protests (Allagui & Kuebler, 2011).
Tunisia witnessed the first event of the Arab Spring, which was spurred by high levels of inequality and unemployment in the country, among other social ills. The protests first occurred in 2010 where a street vendor burned himself alive due to the desperation of joblessness and corruption. He succumbed to his burns, and he became the main image in the protest that grew strong due to online internet tools. This paper looks at the impact and influence of Twitter on the Arab spring (Tremayne, 2014). Twitter is the cause of the success of the Arab spring.
Literature Review
Scholars have looked at how Twitter played an integral role in accelerating the Tunisia revolution. Essentially, the movement drove out the country’s 23-year ruler into exile. A blogger named Slim Amamou, who enjoyed thousands of followers on Twitter, was able to instantiate the uprising. Within a short time, his popularity had soared, and he was even elected as a Minister of Youth and Sports.
Social media was used in a variety of ways. According to Manuel (2013), there was an upsurge of pictures and videos on Twitter during the Egyptian lab spring. The photos and videos show the presence of protestors in many cities I Egypt. Essentially, Twitter was a means to disseminate information among the protestors. Protester’s sweet bale top provides information about how to avoid the police ad were to assemble.
Researchers such as Porta (2014) delve deeper and look at the impact of censorship on social media. Many governments use censorship when they want to control the internet or limit the spread of information. They have been successful in some countries such as Yemen and Libya. In Yemen, the level of internet penetration is small. Few people have access to Twitter, and the Arab spring was ineffective. On the other hand, Libya is characterized by a highly controlled internet. Essentially, internet censorship was a major factor that limited the spread of the Arab spring.
The Arab region has been characterized by the highest technology adoption rates in the world. Allagui (2009) considers the adoption of modern communications as a vital ingredient in the effectiveness of Twitter. Internet penetration has also increased over the years. The author considers how the media and government exist within the country (Tremayne, 2014). There is a complex relationship where the government is increasing internet connectivity in the context of economic development.
On the other hand, there is an increase in suppressing online freedom, resulting in a culture of subversion. Essentially, the research shows how governments in the Middle East have sought to control the internet but have been largely unsuccessful. Subversion leads to a situation where there is no physical boundary. Social networking tools like Twitter have emerged as an alternative method for the citizenry to participate in political and public spheres without interferes.
Scholars such as Howard and Hussain (2011) have analyzed the tweets in regards to the Arab spring. From the analysis, it was determined that a large number of tweets involved messages about democracy and freedom in the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, the tweets were effective in encouraging people that the uprising will be a success. Twitter became a tool that people who were interested in democracy could easily take part (Moghadam, 2009). It was a tool to establish political action and allowed for greater freedom for the participants.
The research will prove vital in detailing the impact of social media on the organization of people and groups. Twitter was used as a tool to share vital information about the Arab spring. Twitter, for example, played a role in sending and spreading videos and photos of the happenings. The research will also show that social media has emerged as a new opposition movement (Allagui, 2009). Specifically, this group can challenge the government of the day if they feel unsatisfied with the current policies in place.
Problems arising from existing research in the field are due to the lack of information about the trends in participation. In many countries, the government has tight control of the internet and social media. Due to censorship; it is difficult for some people to access Twitter. In this regard, there is a chance that some of the information in existing can be inconclusive on the true impact of social media. Despite this, the report will be able to look at the importance of Twitter in the Arab Spring (Castells, 2013).
Methods
The research was carried out using online questionnaires. Due to the diversity and a large number of participants required, the online survey would be able to reach a diverse group. Specifically, participants comprised of individuals who participated in the Arab spring. It includes people who live in North Africa and the Middle East. Moreover, some of the participants comprised individuals who were following the uprising through social media even though they did not participate. All the participants were required to have Twitter accounts. 250 people participated in answering the online questionnaire. The information would be vital in determining how many participants who had access to Twitter took part in the Arab spring. It will also detail how Twitter influences them to participate in social uprising. The responses from participants were voluntary.
Results
The results provided vital data on the impact and influence of Twitter. All of the respondents provided their feedback. All of the participants used Twitter as the primary means of accessing information concerning the Arab spring. About 30 percent used other internet sources to be informed about the Arab spring. It includes Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram. Many participants were influenced to take part in the uprising from links shared by friends. It creates a domino effect where many people were aware of the uprising swiftly and efficiently.
Table 1: Results.
Impact of Twitter on the uprising
Physically participated in the Arab spring
190
Used other social media (Facebook) besides Twitter
50
Shared information about the Arab spring
172
Discussion
From that data, a large number of participants sued Twitter as their primary means of accessing social media. Through the prevalence of Internet-connected mobile phones, it was easy for a large number of participants to be involved. About 190 participants physically attended the uprising a result of Twitter. Specifically, the tool was used in providing updates about the uprising, as well as making plans for future events. Twitter is an easy and acceptable tool to use. It creates a way that many people can gain information from the media (Gleason, 2013). Furthermore, the social site encourages the spread of information in few words. It increases its readability among social media users. Despite this, about 50 participants used other social media sites such as Facebook also twitter.
The effectiveness of Twitter comes from the ease of sharing information. Users could easily make trending news using the Arab Spring hashtag (#Arabspring). Specifically, the user can easily access materials about the current events being organized. Furthermore, information is easily shareable through links. About 172 respondents shared information about the uprising. The information can be shared with other social media, thereby increasing its spread on the internet (Howard & Hussain, 2011). Twitter was a means to post a picture of participants and the occurrences on the ground.
Even though the Arab Spring began in Tunisia, it spread to other countries. Twitter provided an opportunity for a large audience to be aware of the occurrence in Tunisia. Many people in other Arab countries were influenced by the occurrence in Tunisia. Specifically, it brought to light many issues that many Arab countries were facing. It encouraged people to demand change in their respective countries. Since Tunisia, other countries also adopted Twitter as a tool to organize for a social uprising (Porta, 2014). The Arab spring was a success in Tunisia, and this greatly influenced its spread in the region. Specific, Twitter was an integral tool that ensured its success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the research shows that Twitter greatly influenced the Arab spring. Among a large number of the participants, Twitter was the tool of choice for sharing information. It was used in the organization and planning of the Arab spring activities. The Arab spring was a major call for political change in Northern Africa and the Middle East. It began in Tunisia but later spread to other Arab countries. The Arab spring faces its origins in a Twitter user who shared the injustices the country was facing. Twitter was an important factor in the success and spread of the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East.
Recommendations
A recommendation arising is that Twitter is a vital tool for sharing information and organization events that will require a large number of people. It is easy to access and has a wide audience. The tool makes it easier to inform many people about an issue that affects them. During the Arab Spring, Twitter was a political tool to call for changes. Specifically, Twitter acts as a tool to lead to political developments in many countries.
References
Allagui, I. (2009). Multiple mirrors of the Arab digital gap. Global Media Journal, 1(1), 14-23.
Allagui, I., & Kuebler, J. (2011). The Arab Spring and the role of ICTs. International Journal of Communication, 5(1), 1435-1442.
Castells, M. (2013). Networks of outrage and hope social movements in the Internet age (1st ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Gleason, B. (2013). Occupy Wall Street: Exploring informal learning about a social movement on Twitter. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(7), 966-982.
Howard, P., & Hussain, M. (2011). The role of digital media. Journal of Democracy, 22(3), 35-48.
Moghadam, V. M. (2009). Globalization and social movements: Islamism, feminism, and global justice movement (1st ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Porta, D. D. (2014). Methodological practices in social movement research (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tremayne, M. (2014). Anatomy of protest in the digital era: A network analysis of twitter and Occupy Wall Street. Social Movement Studies: Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Protest, 13(1), 110-126.
In this portfolio project, there is going to be a discussion on the use of Twitter in newsgathering. This topic or media text is going to be discussed in relation to some issues and these include the rules/laws and policies that regulate the production and distribution of this media text, the influence of technology and the concerns that come up when this media text is distributed globally.
It is going to be found out that there are no special or specific rules and policies that have been put in place to regulate the use of Twitter in newsgathering and each news organization has been trying to put in place particular guidelines for newsgathering using Twitter by journalists in order for them to engage in acting in an ethical manner.
Moreover, technology has had a great influence on newsgathering and has enabled Twitter to be among the media forms that avail information to the journalists within the shortest time possible after the occurrence of a particular event. It is also clear that Twitter is used on a global basis and this brings in some issues.
For instance, Twitter has made it possible for the news concerning the occurrence of disasters or any other events that require emergency response from across the world to be obtained within the shortest time possible. It has been pointed out that Twitter has not been organized in a proper way in order for the information obtained during such incidents can be helpful in offering a response effectively.
Using Twitter as a Newsgathering Tool
Twitter is a very popular service that has instant messaging, social networking and it also has a micro-blogging platform which was initially made with the intention of facilitating communication between users and their followers, informing them about their activities (Mollett, Moran & Dunleavy, 2011).
This form of social media has greater benefits as compared to other forms of social media networks involved in the process of news gathering for the reason that it is instant and more and more individuals are turning to it for the “real-time news” (Mollett, Moran & Dunleavy, 2011).
One of the many uses of Twitter is conveying news-briefs. It is interesting to find out that any person who turns on popular news channels like BBC and Al-Jazeera among other news channels is likely to observe a “news ticker” moving at the bottom of his or her TV set. At this point in time where we have a digital world that is increasingly depending on the internet to get news, that running ticker is found to be Twitter.
