Public Opinion on Twitter from a Political Elite Point of View. A Conceptualization, Empirical Exploration and Discussion of the (Dis)advantages of Alternative Approaches

Micro-blogs, and Twitter particularly, offer quick and easy-accessible daily information and allow political elites to monitor public opinion continuously and instantly. Indeed, politicians consider especially Twitter to be a ‘barometer’ of public opinion (cf. Jacobs & Spierings, 2016). This raises important new conceptual and methodological questions for researchers who want examine the impact of public opinion on the opinion of political elites. To understand this impact we need to know: (1) what Twitter data should be and can be used and (2) what the theoretical and practical advantages and limitations of these different types of Twitter data are. These are the research questions that are central to this paper. Our proposed paper consists of three parts. First, we conceptualize the notion of public opinion on Twitter from a political actor point of view. This includes pinpointing the different ways by which political actors (i.e. politicians and parties) can use Twitter to measure public opinion. Second, we will discuss whether and how different (measurements of) Twitter functionalities’ digital traces can be considered indicators of the politicians’ consumption of public opinion. Third, we will consider the practical implications, pitfalls and opportunities for practical empirical research on the topic by developing (and reflecting on) automated measurements of these different indicators. All of this will be illustrated by findings on the Netherlands, a country that is one of the front runners in Twitter usage. Jacobs, K. & N. Spierings (2016 – forthcoming). Social Media, Parties, and Political Inequalities. Palgrave Macmillan.