Mapping the Australian Networked Public Sphere
Journal
Social Science Computer Review
ISSN
0894-4393
ISSN-Digital
1552-8286
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2011-08
Author(s)
Bruns, Axel
;
Burgess, Jean
;
Highfield, Timothy J.
;
Kirchhoff, Lars
;
Nicolai, Thomas
Abstract
This article reports on a research program that has developed new methodologies for mapping the Australian blogosphere and tracking how information is disseminated across it. The authors improve on conventional web crawling methodologies in a number of significant ways: First, the authors track blogging activity as it occurs, by scraping new blog posts when such posts are announced through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. Second, the authors use custom-made tools that distinguish between the different types of content and thus allow us to analyze only the salient discursive content provided by bloggers. Finally, the authors are able to examine these better quality data using both link network mapping and textual analysis tools, to produce both cumulative longer term maps of interlinkages and themes, and specific shorter term snapshots of current activity that indicate current clusters of heavy interlinkage and highlight their key themes. In this article, the authors discuss findings from a yearlong observation of the Australian political blogosphere, suggesting that Australian political bloggers consistently address current affairs, but interpret them differently from mainstream news outlets. The article also discusses the next stage of the project, which extends this approach to an examination of other social networks used by Australians, including Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. This adaptation of our methodology moves away from narrow models of political communication, and toward an investigation of everyday and popular communication, providing a more inclusive and detailed picture of the Australian networked public sphere.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Publisher place
Thousand Oaks, CA
Volume
29
Number
3
Start page
277
End page
287
Pages
11
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
59449