This presentation is based on a study aimed at characterising the discourse of ‘ordinary citizens’ who become influential in Twitter. The study is motivated by two gaps in knowledge. Firstly, social network science research has shown that open web systems develop in ways whereby small groups of users (10% - 20%) attract inordinate levels of attention (Cha et al 2010). The discourse features of these influential users, however, remain largely unknown.
In analysing and modelling the Tuscany regional system of innovation “poles”, we first analysed the network of agents in which the poles were engaged in the three years of their start-up phase of activity. By examining systematically all available information on websites we then focused on two objectives: (i) to analyse the variety of language and content that characterize the poles in their online activities; (ii) to examine the extent poles refer to the same institutions, enterprises, organizations, projects, and among these, organizations / or activities directly related to them (such as the companies managing the poles laboratories, incubators, the adherents), what we can call their “virtual network”.
Abstract
In analysing and modelling the Tuscany regional system of innovation poles (www.poliinnovazione.unimore.it), we examine systematically available information on websites with two objectives: (i) to analyze the variety of language and content that characterize the poles in their online activities; (ii) examine the extent poles refer to the same institutions, enterprises, organizations, projects, and among these, organizations / or activities directly related to the (such as the companies managing the poles laboratories, incubators, the adherents ).