This article is based on a comparative study of online campaigning and its effects by country and... more This article is based on a comparative study of online campaigning and its effects by country and over time, using four of the largest European Union member states (France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom) as a case study. Our research explores the extent of embeddedness of online campaigning, the strategic uses of the whole online environment and in particular the use of the interactive features associated with web.2.0 era. However, our research goes beyond studies of online campaigning as we also determine whether online campaigning across platforms matters in electoral terms. Our data support the normalization hypothesis which shows overall low levels of innovation but that the parties with the highest resources tend to develop online campaigns with the highest functionality. We find that there is a vote dividend for those parties which utilized web.2.0 features the most and so offered visitors to their web presence a more interactive experience.
In recent years there has been a rhetorical shift from 'deficit' to 'dialogue' and 'engagement' i... more In recent years there has been a rhetorical shift from 'deficit' to 'dialogue' and 'engagement' in discourse about science communication. The extent to which any rhetorical shift has translated into everyday communications practice is unclear. This exploratory study aims to develop insights into the ways that scientists use microblogging site Twitter for science communication. Users of social media determine to a considerable degree which communicative function their activity can realise, and how accessible it will be to non-scientists; therefore the importance of scientists' assumptions about the process they are involved in and the people they are communicating with cannot be underestimated. Science blogs were heralded for their potential to transform dialogue between science and society, yet studies suggest they have failed to do so. This study investigates reported practices and discourses of U.K and U.S. scientists on Twitter. The analysis employs a theoretical lens informed by Irwin's (2008) taxonomy of 'orders' of engagement and draws on the notion of 'imagined audiences'. I find some evidence of dialogue and engagement talk, however, reported practice does not reflect this talk. Scientists tweet by and large what they find interesting; despite the deficit-like approach of individual scientists, I conclude that given Twitter's unique characteristics, the effect of all this science tweeting does appear to offer the potential to break down barriers between scientists and non-scientists.
This article is based on a comparative study of online campaigning and its effects by country and... more This article is based on a comparative study of online campaigning and its effects by country and over time, using four of the largest European Union member states (France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom) as a case study. Our research explores the extent of embeddedness of online campaigning, the strategic uses of the whole online environment and in particular the use of the interactive features associated with web.2.0 era. However, our research goes beyond studies of online campaigning as we also determine whether online campaigning across platforms matters in electoral terms. Our data support the normalization hypothesis which shows overall low levels of innovation but that the parties with the highest resources tend to develop online campaigns with the highest functionality. We find that there is a vote dividend for those parties which utilized web.2.0 features the most and so offered visitors to their web presence a more interactive experience.
In recent years there has been a rhetorical shift from 'deficit' to 'dialogue' and 'engagement' i... more In recent years there has been a rhetorical shift from 'deficit' to 'dialogue' and 'engagement' in discourse about science communication. The extent to which any rhetorical shift has translated into everyday communications practice is unclear. This exploratory study aims to develop insights into the ways that scientists use microblogging site Twitter for science communication. Users of social media determine to a considerable degree which communicative function their activity can realise, and how accessible it will be to non-scientists; therefore the importance of scientists' assumptions about the process they are involved in and the people they are communicating with cannot be underestimated. Science blogs were heralded for their potential to transform dialogue between science and society, yet studies suggest they have failed to do so. This study investigates reported practices and discourses of U.K and U.S. scientists on Twitter. The analysis employs a theoretical lens informed by Irwin's (2008) taxonomy of 'orders' of engagement and draws on the notion of 'imagined audiences'. I find some evidence of dialogue and engagement talk, however, reported practice does not reflect this talk. Scientists tweet by and large what they find interesting; despite the deficit-like approach of individual scientists, I conclude that given Twitter's unique characteristics, the effect of all this science tweeting does appear to offer the potential to break down barriers between scientists and non-scientists.
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Papers by Alison Smith