WHO TWEETS? TRACKING MICROBLOGGING USE IN THE 2010 SWEDISH ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Among the many so called microblogging services that allow their respective users to describe their current status in short posts, Twitter is probably among the most popular and well known. Since its launch in 2006, Twitter use has evolved and is increasingly used in a variety of contexts. One are of use is politics. Although many of the initial hopes for “e-democracy” appear to have gone unfulfilled, the successful employment of the Internet during the 2008 US presidential campaign has yet again raised voices claiming that the Internet, and particularly “social media” applications like Twitter, provides interesting opportunities for online campaigning and deliberation. This paper presents a study on Twitter use during the 2010 Swedish general election. The analysis is focused on identifying user types and how these high-end users make use of the Twitter service. By providing results regarding Twitter use before, during and after the height of the Swedish election campaign, this paper provides important insights into the practice of civic microblogging