Examining User Participation and Network Structure via an Analysis of a Twitter-Supported Conference Backchannel

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the scholarly community’s authentic use of Twitter at a professional conference, #ICIS2016, and to investigate how Twitter supports the conference learning community by examining users’ levels of participation in Twitter-enabled conference backchannels and the overall structure of this communication network. We also explored how individuals can better engage in the Twitter-based conference community via revealing the primary characteristics of the central users within the network and studying the significant factors that impact the central status of users. Through an in-depth social network analysis and statistical path analysis, our data revealed users’ varying levels of participation and a relatively low network density, which may suggest participants’ novelty of using Twitter as a conference backchannel. The data further indicated three types of central users: interaction initiator, opinion leader, and conversation bridge, as well as unveiling the relationships among several key variables impacting the central status of a user. Discussion and practical implications are provided.