Online opinion leaders in Latin America and the Middle East: the case of the Top 20 most-viewed twitter users

Authors

  • Elias Said-Hung Universidad del Norte, Colombia
  • Carlos Arcila-Calderón Universidad del Norte, Colombia

Keywords:

Opinion leader. Social Networks. Twitter. Social Relationships.

Abstract

This study aims to present the primary results of the project “The participation and social relationships of online opinion leaders on Twitter in Latin America and the Middle East” as part of the authors’ research. This study’s initial hypothesis is that despite the current rise in social networking, the communication flow model proposed by Klaus Jensen (2009) is only partially valid because these digital communication settings provide increased opportunities for the personalized exposure of messages from traditional (offline) opinion leaders rather than facilitating the emergence of new leadership at the social level. The results reveal that these users exhibit intensive Twitter use in both regions and a strong inclination to share information. However, we observed that most of their messages are personal and that fewer discuss the news. In comparison, users in Latin America achieve a greater impact on their networks than do users in the Middle East. The study concludes that the results support Kensen’s model but, as previous studies have confirmed, that new types of online opinion leaders are not actually being produced.

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Author Biographies

Elias Said-Hung, Universidad del Norte, Colombia

PhD in Technology, Structure and Information Treatment by Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Currently is a Researcher/Lecturer of the Department of Communication and Journalism of the Universidad del Norte, Colombia. Head of the Observatorio de Educación del Caribe Colombiano, Colombia.

Carlos Arcila-Calderón, Universidad del Norte, Colombia

PhD in Communications by Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Lecturer of Communication Theory at Universidad del Norte, Colombia.

Published

2014-01-08

How to Cite

Said-Hung, E., & Arcila-Calderón, C. (2014). Online opinion leaders in Latin America and the Middle East: the case of the Top 20 most-viewed twitter users. Informação &Amp; Sociedade, 23(3). Retrieved from https://periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/ies/article/view/17818

Issue

Section

Relatos de Pesquisa