Rather than the news-reporting channels across the world just utilizing Twitter as a means of posting the views they have or using it as a news- distributing platform, they also utilize Twitter as a newsgathering tool as well (Dickinson, 2012).
Basing on the fact that having access to stories that make news will turn out to be limited to a particular level; the news reporters opt to rely on tweets coming from the users of Twitter to obtain information making news since a larger number of people, who may be at the scenes where particular events take place, have the fondness of posting what they may observe on their Twitter timelines (Knight, 2010).
Apart from the Twitter users’ timelines, there exist other applications that can be utilized in order to obtain news. One of the most common ones is ENPS. The ENPS is the software set up by the Associated Press.
Its installation was initially carried out in the year 1996. It offers all of the BBC journalists the information and news coming from other BBC journalists as well as “news agency” sources. It is also utilized in the production of both radio and TV programs (Dickinson, 2012).
Another good example of these applications is Hootsuite. This is a dashboard that facilitates the management of the social media which undertakes publishing, updating, tracking of activities and eventually undertaking the analysis of the outcomes across various social media networks and among these are Facebook and Twitter.
Some reporters, despite having ENPS, are still mostly looking at Hootsuite for their newsgathering and their reason for this is that Hootsuite enables them to engage in monitoring a larger number of sources on Twitter.
Through the use of Hootsuite, the news gatherers are able to build various Twitter lists for different news stories so that they can keep across developments in all areas. It is therefore very important to point out that using Twitter as a news gathering tool is very much productive.
It is also important to note that use of Twitter for newsgathering is not just limited to news stations but it can also be used by researchers, owners of websites and bloggers among other users to obtain news on various topics in which they are interested.
Ethical Use of Twitter in Newsgathering and the regulating Rules and Policies
It can be generally agreed that Twitter is actually a strong tool which can assist a news reporter in newsgathering. Babe (2012) points out that a news reporter can engage in tapping into Twitter in order to come across a witness of an interesting event.
The journalist can also utilize Twitter in gathering information or ideas “for stories by crowdsourcing” (Babe, 2012, p.1). However, as on one hand Twitter provides the news reporters with unique opportunities to engage in updating their toolbox, on the other hand, Twitter presents fresh ethical challenges for maintaining journalistic integrity.
It is pointed out that when journalists come across the new territory of cyberspace, “some journalists may be unclear about how to apply old journalistic standards to new media trend of Twitter-based newsgathering, interviewing and fact-checking” (Babe, 2012, p.1).
It is reported that; in an interview, Steve Buttry, who is among the leading social journalists about the ethical issues associated with the use of Twitter in newsgathering; gave out some advice on the way of using Twitter in an ethical manner (Babe, 2012).
According to him, the most significant tenets of journalism have to remain the same at all times regardless of where they are tested and this includes use of Twitter (Babe, 2012). He points out that there is no thing that is of greater importance than verification and accuracy and this fact does not change when using Twitter (Babe, 2012).
The news reporters may get lied to by the sources that are not honest who do not understand what they are actually talking about during the telephone interviews as well as in in-person interviews.
Such errors may also be found in Twitter. In order for the journalists to use Twitter in an ethical manner, they need to treat Twitter as they would treat any other media form. For instance, the same good “journalistic sense” which is applied in email or in-person reporting has also to be applicable in Twitter reporting (Babe, 2012).
Considering rules and policies that may be used to regulate the use of Twitter in newsgathering, several examples may be given. For instance, it is reported that the “Digital First Media” CEO, John Paton has come up with rules that employees have to follow while using social media. Digital First Media operates “Journal Registry Company” (Babe, 2012).
There are no special rules and guidelines for the use of social media (Babe, 2012). The CEO (John Paton) holds a philosophy in which he believes that the journalists have to use social media in a similarly ethical manner as when they are using any other newsgathering tool.
He points out the fact that there exist no rules for using notebooks, emails or even telephone and therefore, the news reporters are expected “to identify themselves in any format and to behave honestly and ethically…..that doesn’t change with Twitter” (Babe, 2012, p.1).
At the core of conducting oneself in an honest and ethical manner is making attempts to engage in verifying each individual fact or quote which is gathered from Twitter and ensuring that it is utilized in an honest, accurate and fair manner to present the news story (Goehler, 2010).
It is pointed out that although the use of Twitter can bring in “challenges to verification”, excellent news reporters will overcome such challenges and come up with the ways by which to undertake validation of the research they have carried out, even in the absence of strict rules and regulations (Goehler, 2010).
However, as on one hand some journalists support the idea of providing the reporters with the freedom and trust to come up with their own decisions that are ethical regarding using Twitter, on the other hand, a large number of news organizations do not agree with this and make a choice to engage in regulating the decision making process of the reporter by using rules and policies.
For instance, it is reported that “The Oregonian”, engaged in issuing a Twitter rule that was controversial in 2011, informing its journalists to look at re-tweets as endorsements and not quotes (Babe, 2012).
Moreover, another example is the Associated Press and this has put in place social media guidelines which the employees have to follow and the guidelines are updated on a regular basis. The social media guidelines presented by the Associated Press in the recent times include some specific Twitter guidelines concerning such issues as “following users, deleting tweets, correcting tweets and re-tweeting” (Babe, 2012, p.1).
While debates may come up concerning the issue of whether or not guidelines of this nature are completely needed; with no doubt, such guidelines can be of great help in particular circumstances.
For those news reporters who may be new in using Twitter, or those who have a feeling of uneasiness regarding how to use Twitter in an ethical manner, keenly looking at the guidelines for the use of social media for various news organizations can be found to be very helpful.
There is no need for the journalists to feel restricted by ideas or information they come across but they can engage in building their knowledge and equipping themselves with certain useful ethical guidelines. Since Twitter is here to stay, it is very important that journalists come to know how to use it quickly and more effectively; this will enable them to continuously fit in the news world.
Influence of Technology and Issues That Arise When the Use of Twitter for Newsgathering is Distributed Globally
By the year 2008, technology had advanced to a level that it could make it possible to have faster and effective gathering of information, especially by use of the social media (Couldry, 2010).
For instance, it was found out that when China was hit by an earthquake in May 2008, this event was reported on Twitter before the United States of America “Geological Survey” had engaged in recording it on their website and also one hour before the news was presented on CNN (Spencer, 2010).
It was interesting to note that such news could move so quickly across a distance of more than five thousand miles and this was made possible by the use of Twitter.
Later on, towards the end of 2008, Twitter was praised as being a trustworthy tool for conveying breaking news about the terrorist attacks that were carried out in Mumbai, claiming the lives of over one hundred and fifty people (Spencer, 2010). Following this event, “the tech world” was overflowing with news of how the social media was undergoing evolution in this tragedy.
Some people presented comments that CNN is no longer very much effective as Twitter and this is because Twitter is making it possible for news to be obtained in the shortest time possible; in fact, almost instantly, after the occurrence of a disaster or event.
Other global events which Twitter has made it possible for the news about their occurrence to be obtained across the world in the shortest time possible include the violence that occurred in Iran following the elections in 2009 and the Haiti earthquake that took place in the year 2010.
It is pointed out that, so far, even if Twitter is yet to be a place of solid facts because the situation is still very disorganized, this is a place where the “news is breaking” (Spencer, 2010).
Supporting the utilization of such social media tools as Twitter in newsgathering is a public mind-set which involves people having the “spirit of giving”.
This spirit of giving put together with the development of the “open source technologies”, on which a large number of these forms of media are established, has produced a partnership in which the volunteers that have various talents are in a position and very much willing and ready to respond.
But on the other hand, this quick form of communication and its subsequent inspired participants, while fascinating, is not focused to a unit that can really make a worthwhile response
Conclusion and Recommendations
The paper has presented the discussion on the use of Twitter in gathering news and also on some of the issues that are related to this. It has been found out that Twitter is being used as a newsgathering tool and it has proved to be very productive and effective.
It has been realized that this form of social media is not just being used as a newsgathering tool for the news reporters or news stations but it is also being used by researchers and owners of websites among other users to obtain news on various topics in which they are interested.
It is also important to point out the issue concerning the rules and policies that regulate newsgathering using Twitter and in this regard; it has been found out that there are no special or specific rules or policies that help in newsgathering using Twitter.
However, some news organizations have come up with their own guidelines for their journalists. While there might be arguments about the issue of whether or not guidelines of this nature are completely needed, such guidelines are very important.
This is because, having special rules and policies in place will enable the journalist to make decisions regarding how to gather news using Twitter, without any fear or doubts about whether or not he or she may be acting in an unethical manner.
It is important that we have specific or special policies and laws that regulate the journalist’s decision making process while they engage in gathering news using Twitter. These rules and policies need to apply to all news organizations and to journalists who engage in gathering news using Twitter.
Advancement in technology has made it possible for the social media forms such as Twitter to develop to a level that they can work very effectively.
For instance, Twitter has proved to be very effective in offering information concerning the occurrence of both natural and artificial disasters which require emergency responses across the world. However, there is need for Twitter to be organized in the most appropriate way possible so that it can be in a position to help in obtaining information that can be helpful in offering emergence responses from any part of the world.
The value added by social networking sites when used by the employees of a company to pursue the goals and objectives set by the company cannot be underrated or simply swept below the carpet.
In this generation, social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are currently being used by other businesses as a medium of advertising their products and services in an effort to reach clients not easily accessible through conventional methods of media adverts such as television and radio.
A clear example is drawn from Drapers magazine that states “Dell is believed to have generated more than $3m in incremental revenue through Twitter within a year” (Social media: A tactical tool or a core business strategy, p.1).
