The Project

The project undertakes an investigation into the dynamics of Twitter messages on Trending Topics. This is achieved by means of network and statistical analysis, on the one hand, and evolution and communication theories on the other hand. We have dedicated servers archiving, organizing and tabulating specific hashtags for this project.

A number of theories can explain hashtag replication because it encompasses a wide range of features. We are currently applying a set of network analysis to evaluate the role of social networks topology in TT emergence, and yet further hypothesis are being considered. We are also developing explanatory models to explain the rate variation within tweet replication in view of factors such as message fitness, hashtag structure, linguistic set and the external influence of mass media.

The first phase of this research project examines how specific replicated messages (retweets) in a given hashtag relate to the number of followers and followees of the users who tweeted them. These messages are culled from hashtags that reached the point of trending topics (TT) in Twitter.

Research supported by FAPESP scholarship number 10/06243-4