what makes politicians more authentic on twitter eun ju lee
TRANSCRIPT
WHAT MAKES POLITICIANS (LOOK) MORE AUTHENTIC ON TWITTER? EUN-JU LEESEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Background Twitter has become an indispensable component
in politicians’ media mix. Are politicians perceived to be more authentic on
Twitter (vs. TV, newspaper)? No gatekeeping, (perceived) spontaneity Social presence (i.e., the “as-if” feeling of direct
conversation with the mediated communicator) as a proxy measure of authenticity
What makes politicians’ Twitter communication more authentic? Personal/Personalized messages Blunders
Conditional Indirect Effects of Communication Channel
Summary Results of Structural Equation Modeling of Communication Channel Effects
What Makes Politicians’ Twitter Communication More Authentic? (I)
“The current district heat-ing system is in need of adjustment. A thorough reassessment of the sys-tem’s problems, including the excessive heating rates, will have to be made from the consumer’s perspective,”
“The toll of brutal crimes does not appear to be de-creasing. Installing closed-circuit televisions in school zones, playgrounds, and other crime-ridden districts will help to reas-sure the citizens of their safety.”
“Just this morning, I was un-pleasantly surprised upon opening this month’s heating bill. What lies behind the ex-cessive rates is the problem-atic district heating system. A thorough reassessment of the system should be made,”
“Because of the high number of brutal crimes, I no longer feel uncomfortable when a closed-circuit television catches my eye in public spa-ces. Instead, I feel reassured that I’m passing by a safe area.”
Depersonalized Tweets Personalized Tweets
When Personalized, Politician’s Tweets Led to…
better message recognition and retrieval higher social presence & the stronger il-
lusion of intimacy (PSI) among more affil-iative individuals
the lower vote intention among less affil-iative individuals
What Makes Politicians’ Twitter Communication More Authentic? (II) Intimate, personal self-disclosure vs.
work-related professional activities Gender stereotypes
Women lack leadership skills: Female can-didates’ intimate disclosure may backfire.
Male leaders’ competence is taken for granted: Personal self-disclosure as icing on the cake.
Recent data breaches are critical examples of why we must work on cybersecurity. #Cyber-security #DataBreach
Preventing child abuse is everyone’s respon-sibility. Visit http://GIO.FD/SlnHr1 and pledge to help stop abuse!
Happy 25th Anniversary! Thank you, Pat, for stay-ing by my side for all these years. #MarriageB-liss #FamilyLove
For a very good summer read, I recommend C. Douglas’ book “The Path.” I can deeply relate to the story in that… http://GIO.FD/SlnHr1
Impersonal Tweets Personal Tweets
Personal Messages • enhanced vote intention via more positive
candidate evaluation, but only for the male candidate
• were equally effective to induce perceived intimacy/personalness for both male and female politicians, but perceived intimacy improved candidate evaluation only for the male politician
• were better recalled, regardless of candi-date gender
Twitter Blunders: Politically Incorrect, but More Authentic?
Damaging to the speaker’s reputation May make people think Twitter is a space
wherein politicians reveal their true-self and betray what’s “really” on their mind
“Politics on Social Media: What Do Politicians Say on Twitter?”
Only general informa-tion about politicians’ Twitter usage patterns
How popular the medium is among politicians as a commu-nication tool
What are the most common subjects they post on Twitter
Several real-world in-stances of scandalous tweets
Improper words/insults against other politi-cians
“They are running a nomination ‘business.’ Park owns the party, but that b**ch is so haughty, she won’t even apologize for what happened…”
Control Condition Twitter Blunder Condition
Looking Forward… Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder! The medium is the message: Some of the times, for
some of the users Message matters: Some of the times, for some of the
users Lay theory about how certain media (should) function
Media appropriateness, normative images Predictor of media choice vs. moderator of the efficacy of
social media What contributes to the shaping of normative expectancy?
Replication over time: media platforms keep evolving! Cross-validation with field data: Behavioral traces of so-
cial media users (e.g., retweets, shares, Likes, com-ments)