Dell is a reputable electronics company, yet in some ways it has embraced the use of social networking sites; thus, this is a largely untapped potential goldmine that can add a lot of value to the business.
The idea of doing away with the use of social networking sites during office hours may be well informed, but most of my colleagues are young and techno conversant and they clearly understand the company’s rules which require them to separate their personal lives and work.
Hence, they may use the sites to find new information that leads to the increased revenues of the company, interact with their peers working for the competitors and thus get information about the latest trends in the market.
They also learn new laws that are directly or indirectly related to the company’s business and in this case the company is not justified to cut off this form of communication as it could lead to reduced sales and revenues of the company.
There is also a remedy if the company believes employees are wasting time, then they should advocate for them to have two social networking accounts just as it is advocated by Alan Katz’s, who “finds the now-common practice of having multiple Facebook accounts, one personal and one business, to be a smart strategy for using the site” (Galentine, p.2).
Another important fact to note is that most of us know about this company from the social media networking sites specifically Twitter. It is from there that I was able to research about the company and learn more details about its operations; I bet the same is also true about my colleagues.
It is also through the social media that we are able to research the different preferences of our potential customers or corporate companies. Thus, in the work process we are able to provide a service that suits them and meets their immediate and long term needs.
Restricting access to social media from now henceforth, will banish us to offering services and products to our customers that they may not like. This will lead to dissatisfaction among the customers, and thus a reduction in revenues of our company.
Embracing the use of Twitter and other social media tools is not only beneficial in terms of increasing the company’s revenue and employee performance, but it is also relevant and valuable to the company itself.
This is evident by the increased number of companies that have their own social media sites that enable them to receive and reply customer feedback.
The companies also use the same sites to monitor and evaluate the behavior of their potential employees; they do this by monitoring their updates and comments.
Thus, this saves the company from hiring controversial or troublesome staff. Hence, I am of the opinion that the company should continue providing us with access to social media tools especially Twitter and Facebook.
References
Galentine, E. (2011). The art of social media success; with a background in both employee benefits and politics, success was in the cards for Alan Katz’s Health care reform blog. Employee Benefit Advisor, 9(2), 1-32. Web.
Social media: A tactical tool or a core business strategy. (2011, February 2). Drapers. Web.
Twitter is currently one of the most imperative and powerful social media platforms. Besides, Twitter has become one of the significant new channels for public communications. The studies on the uses of Twitter have emphasized on the isolated and critical events including political and crisis communications, popular culture and events such as sports.
The studies also center on the applicability of the Twitter’s search stream APIs, which often provide a coordinated keywords prefixed by hashtag ‘#’. Twitter provides a critical degree of data access through its Application Programming Interphase (API) platform. The API is an interface that is designed to be used by Twitter clients.
However, the interface can also be applied in tracking current events by other users especially researchers through the use of a specific keyword and hashtag. The Twitter API allows researchers and other users to track and inevitably apprehend tweets with particular hashtags or keywords.
Introduction
Twitter is currently one of the most imperative and powerful social media platforms. Besides, Twitter has become one of the significant new channels for public communications. The studies on the uses of Twitter have emphasized on the isolated and critical events including political and crisis communications, popular culture and events such as sports.
The studies also center on the applicability of the Twitter search stream API, which often provide a coordinated keywords prefixed by hashtags ‘#’. Researchers have used the Twitter’s API platforms to access, analyze and store data. The API is an interface that has been designed to be primarily used by Twitter clients.
However, the interface can also be applied in tracking current events by other users especially researchers by customizing specific keyword and hashtags. The Twitter API allows researchers and other users to track and inevitably apprehend tweets with particular hashtags or keywords.
In an advanced usage, the API enables third party developers attach novel add-ons to the prevailing services (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014). The API provides interface that allow researchers to gather more information off a particular social media services that can be used for quantitative or qualitative analysis (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014).
In addition, the API provides the real-time data within the social media network such as Twitter (Purohit, Hampton, Shalin, Sheth, Flach & Bhatt, 2013). As such, Twitter’s open APIs offers unprecedented opportunity for physicist, linguists, computer and social scientists to study the behaviors of people within the social media platform (Kwak, Lee, Park & Moon, 2010).
In fact, researchers have utilized the Twitter API to study varied human behavior across various disciplines ranging from business management to crisis response, management and communications (Marwick, 2012). The Twitter’s API has been applied by researchers to study various global events. For instance, Bruns, Highfield and Burgess (2013) used the API platform to study the Arab Spring.
The API as a Data Collection Tool
As indicated, Twitter provides a critical degree of data access through its Application Programming Interphase (API) platform. The APIs platform offered by Twitter allows researchers and other users to track and inevitably apprehend tweets with particular hashtags or keywords (Bruns & Burgess, 2012).
The increased accessibility of Twitter’s information through the use of its API platform has enabled researchers to conduct studies on various aspects of human behavior patterns. Increased novel applications of Twitter’s API has been developed recently (Naaman, Boase & Lai, 2010).
In fact, Twitter has allowed researchers in the fields of healthcare simulations as well as in education to share most relevant information through the application of specialized tools within the API platform. The capability has enabled the fields to conduct studies on various fast evolving events. Such kinds of studies are made possible due to the simplicity of the Twitter’s API (Shi, Rui & Whinston, 2014).
Given the simplicity of the Twitter’s API, the popularity of diverse web-page application has increased (Bagley, 2012). Such web-page applications have provided value-added services to the Twitter users. For instance, Twuffer web application allows Twitter users to schedule tweets for future dates.
Twidentify is also another web-based Twitter search engine that allows users to examine tweets through the use of keywords. Such tools are normally applied in the API platform and enables researchers to easily follow trends on a particular event through the application of keywords or certain words prefixed by the hashtag (Humphreys, Gill & Krishnamurthy, 2014).
The Twitter API uses three ways of searching through the application of keywords. One of the methods is the trend search, which allows researchers to track the popularity of the keywords over a particular time (Yardi & Boyd, 2010). The second method is the basic Twitter search that tends to track people who utilize the keywords on their tweets and re-tweets.
The final method is the search on influence. The data from the searches are normally sorted in tweets and re-tweets. Such information is provided in diverse formats including time series graphs. The trend search, basic Twitter search and the search on influence form the foundation of various models researchers have utilized to study innumerable behaviors and events patterns on Twitter (Humphreys, 2011).
Researchers utilize various tools to collect and analyze the information, which are then customized into a single timeframe and serve various functions including comparisons to the statistics of different studies.
The Opportunities and Challenges in the Application of APIs
Lomborg and Bechmann (2014) argued that APIs enables social media researchers to have an easy access of data particularly from the social media companies. Essentially, the APIs enables third party developers attach novel add-ons to the prevailing services. The APIs provide interface that allow researchers to gather more information off a particular social media services that can be used for quantitative or qualitative analysis (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014).
APIs as a research tool offers significant opportunities for the studies that are either qualitative or quantitative. The API platform allows easy automation of data collection, analysis and storage (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014). The cleaning and storage of data are also conducted sequentially and automatically.
Combined with other web-based digital research tools, the data accessibility are traced to their usage patterns in greater detail more than what other data collection methods such as interviews and surveys provide. Through the use of API, the data collection is prompt and nonintrusive (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014).
How Various Researchers have used API as the Data Collection Method
The API platform has been used widely by various researchers to study a wide range of correlations on particular sub-sets of human behaviors and events patterns within Twitter. For instance, Boyd and Crawford (2012) examined how large volumes of data can be mined, evaluated and stored through the application of API tools.
Misopoulos, Mitic, Kapoulas and Karapiperis (2014) applied the Twitter API tools to examine the trends in customer behaviors and experiences in the airline industry. Further, Mooney, Winstanley and Corcoran (2011) also examined how API offered by Twitter can be used to evaluate environmental issues.
Moreover, Bruns and Burgess (2012) examined innovative approaches applied by researchers to collect and analyze large quantity of data from Twitter. In their study, the researchers outlined the manner in which Twitter is applied in covering the main events with emphasis on the use of hashtags, which are the keywords that identify a tweet as critical in an ongoing discussion.
Twitter provides a critical degree of data access through its Application Programming Interphase (API) platform. While API is an interface that is designed to be predominantly used by Twitter clients, it can also be applied in tracking current events by other users (Bruns & Burgess, 2012). The limitations on such processes are comparatively low and the tools for such examinations are provided to the researchers.
Researchers can apply various API tools that are readily available including yourTwapperKeeper (yTK) to access data (Bruns & Burgess, 2012). With minor modifications in order to make data export improvements, the yTK is normally applied to track a significant number of keywords on particular events spontaneously.
The increased processing and assessments of the collected data sets discloses numerous significant patterns. Numerous approaches of data analysis are also available to the researchers (Bruns & Burgess, 2012). The network analysis and visualization, statistical packages and data-processing software are available to the researchers.
The researchers would apply these data processing tools depending on the variables under the study as well as the methodology (Bruns & Burgess, 2012).Further, API has been found to provide the real-time data within the social media network. Purohit et al. (2013) applied the Twitter streaming API to provide the real-time information from the tweet collections.
Through the use of the Twitter search API, the researchers are capable of selecting conversational tweets in one response based on the keyword feed preceded by the hashtag. Using the keyword-based method, the Twitter search API is capable of providing a bout 1500 recent tweets in a single response while eliminating tweets from private users. The search query is capable of providing the related metadata including the timestamp, location and the details of the author.
