Networking in the Lone Star State:
Can Twitter Rescue Relationships Between Politicians and Citizens?
Rachel Kraft ()
Background: According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the number of adults who have profiles on social networking sites jumped from 8% in 2005 to 35% in 2008 and continues to grow at near breakneck speed. Twitter, a site that allows users to post messages of 140 characters or less, is the latest advancement in social media and has become a forum for sharing information, attracting a following of politicians and citizens alike. Some have called Twitter “out of step with political sensibility” and a waste of time, while others claim it is pairs the speed and brevity with depth and personalization.[1]
Research Questions: Accordingly, this project asks: Can the rise of social networking sites like Twitter change the way that politicians and the citizenry communicate? Or are they just a manifestation of superficiality and over-simplification in an increasingly technologically saavy world?
Research Design: My research this summer begins to address this question by chronicling the politicians who use Twitter in the Texas Legislature and the United States Congress, describing the messages posted by these politicians on the SNS and highlighting similarities and differences between Republicans and Democrats.
Findings: As of June 1, 2009, 17% of State Legislators in Texas have Twitter accounts (22% of State Senators have accounts; 16% or State Representatives do). Of these legislators, just under half are Republicans while just over half are Democrats. Each Texas politician has posted on average fifty-five tweets.
At the national level, 30% of U.S. Congresspersons have Twitter accounts. While the Texas state level data show that virtually the same number of Republicans (n=15) and Democrats (n=16) tweet, the number are far different at the federal level: 101 Republicans tweet while only 57 Democrats maintain pages.
Tweets by politicians largely fall into four categories: tweets that are related to policy or political information (68%), those that express an opinion concerning policy or political issues (15%), those that are personal and unrelated to politics (10%), and those that are interactive (7%).
Some disparities exist between Republican and Democrat tweeters. 7% of tweets by Republicans are personal, compared to 16% of those by Democrats. In Texas, 5% of Republican tweets are interactive while 9% of Democratic tweets are so. Notable also is the percentage of interactive tweets by Texas Democrats; only 1% of those by state-level Democrats are interactive while 13% of their national-level counterparts fall into this category.
Discussion: Citizens are increasingly cynical about politics and, with every election, decreasingly optimistic about the political process. When politicians are able to communicate about the issues that Congress of the state legislature find important and citizens are able to tell their representatives about their concerns, they may feel connected to the political system.
Although opinionated and information tweets are more common than personal posts, the amount of apolitical tweets may improve how citizens feel about their elected officials. However, Twitter’s potential to reinvent the political process may not be comprehensive. The site does not necessarily help citizens actively engage, and it is possible that those who follow and respond to politicians on the site are the same citizens who follow politics offline. The140-character limit may also severely simplify complex issues and mimic sound bite-style politics often portrayed on television news. The next phase of this research project will examine how the mainstream media and individuals view Twitter as a tool for citizens and politicians.
[1] http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1902604,00.html