Hashtags and information virality in networked social movement

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the use of Twitter hashtag as a strategy to enhance the visibility and symbolic power of social movement-related information. It examined how characteristics of hashtag drove information virality during a networked social movement. Design/methodology/approach -Twitter data from two days during the Occupy Wall Street Movement in 2011 were collected. With network analysis, the authors identified popular hashtag types and examined hashtag co-occurrence patterns during the two contrasting movement days. It also provides a comparative analysis of how major types of viral hashtag may play different roles depending on different movement cycles. Findings -The authors found that the role of hashtag influencing information virality may vary based on the context of the tweets. For example, movement participants applied more strategic hashtag combinations during the unexpected event day to reach different social circles. Consistent patterns were identified in mobilizing influential actors such as public figures. Different use patterns of media outlet hashtag were found across the two days. Originality/value -Implications on how hashtag type and event dynamics may shape hashtag co-occurrence patterns were discussed.

What motivates users to hashtag on social media?

“…Organizing is the second motivation we identified from our data. Considering that the original purpose of hashtags is to structure and organize the content of posting (e.g., Wang et al, ), it is not surprising that organizing is one of the more common motivations for using hashtags. In addition to structuring the internal content of postings, this motivation encompasses the broader understanding of organizing one’s own social media participation, including showing and linking other related content areas and organizing own postings around topics (e.g., events and places).…”

“…The Twitter support page (2018) explains the features of hashtags in terms of the way they permit users to “index keywords or topics” of their own content and “to easily follow topics they are interested in.” Thus, Twitter recommends that people use the pound symbol “before a relevant keyword or phrase in their Tweet to categorize those tweets and help them show more easily in Twitter search.” This is because “[c]licking or tapping on a hashtagged word in any message shows you other tweets that include that hashtag”; in addition, hashtagged words can result in promoted topics, termed “trending topics.” Not surprisingly, using popular hashtags can increase postings’ reach (Wang et al, ) and allows users to identify postings related to topics of their interest (Jackson & Foucault Welles, ). These popular features of hashtags have triggered their wide adoption by many other popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and WeChat.…”

“…This is because "[c]licking or tapping on a hashtagged word in any message shows you other tweets that include that hashtag"; in addition, hashtagged words can result in promoted topics, termed "trending topics." Not surprisingly, using popular hashtags can increase postings' reach (Wang et al, 2016) and allows users to identify postings related to topics of their interest (Jackson & Foucault Welles, 2015). These popular features of hashtags have triggered their wide adoption by many other popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and WeChat.…”

“…Prior research confirms that hashtags are a popular element of social media communication. For example, hashtags have contributed to the development of publics (Jackson & Foucault Welles, ), to the spread of social and political movements (Gleason, ; Wang, Liu, & Gao, ), to public relations campaigns (Jackson & Foucault Welles, ), and to market research (Nam, Joshi, & Kannan, ).…”

Analysis of the Twitter Interactions during the Impeachment of Brazilian President

“…Visibility is crucial to achieving symbolic power, defined as "the capacity to intervene in the course of events and influence the actions of others by means of the production and transmission of symbolic forms" [13]. In [14] it was showed that self-organized movement participants used strategies to leverage social media to better diffuse their message and enhance their symbolic power by combining the use of different hashtags to reach distinct social circles.…”