The API can be applied to study the topological characteristics of Twitter and its capability as a novel medium through which people share information. The API can be used to collect information on the user profile, trending topics and the tweet messages. The researchers can use various analytical tools including network, ranking and trending analyses to examine the attributes of Twitter.
The study on the topological characteristics of Twitter was first conducted by Kwak et al. (2010). The study conducted by Kwak et al. (2010) formed the foundation on which other studies using the API as a method of data collection to examine the attributes of other social media networks are based. The Twitter’s API offer unprecedented opportunity for both physical and social scientists to study the behaviors of people within the social media platform (Kwak et al., 2010).
Researchers have also used API to store and analyze data for real-time applications. Kumar, Morstatter and Liu (2013) explored how information from Twitter can be collected, stored and analyzed. In fact, Kumar et al. (2013) examined the collection of Twitter information through its free APIs and the manner in which such information can be stored for real-time applications.
Various measures and algorithms can be applied in the analysis of data sets from various social media networks (Kumar et al., 2013) The free Twitter API is a critical data collection tool that has led to the development and application of studies in diverse areas including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and management.
Disaster relief and management as well as the humanitarian assistance are areas that have been widely benefitted from Twitter information to increase awareness to the crisis situation (Kumar et al., 2013). Through the application of free Twitter APIs, the researchers can accurately predict the occurrences of major disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis by identifying the relevant users to follow in order to acquire the disaster related information (Kumar et al., 2013).
The Twitter’s API has been widely used to study disasters and major events across the globe. For instance, Murthy and Longwell (2013) applied the Twitter API to examine how users tweeted and re-tweeted during the Pakistan floods. In their study, the researchers examined the tweets and re-tweets links between the traditional and social media and in which countries the most tweets are from as well as relationship between the location and the traditional versus social media.
The use of API normally follows similar procedures. The only differences are the methods of analysis and the subject of the study (Murthy & Longwell, 2013). The studies by Kumar et al. (2013) as well as Murthy and Longwell (2013) provided instances where the researches on the applicability of social media in relation to disaster events have grown over the past years covering a wide range of sites and procedures.
The ongoing researches such as those conducted by Kumar et al. (2013) as well as Murthy and Longwell (2013) on the use of API have centered on Twitter use as a critical turning point in increasing awareness as well as a measure through which such problems can be mitigated. The uses of Twitter in covering most of the disastrous stories legitimize the site as a journalistic space ((Murthy & Longwell, 2013).
As such, researchers including Kumar et al. (2013) as well as Murthy and Longwell (2013) have concentrated their studies on how users tend to tweet and re-tweet in order to examine the trends, which remain critical information in predicting the major global events. The volume of data also affects the manner API is used in the studies. For instance, Murthy and Longwell (2013) collected their Twitter data through the accessibility of Twitter search API stream during the time when the text string “Pakistan” was most active.
Given the large volume of data, the researchers applied the Social Network Analysis (SNA) to scrutinize the data and come up with the relationships under the study. Through various analytical models researchers can come up with varied patterns on data.The ongoing application of Twitter API on main events has emphasized on single cases (Bruns & Stieglitz, 2012).
The comparative studies on the dynamics of patterns on numerous events are deficient. Few comparative studies have resulted into new discrete discussions. For instance, in their comparative study on the dynamics and patterns of large number communication events on Twitter, Bruns and Stieglitz (2012) identified various discrete forms of deliberations that can be witnessed on Twitter.
Through the use of a wide range of communication metrics, Bruns and Stieglitz (2012) indicated that diverse types of tools available to Twitter users can be influenced by thematic and contextual factors. The study by Bruns and Stieglitz (2012) is an example of an analytical view of the inclusive metrics of the Twitter discussions from various contents.
Further, the studies on the uses of Twitter through the application of its API have emphasized on the isolated and critical events including political and crisis communications, popular culture as well as events such as sports (Bruns & Stieglitz, 2013). The studies also center on the applicability of the Twitter search stream API, which often provide a coordinated keywords with hashtag ‘#’ placed in front of the word (Bruns & Stieglitz, 2013).
However, such studies are deficient of standard metrics that can be used to relate message arrangements across the cases and events under the study (Bruns & Stieglitz, 2013). While addressing these problems of the API methodology in their study, Bruns and Stieglitz (2013) provided an index of extensively applied homogeneous metrics for scrutinizing Twitter-based communications with central focus on exchanges that emphasize a particular hashtag.
The researchers presented the importance of such indices in comparing communication patterns and the extent to which the use of such metrics can attain in comparing communication exchanges. While most Twitter studies emphasize on the detection of events through the application of algorithms that depends on keywords and the capacity of tweets on that particular events, an alternative analysis of tweets also occurs (Graves, McDonald & Goggins, 2014).
Graves et al. (2014) looked at the occurrence of alternative analysis through the use of low-volume data. Instead of using high-density tweets, the researchers analyzed low-volume tweets based on keywords though not linked to spikes in tweets-per-minute. The events Graves et al. (2014) studied are not readily detected by the current API event-detection algorithm, which depend on the tweet volume to drive the analytical engine. The study by Graves et al. (2014) demonstrated that there are various ways in which Twitter can be conceptualized through the application of theories integrated within the study.
Challenges and Limitations on the use of Twitter API
The applicability of API as a method of data collection has several limitations (Metzger, 2014). API is not only acting as a barrier in information gathering due to privacy precautions, but also in terms of the applicable tools (Metzger, 2014). Bruns and Stieglitz (2012) indicated that thematic and contextual factors influence the application of the tools available to the Twitter’s API users.
The limitations affect the academic researchers that wholly depend on tracking the current events and activities as well as thematic interests of large and representative samples of Twitter users (Bruns & Burgess, 2012). The use of the digital footprint in the data collection, analysis and storage also present various issues (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014). In other words, applying web-based tools combined with APIs platform is deficient in terms of generalization of data. Researchers have always resented on the generalization of data through the use of digital platforms.
Lomborg and Bechmann (2014) presented significant procedural deliberations of the prospects and problems linked to both qualitative and empirical social media studies through the application of the APIs. Generally, wide-ranging methodological issues should be taken into consideration while gathering and evaluating data through the application of the APIs.
Further, it is critical to examine the effects of legal and moral implications of empirical studies that apply APIs as a data collection method (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014). Issues related to generalization, reliability and validity of data collected through the use of APIs are often emerging. The use of content is also vcevolving as a critical legal and ethical issue while applying APIs as a data collection method in the empirical studies (Lomborg & Bechmann, 2014).
Moreover, the information available through API is partial unless one is a third-party API provider. The restrictions on the use of APIs affect the academic studies that wholly depend on tracking the current events and activities as well as thematic interests of large and representative samples of Twitter users (Bruns & Burgess, 2012). The applications of tools are also influenced by various factors including cost constraints, security and accessibility.
While information from Twitter can easily be obtained through APIs, the API as a data collection method has various challenges that must be observed. According to Kumar et al. (2013), the Twitter streaming API provides about 1% of the sampled Twitter data. As such, care should be taken while conducting studies from information collected from the streaming Twitter API.
Conclusion
The studies of events and human behaviors on Twitter through the application of APIs have taken various forms and procedures. The APIs enables social media researchers to have an easy access to data particularly from the social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook. In essence, APIs interface enables third-party users to attach novel add-ons to the prevailing services.
The APIs provides interface that allow researchers to gather more information off a particular social media services that can be used for quantitative or qualitative analysis. In this discussion, it has been shown that the research tool has been applied to study events that range from the crisis to business management on Twitter. However, the use of the tool has various deficiencies that should be considered while conducting the studies on the social network.
References
Bagley, C. A. (2012). Chapter 6 embracing Twitter as a research tool. Library and Information Science, 5, 131-147.
Boyd, D. & Crawford, K. (2012). Critical questions for big data. Information, Communication & Society, 15(5), 662-679.
Bruns, A. & Burgess, J. (2012). Researching news discussion on Twitter. Journalism Studies, 13(5-6), 801-814.
Bruns, A. & Stieglitz, S. (2012). Quantitative approaches to comparing communication patterns on Twitter. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 30(3-4), 160-185.
Bruns, A. & Stieglitz, S. (2013) Towards more systematic Twitter analysis: metrics for tweeting activities. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 16(2), 91-108.
Bruns, A., Highfield, T. & Burgess, J. (2013). The Arab Spring and its social media audiences: English and Arabic Twitter users and their networks. Queensland, Australia: ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology.
Graves, I., McDonald, N. & Goggins, S. P. (2014). Sifting signal from noise: A new perspective on the meaning of tweets about the “big game”. New Media & Society, 1(1), 1-20.
Humphreys, L. (2011). Who’s watching whom? A study of interactive technology and surveillance. Journal of Communication, 61, 575–595.
Humphreys, L., Gill, P. & Krishnamurthy, B. (2014). Twitter: a content analysis of personal information. Information, Communication & Society, 17(7), 843-857.
Kumar, S., Morstatter, F. & Liu. H. (2013). Twitter data analytics. New York, NY: Springer
Kwak, H., Lee, C., Park, H. & Moon, S. (2010). What is Twitter, a social network or a news media? World Wide Web Conference Committee, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Lomborg, S. & Bechmann, A. (2014). Using APIs for data collection on social media. The Information Society: An International Journal, 30(4), 256-265.
Marwick, A. E. (2012). The public domain: Social surveillance in everyday life. Surveillance and Society, 9(4), 378–393.
Metzger, M. (2014). Privacy, trust, and disclosure: Exploring barriers to electronic commerce. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 9(4), 335–361.
