What is Twitter being used for by German politicians? Can Twitter really bring the populace closer to the politicians? These are the central questions of the following paper. The key method in attempting to answer them is an analysis of the Twitter account of
Kristina Köhler, one of the most prominent German users of the online platform and the current federal Minister for families, senior citizens, women and the youth. The paper finds that increasing popularity of a politician decreases his activity on Twitter.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is Twitter?
3. Facts about Twitter
4. Twitter, Campaigns and Political Communication
5. Twitter and Political Campaigning in America
6. Twitter and Political Campaigning in Germany
7. Hypotheses about Twitter
8. Kristina Köhler
9. Methodology
10. Results
11. Conclusions
12. Graphs & Tables
Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines the actual usage of the micro-blogging platform Twitter by German politicians, investigating whether it fosters genuine political interaction or merely serves as a unidirectional communication tool. By comparing the Twitter activity of German politician Kristina Köhler—both as a backbencher and as a federal minister—the study aims to determine how political roles influence social media behavior and if this usage reflects the interactive potential often attributed to the medium.
- The relationship between the Internet, democracy, and political campaigning.
- Comparative analysis of Barack Obama's Twitter strategy versus German political usage.
- Evaluation of "backbencher" versus "ministerial" social media behavior.
- Validation of hypotheses regarding interactivity, frequency, and content of political tweets.
- Challenges of representative democracy in the age of digital mass communication.
Excerpt from the Book
Methodology
Until January 12th 2010 Kristina Köhler has posted 1152 tweets at Twitter.com. Due to this enormous number a complete analysis of every tweet becomes impossible. Therefore two samples shall be extracted from Köhler’s tweets with one having the function of a control sample as well as giving further insights about the usage of Twitter by German politicians. In order to achieve the latter one sample will be drawn from Köhler’s time as a regular parliamentarian - a “backbencher” and one sample will be drawn from Köhler’s time as a minister. A comparison of these two samples could give a hint at whether politicians alter their behavior on Twitter when public interest on them increases.
While a random sample would create the most reliable results, the workload in doing so would be too great of an effort of time for this paper. Therefore two arbitrary samples must be drawn. This paper will look at every tweet that Kristina Köhler has posted since she knows that she would become a federal minister (starting point: November 27th 2010, end point: January 12th 2009) Then this paper will look at the 30 tweets Köhler posted about three months before (starting point: September 19th 2009, end point: September 24th 2009). The hypotheses will be discussed as ordered above.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides an overview of the rising importance and controversy surrounding Twitter in German politics, setting the stage for an analysis of political communication.
What is Twitter?: Defines the technical and social characteristics of Twitter, including its constraints and the typology of its users.
Facts about Twitter: Examines growth statistics, user behavior, and the business model behind the platform during the observed period.
Twitter, Campaigns and Political Communication: Discusses the theoretical framework of the Internet's impact on democracy and integrates Twitter into a modern model of political communication.
Twitter and Political Campaigning in America: Analyzes the use of social media in the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign to establish best practices and real-world outcomes.
Twitter and Political Campaigning in Germany: Evaluates the German landscape, noting the limited but growing influence of social media on political campaigns.
Hypotheses about Twitter: Outlines specific predictions regarding how German politicians use Twitter, focusing on the lack of interactivity and the tendency toward monologues.
Kristina Köhler: Introduces the subject of the study and explores her political career and communication style.
Methodology: Describes the sampling process used to analyze 1152 tweets and compare behavior changes during different political roles.
Results: Presents the findings from the data analysis, showing how political importance correlates with reduced interactivity on social media.
Conclusions: Synthesizes the findings, reflecting on the current state of digital political communication and the necessity for further research.
Graphs & Tables: Provides the empirical data visualizations that support the conclusions drawn in the text.
Keywords
Twitter, German politics, Kristina Köhler, Political communication, Social media, Obama campaign, Micro-blogging, Web 2.0, Political participation, Interactivity, Digital democracy, Campaigning, Information source, Monologue, Empirical study.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper explores the role and actual usage of Twitter by German politicians, analyzing whether the platform effectively bridges the gap between voters and representatives.
What are the central themes?
Key themes include the impact of social media on democratic processes, the distinction between "Campaign 2.0" rhetoric and actual usage, and the evolution of political communication styles.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to test several hypotheses regarding whether German politicians use Twitter as a genuine interactive tool or primarily as a one-way broadcasting channel.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author uses a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Twitter account of Kristina Köhler, comparing tweet samples from her time as a backbencher versus her time as a minister.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers a theoretical conceptualization of Twitter, a review of the Obama 2008 campaign as a benchmark, an overview of the German political landscape, and the detailed case study of Kristina Köhler.
Which keywords define the work?
The paper is defined by terms such as digital democracy, political interactivity, micro-blogging, social media, and campaign communication.
How does the role of a politician affect their Twitter usage according to the results?
The results indicate that as a politician's public profile increases, their level of interaction with followers tends to decrease significantly, shifting towards a purely informative, top-down approach.
What is the author's conclusion regarding the potential of Twitter in German politics?
The author concludes that while Twitter holds potential for bottom-up communication, it is currently being used as a monologue platform, often lacking the strategic depth required to meaningfully engage voters.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Heiner Denk (Autor:in), 2010, Twitter and Political Communication, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/180704
