Bots or journalists? News sharing on Twitter
-
Anders Olof Larsson
and
Moe Hallvard
Abstract
Online news sites have become an internet ‘staple’, but we know little of the forces driving the popularity of such sites in relation to what could be understood as the latest iteration of the web – social media services. This research in brief article discusses empirical results regarding the uses of Twitter for news sharing. Specifically, we present a comparative analysis of links emanating from the service at hand to a series of media outlets over a six-month period in two countries; Sweden and Norway. Focusing on linking practices among highly active Twitter accounts, we problematize the assumption that online communication involves two or more humans by directing attention to more or less automated ‘bot’ accounts. In sum, it is suggested that such automated accounts need to be dealt with more explicitly by researchers as well as practitioners interested in the popularity of online news as expressed through social media activity.
©2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Dimensions of diversity: Mapping the field of media and communication studies by combining cognitive and material dimensions
- Age differences in recall and liking of arousing television commercials
- Youth and intimate media cultures: Gender, sexuality, relationships, and desire as storytelling practices in social networking sites
- Advertising in social network sites – Investigating the social influence of user-generated content on online advertising effects
- Research in brief
- Bots or journalists? News sharing on Twitter
- Book Reviews
- Book Review
- Book Review
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Dimensions of diversity: Mapping the field of media and communication studies by combining cognitive and material dimensions
- Age differences in recall and liking of arousing television commercials
- Youth and intimate media cultures: Gender, sexuality, relationships, and desire as storytelling practices in social networking sites
- Advertising in social network sites – Investigating the social influence of user-generated content on online advertising effects
- Research in brief
- Bots or journalists? News sharing on Twitter
- Book Reviews
- Book Review
- Book Review