Misopoulos, F., Mitic, M., Kapoulas, A. & Karapiperis, C. (2014).Uncovering customer service experiences with Twitter: the case of airline industry. Management Decision, 52(4), 705-723.
Murthy, D. & Longwell, S. A. (2013). Twitter and disasters. Information, Communication & Society, 16(6), 837-855.
Naaman, M., Boase, J. & Lai, C. (2010). Is it really about me? Message content in social awareness streams. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University, School of Communication and Information.
Purohit, H., Hampton, A., Shalin, V. L., Sheth, A. P., Flach, J. & Bhatt, S. (2013). What kind of #conversation is Twitter? Mining #psycholinguistic cues for emergency coordination. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 2438–2447.
Shi, Z., Rui, H. & Whinston, A. B. (2014). Content sharing in a social broadcasting environment: evidence from Twitter. MIS Quarterly, 38(1), 123-142.
Yardi, S. & Boyd, D. (2010). Dynamic debates: an analysis of group polarization over time on Twitter. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society, 30(5), 316–327.
The case study provides a background discussion about Twitter, social networking sites. Twitter allows users to “tweet” a 140-character text to their followers. The company was established in 2006 as a stand-alone company by the Odeo Podcasting Company. The executives of Odeo saw Twitter as an alternative source of new revenues (Laudon and Laudon, 34).
The number of individual tweets is unknown. However, experts estimated that Twitter recorded 200,000 tweets per hour in 2009 during the much-publicized Iranian rebellion. In addition, experts observe that 10% of tweeter users generate 80% of the tweets on Twitter. On top of these, the Twitter churn rate is estimated to be 60%. This implies that only 40% of Twitter users use it for more than one month.
Twitter is used to connect people through social tweets. In addition, it is used as a celebrity platform and a free public relations tool. Just like the other giant social networks, these services are free of charge. Then, how does Twitter generate its revenues? The answer to this question is unknown. The case study identifies three assets Twitter can use to generate its revenues. These assets include eyeballs per day, tweets’ database, and news distribution platform.
The case study goes ahead to discuss how these assets can be monetized. First, it suggests that Twitter should charge for video and music downloads. This will require a user to pay subscription fees for such services. However, this option is not tenable because Twitter users are currently used to free services. Secondly, Twitter can sell display or text ads on individual tweets or charge advertisers for ad messages on individual tweets. Finally, Twitter can consider charging companies to use its big data database.
Twitters business model
The business model of Twitter can be characterized in several ways. First, the model allows users of its services to express themselves by creating content and sharing it with other users. Second, Twitter is a celebrity platform as well as a public relations tool. However, according to the case study, Twitter has not been able to generate revenue from these services.
Revenue models that can work
The advertising revenue model and the subscription revenue model would work for the Twitter Company. Through the advertising revenue model, Twitter can employ strategies to promote the use of its services to generate revenue. Advertising is a significant source of revenue, and hence should be adopted by Twitter. Through the subscription revenue model, Twitter will be assured of having constant and predictable subscribers for its service (Brynjolfsson and Kahin, 57).
Important assets
Twitter assets include eyeballs per day, tweet database, and news distribution platform. These assets can be monetized through subscription, ads charges, and data mining fees. A tweet can allow users to use it as a search engine (Shaw, 87). Second, it can promote “tweeting” by allowing users to get the latest news, views, or any current issue at a fee.
Impact of high churn rate on the potential advertising revenues of Twitter
The Twitter churn rate stands at 60% in a month. In most cases, people get bored when “tweeting” with friends. The churn rate is likely to have negative consequences on Twitter’s potential source of advertising revenues. This is because social media sites are poor advertising platforms. In addition, social sites are unreliable.
Works Cited
Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Brian Kahin. Understanding the digital economy: data, tools and research. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 2002. Print.
Laudon, Kenneth C., and Jane P. Laudon. Essentials of management information systems. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
Shaw, Michael. E-commerce and the Digital Economy. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe, 2006. Print.
Twitter is a social media company with the strategic goal to grow its user base, revenue base, and profits. The study aims to provide a strategic analysis and a set of strategic growth recommendations for the company to use to achieve its strategic growth and profitability objectives based on the case study. The core areas of study include a comprehensive understanding of the social media industry, the growth, and the competitive prospects that can be used to leverage the growth of the company.
Internal and external analysis
The social media industry
The social media industry consists of enterprise social media platforms that are used to create internal and external platforms for users to interact and collaborate with others by sharing information and other content. The social media industry has been experiencing exponential growth from 2004 to the present day. Investigations show that the growth of social media achieved a 1 million users’ mark by the end of 2004. By 2011 the industry had achieved a phenomenal growth of billions users and Facebook was the leading company with one billion users (Huberman, Romero & Wu, 2008).
Currently, the industry’s major players include Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and other smaller and merging companies. The latest statistical reports show that 72% of the people who use the internet are linked to one of the social media platforms and 89% of the users are between 18-29 years. Of the users between 30-49 years, 72% have internet usage, and 60% of the users that are 60 years and above are active users of social media. It has been established that 71% of people who use social media get access through the mobile phone.
Different social sites have different ratings on the market with Facebook taking the largest share of 24.0% and twitter 10.8% of the total market of the global shares it the media industry. Other social media networking sites with their respective sites are shown in the chart below.
A study of Twitter’s economic performance and strategic growth for the first six months of 2009 showed that it was a niche social network in many countries of the world. However,
Twitter’s strategic analysis show that the company’s the strengths could be employed to create the opportunities for growth to overcome the problem of the financial performance the company has been experiencing recently. In addition, different opportunities are available for the company to use to overcome the problems of decline in the financial performance and customer base. It is important also for the managers to determine the weaknesses inherent in the company structure to identify the best course of action to take to solve the problems, and the threats that can hinder the growth of the company. By conducting the SWOT analysis, it is possible to define the best strategic recommendation for the company to adopt and continue with its growth path to success (Leetaru, Wang, Cao, Padmanabhan & Shook, 2013).
Company overview
Twitter is a micro blogging company that allows users to share information consisting of short text messages with 140 characters. After the company was started in 2006, it has experienced an exponential growth of the customer and revenue base and by March 2012, the company had registered 450 million users and new registrations by new customers were increasing in each month to tweet and exchange messages. It has been estimated that more than 175 million tweets are exchanged on the platform each day and the number keeps rising.
The significant rise in the number of tweets per day makes the Twitter company one of the best platforms for social connections on the internet. Estimates show that 21% of the global internet population use Twitter as a platform for exchanging information and ideas. Studies show that “active users on the social network rose 23 percent to 284 million, the San Francisco-based company said in a statement today. That compared with 24 percent growth in the prior period. Sales more than doubled to $361.3 million, topping the $351 million average analyst projection compiled by Bloomberg” (Kwak, Lee, Park & Moon, 2010).
However, after the release of the initial IPOs in last November, 2013, there were serious concerns about the company’s growth as it was not growing as fast as expected. Investigations show that Twitter’s shares dropped by 12% making the stock to decline by 2.8 percent on 26 December the same year. The loss incurred in the third quarter widened by $175.5 million, or 29 cents a share against a projected loss of 29 cents.
Strategic analysis
To address the strategic need for the growth of the company, the study will use a SWOT analysis to comprehensively identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that Twitters is exposed to determine and recommend the best direction to take to address the decline in its revenue base and profitability.
Strengths
One of the tools used to conduct strategic analysis is the SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). An investigation of the initial years of the performance of the company shows that it followed a strong growth path based on the evidence from the case study. The successful growth of the company was because of the role of Evans Williams and other entrepreneurs who made the company to become one of the largest social networking sites in the social media industry in the world. The key strengths that made Twitter to grow exponentially since it was founded in 2006 were the unique characteristics of the firm that were defined by its technology platform that allows users to send and receive message instantly, provide easy to use features, and provide services for micro-blogging activities.
In addition to that, the platform allows users to send messages with 140 characters from cell phones and other third party website platforms (Rosenthal, Nakov, Ritter & Stoyanov, 2014). The platform allows users to access the website and to use open source software that allows other programs to be integrated into the application. Twitter allows different users to develop their sites using data from Twitter and studies show that the company has invested extensively in the development of databases, search stacks, and message handling technologies for use by people from different backgrounds (Bollen, Mao & Zeng, 2011).
A typical example is that Twitter handles 24 billion search queries per month, less than Google’s 88 billion searches per month and more than Yahoo’s 9.4 billion searches per month. It has also been established that Twitter, with over 500 million users, Twitter is one the most frequently visited sites with about 200 million registered users making over 500 million tweets per day with 75% of the users accessing the site from mobile phones or hand held devices.
Another unique feature that distinguishes Twitter from other platforms such as Facebook is that Twitter account holders are able to view comments that are in the public domain without the consent of those who posted the comments unlike Facebook that allows users to view comments when the owners have granted consent. Research shows that the company registered a strong increase in revenue for the six months of 2013 that doubled from the initial value to $253 million with 71% of the revenue coming from hand held devices.
Opportunities
Several opportunities exist for the company to use to address the many problems that have been experienced at the company to address the need for increasing the revenue base and for growth and profitability. One of them is to use the strategy that is based on the identification of existing and future growth opportunities for the company (Rosenthal, Nakov, Ritter & Stoyanov, 2014). One opportunity is to use the role model such as Skype. Despite the large audience and customer base that enjoy the services that are offered by the company, many of the features that are integrated into Twitter include internet phone services that are offered by other internet based companies including Skype (Bollen et al., 2011).
