All Politics Is Local? The Twitter Performance of Local Candidates in the 2013 Australian Federal ElectionAssoc. Prof. Axel Bruns

ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation

Queensland University of Technology

a.bruns@qut.edu.au – @snurb_dot_info – http://mappingonlinepublics.net/

BACKGROUND

• Research projects:– ARC Discovery: New Media and Public Communication (QUT)– NRC FRISAM: Impact of Social Media on Agenda-Setting in Election

Campaigns (QUT, UiO, UiB, Uppsala, CSU LB)– ATN-DAAD: Mapping Networked Politics (QUT, LMU)

• Study design:– Comparative study of Twitter usage during Australian, Norwegian,

German (and US) election– Tracking tweets from and at Twitter accounts of MPs and candidates

before, during, and after election campaigns– Additional analysis of follower networks, national Twitterspheres, social

media / mainstream media intersections, etc.

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS ON TWITTER

• Twitter in Australia:– Early adoption, ~2.8m accounts by late 2013– Significant use for political debate: #auspol, #ausvotes, political accounts

• Politics in Australia:– Three-year electoral period– Lower House MPs must win majority in local electorates– Senate voting considerably more complex; half of Senate replaced every three years– Considerable media focus on two major parties and their candidates for PM

• Timeline:– 2007: change of government (Coalition > Labor)– 2010: Labor PM Kevin Rudd replaced by Deputy PM Julia Gillard– 2010: Labor PM Gillard narrowly retains power in federal election– 2012/13: former PM Rudd challenges unpopular PM Gillard– 2013: Rudd returns as PM in June– 2013: change of government (Labor > Coalition)

AUSTRALIAN POLITICIANS ON TWITTER

(data to June 2013)

@TONYABBOTTMHR’S FAKE FOLLOWERS

(11/12 Aug. 2013)

@MENTIONS OF LEADERS (@REPLIES + RETWEETS)

TV debates

Abbott ‘sex appeal’ comments Labor campaign

‘launch’

RETWEETS OF LEADERS

@MENTIONS OF LEADERS

@MENTIONS OF PARTY CANDIDATES(@KRUDDMP AND @TONYABBOTTMHR REMOVED)

TWEETS BY LEADERS

TWEETS BY PARTY CANDIDATES

TWEETS BY LOCAL CANDIDATES

@MENTIONS OF LOCAL CANDIDATES

TWEETS BY SYDNEY CANDIDATES

@MENTIONS OF SYDNEY CANDIDATES

@MENTIONS (ELECTION DAY)

SOME OBSERVATIONS

• Politician activity:– Considerable tweeting activity by local candidates, though unevenly distributed– Labor and minor parties (esp. Greens) most active – Eastern states / urban centres more active

• User attention:– Overall focus on PM candidates and other frontbenchers– Some engagement with other local candidates, at lower volume– Generally more discussion about than engagement with candidates

• Further research:– Correlations with vote margins in each seat?– Impact of politicians’ responsiveness on user engagement?

http://mappingonlinepublics.net/@snurb_dot_info

@jeanburgess

@dpwoodford

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@tsadkowsky

@socialmediaQUT