The critical nature of the internet’s free phone calling services can make the company to increase the customers’ base that use the Twitter platform for other communication services. In addition, it is possible for the company to lock-in a significant percentage of customers who use the services without shifting to other internet based companies to seek for similar services. The strategy can be tailored to offer free internet based phone services while charging for other services to increase the revenue base and profitability. It has been shown that businesses like to advertise on social media because of the real time delivery of messages to the intended audience and the possibilities of receiving real time responses from customers and other interested parties.
Strengths
The company has a great potential of reaching a wide audience that are technologically savvy and the services are available for small, medium, and large companies that are looking for recognition in the market place. The case study shows that it is possible for the company to use the small firms to reach out to different audiences and update them on emerging trends. In addition, it is possible for the management of companies that use Twitter to communicate ideas and update and their work force using Twitter as a platform to coordinate employees within the organisations (Cha, Haddadi, Benevenuto & Gummadi, 2010).
The platform provides real time communication for managers to execute their managerial roles because they are able to share exchange ideas and yet remain autonomous and not to be exposed to the public. An example of one area where Twitter demonstrated its usage and popularity was during the presidential campaign of 2008. It is evident from similar case studies that a large audience can be reached within minutes of posting an article on the Twitter. The effectiveness of the application has been demonstrated to be a crucial competitive element because it made the company to increase venture bases and capital that culminated in the success of 2013 financial performance.
A typical example was the investment was the 300 million dollars invested by the Saudi Prince that made the company achieve a value of 8.4 billion dollars of worth. From the technology point of view, Twitter has been enhanced on mobile phones and that enables anybody to tweet from the mobile phone without the need for a computer. In addition to that, the company has acquired several companies that are product based and that provide a wide range of products for customers to select from (Jansen, Zhang, Sobel & Chowdury, 2009).
Weaknesses
One of Twitter’s weaknesses is based on the business model that was adopted by the company. It has been established that Twitter’s business model makes it vulnerable to hacker’s activities for compromising user accounts. In addition, the company was not able to achieve its business model to create a million active account users as projected in its business model by 2013. In addition, another weakness is the business model of not being able to achieve its growth target because the model does not identify growth opportunities. In addition, the company uses a technology platform that allows users to generation a large volume of tweets without enabling them to re-send the tweets.
Threats
The current trends in the social media platforms is that many status are coming up with new and innovative features that provide better services delivery when compared with twitter. In addition, it has been established that the company provides duplicate or spam accounts and it has been adversely been mentioned in the market. In addition, the company suffered hacking where many accounts were comprised. A critical analysis of the company is that it has been involved in ever changing the management of the company that has made it worse in rankling on the retention of the management and skilled personnel (Bollen et al., 2011).
Growth Strategy
The company’s current and future growth strategy was founded on the entrepreneurial abilities of Williams and a group of other co-founders who created a platform that could provide users with an instantaneous communication platform to share information and other messages in real time. Real time communication is a critical tool that could provide a strategic advantage over competing firms such as Facebook.
The tool is a plus for the company as there were no companies offering such unique services on the internet (Bollen et al., 2011). Even Facebook was not offering unique real time messaging services suitable for real time sharing of information on different events that occurred anywhere in the world. However, the strategic growth did not focus on the reliability of the services that was a detriment on the trust people had on the platform because of regular server crashes (Russell, 2013).
Recommendations
Growth and Competitive prospects
To address the need for growth of the company and to formulate a competitive strategy, it is critical for the management to factor the competitive prospects of the company based on the need for effective restructuring of the company from the management perspective, the business model, and the technology platform to make the company able to compete with emerging and existing social media companies. Most of the social media companies today are leveraging on the weaknesses of the company to gain more customers and that is having adverse effects on growth and retention of the customer and the revenue bases of the company.
To address the issues for growth, it is crucial for the management to follow recommendations based on the strategic factor analysis that includes identification of strategic issues that the company should consider to leverage success based on the results of the SWOT analysis discussed earlier to increase the customer and revenue bases. One of the most crucial issues is for the company to create objectives that are consisted with the current and future needs of the growth of the company and that factor its products and services on offer that position it on where it is to determine its growth potential.
One of the advantages is that twitter provides a micro-blogging platform that enables users to post content, images, and comments quickly and that makes the technology platform to be a strong base for the company to consider for competitive advantage because most social media sites have not integrated the technology that enables real time communication into their technology infrastructure. In addition, micro-blogging platform could be used to attract smaller companies to sing up for users to receive updates that originate from Twitter. In addition, the company should consider the ability to provide the re-tweeting capabilities for the customers to increase the frequency of using other web sites to increase the popularity of Twitter as the source of the tweets.
Another competitive strategy that is based on the factor framework analysis is to integrate new functional features that are available and provided by other companies including Friendfeed that enables friends to send, receive, and import blogs into their accounts. Here, that could provide the features customers seek on other social media platforms to ‘lock-in’ the customers not to go elsewhere. That is consistent with the launch of the twitter access program two years ago to enhance micro blogging by tying twitter with other companies. In addition, the company should consider providing subsided services for the emerging markets that could spur high customer growth and increase in revenue. In addition, there is need to increase indirect user base estimated to be over 500 million.
References
Bollen, J., Mao, H., & Zeng, X. (2011). Twitter mood predicts the stock market. Journal of Computational Science, 2(1), 1-8.
Cha, M., Haddadi, H., Benevenuto, F., & Gummadi, P. K. (2010). Measuring User Influence in Twitter: The Million Follower Fallacy. ICWSM, 10 (1), 10-17.
Huberman, B. A., Romero, D. M., & Wu, F. (2008). Social networks that matter: Twitter under the microscope. arXiv preprint arXiv, 8(12).1045.
Jansen, B. J., Zhang, M., Sobel, K., & Chowdury, A. (2009). Twitter power: Tweets as electronic word of mouth. Journal of the American society for information science and technology, 60(11), 2169-2188.
Kwak, H., Lee, C., Park, H., & Moon, S. (2010, April). What is Twitter, a social network or a news media?. In Proceedings of the 19th international conference on World wide web, 1 (1), 591-600
Leetaru, K., Wang, S., Cao, G., Padmanabhan, A., & Shook, E. (2013). Mapping the global Twitter heartbeat: The geography of Twitter. First Monday, 18(5), 1-18
Rosenthal, S., Nakov, P., Ritter, A., & Stoyanov, V. (2014). Semeval-2014 task 9: Sentiment analysis in twitter. Proc. SemEval.1(1), 1-12
Russell, M. A. (2013). Mining the Social Web: Data Mining Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, GitHub, and More. ” O’Reilly Media, Inc.”.
A twitter is a social internet site, which allows users to send short text messages with a limit of 140 characters. The short messages are called tweets, and a twitter user seeks to have many followers as possible. Twitter users have been faced by many security problems, which is a threat to the Twitter trio.
Some of these problems are caused by links that are found on the twitter page. Some links directs users to unknown destinations. These links have commands for downloads which might destroy an individual’s or company’s data. More so, the links directs a user to malicious user’s sites. Some cookies are designed to be destructive because when it is saved on the hard disk it destroys useful information or data.
According to Ivey (2011), tweets written by users can also be searched using Google. This is a risk because the users feel that their tweets are being followed by investigators and hence they fear expressing their views in detail.
Hackers have been able to follow tweets from users, hence hacking passwords and interfering with private information, especially when it leads to a company’s sensitive information. Since anyone is able to follow and see what users are commenting, competitors have been able to follow up company’s secrets and at times even financial and investors information.
Since twitter users accounts enables them to follow other peoples accounts, hackers also create accounts and follows many users, hence the users follow them too without knowing whether the accounts are for malicious use. These malicious people enter the twitter network and seek to damage it as long as they follow thousands of the social network users.
As compared to other website accounts like Facebook, when you sign up an account, it is verified through the email address that a user has provided, but when you sign up a Twitter account, it does not verify the account through the email address that has been provided. This has enabled spammers to create some fraudulent networks and accounts on twitter.
It is recommended that personal information should not be added on Twitter because people can monitor user’s activities; there are cases where people have been robbed because of twitting their movements and activities, which led to buglers easily monitoring them. Despite the fact that a tweet is real time, destructive leaks of information about a company or an individual can travel all over the world in just seconds. This can damage a reputation which has been earned for years.
Shelly, Napier, and Rivers (2009) argue that Twitter unlike Facebook has many limitations because it allows a user to upload only one small picture. This is a major challenge to the three partners. Twitters interface is not friendly because when a user signs up for the first time, it is not easy to know what to do next.
As compared to other social networks, people struggle to have many followers and hence it creates some competition and it is sometimes not easy for a new user to get followers. It is advisable for a user to consider both advantages and disadvantages before signing up on twitter as a social network.
Data Privacy on the Internet and Threat to Privacy
Although the Internet has made communication easy with information and other activities meant for entertainment, security about the data storage use in the Internet has become a major concern because it is not easy to tell whether malicious people can access personal information.
Other issues are whether the websites visited are safe and how hackers can access a website data. The security threats are a major issue because many Internet users have been exposed to security threats. These threats may be instructions that are created by malicious persons and are designed to spread in the internet and cause damages to data on unprotected websites. Hackers access the systems through codes generated by programming operating systems (Laudon & Laudon, 2010).
Employers are now searching for information about the applicants on Twitter and other social networks without the applicant’s knowledge. Some are disqualified because of posting nude pictures and abusive messages on the social networks. There are cases where an employer rejected some applicant’s letters because they had posted discriminatory messages about racism. Data on social sites like Twitter and Facebook are difficult to delete, unless there is substantial privileges.
There is a time when the President of the United States Barrack Obama warned high school students about what they post on Facebook. The president believes that it is possible to access even deleted data on people’s accounts after many years. Many websites like PleaseRobMe has been developed to discourage those who access people’s private data, the hackers might fear that they are being tracked.
Data can be altered by malicious persons when being sent from one site to another. Viruses can also be a risk to private data because they can infect a computer. These viruses are passed on by storage devices such as flash disks which affect the networked computers. They are mostly programs which are created by people for destruction purposes.
Some have ability to replicate many times and clash the network system. These viruses include Trojan horse and spyware. Worms affects the performance of the computer and the system risks losing data. Some of these are meant to track a company’s data (Laudon & Laudon, 2010).
Data loss or privacy violation is either caused by human or machine error. The Internet has made communication easy in organizations whose branches are separated by geographical factors. With all the company’s information flowing from one computer to another through the Internet, secure transfer of data is an issue that has not been fully addressed.
Companies have failed to protect or monitor their data workflows and it has become susceptible to damage or illegal access. Internet users are also exposed to commercial advertisers when they give their personal information upon filling forms provided by some sites in the internet. The Internet technology has enabled advertisers to analyze and take peoples personal information. Users are usually not aware that their personal information is being accessed as well as unauthorized tracking of internet activities (Stair & Reynolds, 2008).
Website managers or operators are capable of storing information about people who have visited the website. There are instances where users are supposed to input their personal information to access the websites. The information is then stored in a database which keeps on recording those who have visited the website.
When the user’s information is profiled without the user’s knowledge, it raises privacy concerns. It is even worse if a company decides to profile employee’s health records on their website. When organizations fail to hide their unused data in a correct way, employees and other hackers may access its private information or it might be used in lawsuits. Moreover, shopping at the internet has raised a security concern since users fear that their personal information might be used in corrupt ways.
Twitters Legal Requirements
Twitter has failed in some of its legal requirements that govern its operations because some of organizations sensitive data such as investors and monetary data have been given away through tweets (Ivey, 2011). Organizations important information is being leaked through these online tweets.
Information such as patients details, which doctors keep on their computers or phones can be stolen and displayed on other social networks like Facebook or Google. Since these mobile phones or computers may not be encrypted, unauthorized persons can easily access data. Likewise, since Twitter is used around the globe, it has faced security privacy issues since each country has its own laws and the extent to which personal data is protected.
According to Twitter, children under the age of 13 are not allowed to have a Twitter account. However, Twitter has not been able to follow who uses its services, and hence children, even as young as 9 years, are on the social network, which exposes them to dreadful comments from Twitter users.
Additionally, Twitter has not been able to manage on who uses their network and it has violated laws that govern the creation of interactive sessions of celebrities where those who join the interactive session can obtain the celebrities private information without consent from the owner.
Data mining is a threat to users because Twitter stores personal information without authority from its users, although this has assisted the legal enforcers to get criminals by assessing behavior patterns in a given area.
Shelly, Napier, & Rivers (2009) suggest that this indicates that Twitter has not been able to secure personal information because they do not have systems that protect access to user’s data. Ford motor company is an example whose data was hacked. Its data contained customer’s information such as their account numbers, transactions details and address number.
How Customers/Users React to Twitter’s Proposal to Mine Its Clients’ Data
Ivey (2011) conforms that although data mining would increase Twitters revenue, customers would not want their data to be mined and especially those who would not like other users to access their private data. Some of the users would quit Twitter and create accounts in other social networks like Facebook, but it is not clear whether data is fully deleted when a user deactivates the account. Like in the case of Facebook, when a user deactivates his/her account, the data is still accessible.
However, some may be positive about data mining because some of the user’s main aim on Twitter is to read other users opinions, facts, and comments. The users can access and read other people’s feelings about a given topic, but some of the information might mislead them. Some users will also be able to read information about companies of their interest, especially when doing research.
Data mining will be to the advantage of companies or users who are doing business and are customer focused. It will enable them to know the goods mostly consumed by customers because they will be able to access transactional history.
According to Stair and Reynolds (2008), data is accessible since it is stored in classes of related groups; for example, in hotels, customer transaction data is recorded to identify the time that customers visit more and what they order most. When data is stored in clusters, it shows similar market sections. It can also be stored in a sequence to guides in customer’s behavior patterns. For example, Midwest grocery was able to study their customers buying patterns.
This company arrived to a conclusion that men came on Thursdays and some on Saturdays to buy diapers and they also bought beer. When the retailer found out those men bought diapers together with beer, they kept the bear close to the diapers on Thursdays and Saturdays. Data mining will also assist the users find financial organizations with loan and credit data. The financial institution can compare its customer’s qualities and assess the risks of loans granted (Laudon & Laudon, 2010).
Monetizing Twitter
According to the Twitter trio, both Microsoft and Google have many plans to monetize Twitter. They are planning to license Twitter’s real time search, and the company is hoping to make more money. Google and Microsoft will list billions of tweets, which are posted in monthly basis. Twitter should also come up with profile upgrades. These profiles will attract members who will also pay a fee for the upgrade, and Twitter and its marketers will get monetary gains.
Twitter should also increase the number of characters because its limit is 140 words and create more space for photos to attract more users. This is because many sport fans and other Twitter users are relying on the company’s services (Miller, 2010). Twitter should create more room for biographic data or seek assistance from Google since many users prefer amore friendly social site like Facebook, which allows a user to see friend’s photos and to upload many photos and store them on albums.
Ivey (2010) conforms that, just like Google and Yahoo, Twitter should seek to become a search engine. It will earn money when customers search for services and products. When, for example, a Twitter user posts a question about where to get a certain commodity, followers will reply while also informing others who might want to buy such commodities in future.
Twitter should also include tweets for job search, whereby the users are capable of posting their resumes. When users pay a fee to access the vacancies available and post resumes, it would earn Twitter more money. Similarly, employers looking for people to recruit should pay a fee to access the posted information from job seekers. It should also create and manage sites for outsourcing tasks where it creates jobs for online who may work in groups or as individuals.
Furthermore, Twitter should take advantage of getting people’s comments on a certain company; for example, performance and what the customers like or dislike. This will assist the company to get customers’ feedback about certain products and decide on improvements. The companies will be able to improve and change their products and services according to the customers needs and hence the companies should pay a fee to twitter for the service.
Likewise, Twitter should come up with an advertising strategy for companies. These companies may be charged on monthly basis or after 3 months. Individual users can also make money in Twitter by posting advertisements, especially when a user has many followers. A user can also search on advertisements and link them to followers who are interested in buying. Promotion is another way to make money where a user can promote upcoming products for a company to the followers.
Options That the Trio Have
The partners have an option to store user’s personal information, which will improve their competitive advantage. They want to come up with a big archive of user’s data. This will only be successful if they make sure that they have mined data with consent from users. Google and Microsoft has given permission to Twitter to post its tweets at the Google search, this will be easy for users searching for certain information. Users will benefit from real time messages and latest news.
Twitter attracts many users on the Google search. They have also come up with data mines that are likely to increase revenue on twitter because psychologists and other researchers will be able to get information, especially on behavior patterns of human beings. They will encourage people’s participation by not including their names, but only taking helpful information particularly for research purposes without including the names.
Twitter has also increased its income by making an agreement with Google and Microsoft to make it easy to search a blog service on the Internet. The company has been able to discuss with telecommunications sector to lower the costs and this will benefit twitter because it will increase its profitability (Ivey, 2011).
Twitter has another plan of archiving user’s information. Users have responded negatively, but the company has assured them safety of data. The users fear is that their tweets could be used against them. Twitter trio should come up with a plan to ensure that even if they archive the information, the government or any other party will not interfere with it because users might think that FBI is following them.
Microsoft has started Microsoft helps, which is a twitter tool that supports users through information on Windows 7. This real time information will be checked by Microsoft while also supporting customers. Using Twitter, customers are capable of accessing help online and in real time.
They will also be able to bring about issues or problems encountered when using Windows 7. However, there are privacy concerns for the trio because the crackers are out to destroy data, especially when mining. SalesForce is an example of a company that allowed businesses to access conversations on Twitter and take important information. If a customer has a question about computers, SalesForce informs computer companies about the client.
The partners, being highly supported by Google, are coming up with ways that will enable users to protect their personal data. Some users on Twitter are exposed to cookies, which direct them to unknown sites. Twitter users can no longer trust the company because it is not able to protect the users’ data.
Both Microsoft and Google are supporting Twitter in its real-time messaging. Users have confessed that they get many insights from other users since it involves sharing with different users around the globe. Twitter may provide information not found on Google because it involves asking more people and the network in real-time. Google has not been successful in creating interactive sessions like twitter. In case of any latest news such as plane crush, Twitter displays them in real time while Google may take some hours.
Both Google and Twitter are working together to improve on their business model. Twitter is a poor search engine; Google has decided to post its tweets since Google is poor on social matters, and hence it has considered having tweets so that users can see real time comments. Combining of the two features that mainly focuses on search micro-blogging and messaging services found in these social networks will increase their monetary value.
In essence, Twitter is turning out to be a place where users do business and it is increasingly growing in ecommerce because as users follow each other on their accounts, it is easy to promote products and services. It has been greatly favored because of its real-time characteristic, and this is a blessing to the Twitter trio.
References
Biskup, J. (2009). Security in Computer Systems, Challenges, Approaches and Solutions. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Ivey. (2011). Privacy Issues and Monetizing Twitter. London: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, 2011-04-15. 9B11E002.
Laudon, K.C., & Laudon, J.P. (2010). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (11th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
The growth of social networks has witnessed the entry of Twitter into the market. Twitter provides microblogging service, which enables its subscribers to receive and send short messages of less than 140 characters. The messages are popularly referred to as ‘tweets’ by bloggers. Twitter vies for subscribers with Facebook, Youtube, Myspace and Google +.
Key stakeholders in Twitter
Established in early 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter was launched four weeks later. Twitter rapidly appealed to more subscribers across the world, attracting 0.2 billion members barely five years after its launch. Although, tweeting is free of charge, when one enjoys the services through short message texts on the phone, telephony companies may be obliged to levy some charges on users.
Further, users may make subscriptions to fellow friends’ Internet feeds on the site, a process referred to as following and follower services for the message senders and recipients respectively.
How Twitter works
The site is of late handling the publication of more than 200 million posts and handling almost ten times the number of searches every day. Owing to the extraordinary tweeting services, many have referred to the company as the medium for conveying short message services. The firm that manages the online networking site is situated in San Francisco; however, some servers and property are based in other cities which include New York City, and San Antonio in the United States (Rogers, 2003).
Significance of Twitter
According to Ansari, Koenigsberg, and Stahl (2011), the huge acceptance of Twitter began in 2007, when its use recorded a massive upsurge in subscription and posts. Since then, Twitter has become more of an online Internet Relay Chat (IRC) for the hundreds of millions of users.
Generally, twitter messages can be viewed by anybody; nonetheless, senders can limit the scope of the ‘tweets’ to their friends only. Meanwhile, subscribers can send and receive Twitter messages on the company’s Internet site. This can be achieved through compatible devices that can enable access to the site such as Internet enabled cell phones or by short texts on the mobile phone in selected jurisdictions across the world (Hamill, & Gilbert, 2010).
Additionally, the subscribers can also notice their followers that are opting out on them. This development is more familiar to Tweeter users as ‘unfollowing,’ usually noticeable through various tools provided by the site. The site also allows subscribers to manipulate their individual accounts through profile updates. This service can be achieved through the cell phone either by sending short text messages or by software that can be downloaded on particular mobile phones.
Downsides of Twitter
Despite its successes, Ayoung et al (2011) believe Twitter sometimes experiences server failures, thus dispatches automated error notifications to subscribers. When the site experiences downsides or outage, subscribers are exposed to a notification message that reads ‘fail whale’ that implies the jammed traffic. In 2007, for example, the site had an estimated two percentage points of downtime. Notably, such problems were particularly manifest during major social occasions such as football matches or athletics.
Where Twitter is going
Gray, Parise, Salvatore, and Iyer (2011) suggest Twitter is set for better things, thanks to the rapid advancement of technology. In mid 2011, the company launched its own innovative technology that enables users to share photos. The service supports the taking of photos and their upload to accompany messages posted on the site. Subscribers, today, can enjoy the attachment of their preferred pictures to the site for followers to view and issue comments.
Further, the company also intends to launch a new service that will allow users to create photo albums for collecting all images that a subscriber has uploaded on the site. The conventional centralized system has been reported to impede the surging user demand, triggering the overuse of server and important loss of accessibility. However, the company is working on decentralization of the systems to improve the speed and efficiency of the ‘tweeting’ services.
Implications of the broad diffusion Twitter
The exposure of Twitter messages to all users unless restricted by the sender could injure the privacy of the subscribers (Hamill, & Gilbert, 2010). Moreover, the gathering of tweets by the company and their disclosure to third parties is also injurious to the user’s privacy. The sale of such user content if the company is sold to another party is also an indication the company’s readiness to benefit from beneficial user content, even without their consent.
References
Ansari, Asim, Koenigsberg, Oded, & Stahl, Florian. 2011. Modeling Multiple Relationships in Social Networks. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 48 (4): 713-728.
Ayoung et al. 2011. The Influence of Virtuality on Social Networks within and Across Work Groups: A Multilevel Approach. Journal of Management Information Systems, 28(1): 351-386.
Gray, Peter H., Parise, Salvatore, & Iyer, Bala. 2011. Innovation Impacts of Using Social Bookmarking Systems. MIS Quarterly, 35(3), 629-643.
Hamill, Lynne, & Gilbert, Nigel. 2010. Simulating Large Social Networks in Agent-Based Models: A Social Circle Model. Emergence: Complexity & Organization, 12(4), 78-94.
Rogers, M. Everett. 2003. Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
One of the most recent surveys by the U.S Department of State indicates that approximately 50% of the American population is actively involved in social networking. However, existing data is inconclusive on the extent to which social networking, especially twitter, has an influence on social perception (Ridout 2013, p.48).
This research therefore seeks to quantify the influence of Twitter as a perception driver by evaluating the use of Twitter as a source of information and sentiment. In particular, this research will focus on the 2012 U.S. presidential election campaigns and seek to explore the impact of the tweets disseminated by Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney Twitter accounts on their supporters and on swing voters (Ridout 2013, p.46).
It is hypothesized that Twitter played a major role in consolidating votes by underscoring the agenda of the candidates and this proposal therefore seeks to answer the following questions:
To what extent did Twitter influence the results of the 2012 presidential election?
Which presidential candidate benefited the most from using Twitter?
To what extent is the effect of Twitter to particular demographic such as age, gender, ethnicity, race and religion?
How far has Twitter as a campaign device penetrated society with regard message segmentation as compared to previous campaign years?
Topic Description
In America today two thirds of all social network users are now using twitter which is now not only limited to the youths but has also being adopted by older people as a social network tool. Recent statistics show that 35% of Americans who are 65 years old and above use twitter (Krugman 2009, p.212).
There is a change in the age bracket of Twitter users which was initially composed of individuals aged between age 30 and 40 but in the recent years, the population is now composed of young people in their 20’s and teens. It is true that the 2012 elections campaigns were greatly discussed on Twitter, however not everyone who is on Twitter is interested in political campaigns (Ridout 2013, p.51).
Most of them indulge in socializing with friends thus reducing the percentage of those engaging in political discourse via Twitter to 39%. Nonetheless, despite the low percentage of Twitter users who engage in politics, this group is able to indulge their friends who are not interested in politics into discussions and even argues their views increasing the total percentage to those interested in political talk by 16% (Giuliani 2007, p.20).
There has been a positive move towards effective use of Twitter as campaign handle but sadly 18% of Twitter users have dropped their accounts as a result of friends who tweet too much politics and/or do not agree with the users’ point of view. The research on the effects of Twitter as a campaign strategy has been put under observation since 2000 (Tocqueville 2000, p.95).
In the past years the use of internet to campaign was ignored and other channels like television and radio were prioritized but in the year 2008 there was a change. The candidate Barrack Obama wanted to reach out to the youth and this was achieved through the use of Twitter. Since then the internet has continued to be used as a fundamental campaign tool (Powell and Persico 2010, p.260).
Approaches
Qualitative and quantitative research will be applied to analyze the research data whereby the research data will be obtained from diverse sources that are concerned with different areas of study. The development process of the research will require the objective analysis of relevant data which will be support decision making process.
The data will require qualitative approval which will necessitate organizing the data and deriving cogent interpretation of the research in an articulate and structured configuration. The data will be sourced from both materials and online secondary sources from well-known authors and publishers.
Quantitative data will be attained through a survey with a 5 point Likert scale from -2 to +2.The survey will be presented to Twitter users who will be selected at random N=200. Questions such as “How often did you the 2012 presidential candidate on twitter”, “How far did the presidential candidates’ twitter sentiments influence your voting decision” will be presented and the answer rated on a 5 points scale of “very often, fairly often, once in a while, very few times and never” or “very high, high, average, low, very low”.
The scale will be reversed across questions in the survey to ensure the participants pay attention to the questions. Statistical software and regression models will then be utilized to evaluate the correlation between voting decisions and use of twitter.
If the correlation is positive whereby the correlation coefficient between variables and either progression and alignment variables is between 0.1 and 1, then we will be able to deduce that twitter has a positive influence on these variables. If the correlation is negative, we can affirm that twitter has a negative or non-existent influence on political decisions.
Annotated Bibliography
Giuliani, R 2007, Leadership, Miramax Books, Boston.
This book evaluates the values of good and effective leadership and all the available tools to make a leader effective. The book provides essential material for this research that illustrates the use of social network in leadership.
Krugman, P 2009, The Conscience of a Liberal, W. W. Norton, New York.
Written from an economic perspective this book evaluates the development of American society in a historical context. This book will be essential to this research by providing an economic point of view through which political alignment and social perceptions can be analyzed.
Powell, C and Persico, J 2010, My American Journey, Random House Publishing Group, Washington D.C.
This biography examines a person’s own experience on penetration of social media tool into the political sphere. It offers empirical data on the progression of internet based campaigns. The author provides useful information on recent political strategies that utilize social media as a key campaign platform.
Ridout, N 2013, New Directions in Media and Politics, Routledge, New York.
This book evaluates the impact of social media on the political sphere. It evaluates the influence of demography on political agenda through the internet. In this text, it provides information on how media and politics interact and creating a starting point for the research.
Tocqueville, D 2000, Democracy in America, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
This is a book that majors on praising the United States of America for the continued expansion of civil rights and democratic space. It is rated to be among the best books in U.S. and is useful to the research by offering insight into the expression of legal ideas through social media without fear of political ramifications.
