Personal Identity on Twitter by Jeff Manzione and Zoe Sagalow University of Maryland, HONR229F December 6, 2012

1. Personal
Identity on
by Jeff Manzione and Zoe Sagalow
HONR229F – December 6, 2012

2. How do people present themselves on
Twitter?
• People’s identities on Twitter can be different than in
real life.
• How are they different?
• Survey we conducted
• Example from real life

3. Anecdotal Survey
• 33 Twitter users
• Can only observe perceived identity
• So we asked about intentions to get an idea of projected
identity

4. Results
• Have you ever tried to be witty on Twitter?
• Have you ever checked a tweet for spelling or grammar?

5. Results (continued)
• Have you ever tried to sound professional on Twitter?
• Have you ever chosen against making a tweet because
you thought your peers might judge you?

6. Have you presented a persona on
Twitter or do you act exactly the same
as you do in real life?
Yes 8 24%
NO
No 25 76%
Yes

7. Arab Spring
• Started in Tunisia, spread throughout the Middle East
• Widespread use of Digital Media
• Twitter played a very important role

8. Mohamed Bouazizi
• Tunisian Street Vendor
• Government confiscated his wares.
• Bouazizi was slapped in the face and spat at by officers.
• The humiliation was the last straw.
• Self-Immolation

9. The Aftermath
• Was not publicized widely…
• Except on Twitter:
• Twitter allowed people to discuss this issue.

10. Retweeting
• Retweeted the original tweet.
• The message was clear and spread quickly.
Mentioning
• @ allowed people to communicate sentiment
publically.
• People shared how enraged they were:
• Twitter was uncensored
• Tunisian Government did not expect the collective rage

11. Hashtags
#ArabSpring #Tunisia #Algeria #Libya #Gaddafi #Egypt #Cairo
#Mubarak #Aug22 #Jan25 #censorship #Bahrain #Syria #GCC
#Feb14 #UK #P2 #TCOT #USA #Yemen #HumanRights #Kuwait
#UN #KSA #Saudi #Mena #Alwefaq #Assad #UAE #Lulu #F1
#Mar15 #BBC #Qatar #Tahrir #CNN
• Makes themes searchable.
• Message spreads faster and widely.

12. Identity
• Free to speak publicly on Twitter
• People were able to present their true feelings!
• Open Discussion:
• Others shared their feelings
• Increased confidence in identity

13. Reactions
• People take up arms
• Suicides spread

14. Reactions (Continued)
The Arab Spring was born.
(Source: The Globe and Mail, 2011)

15. Twitter Identity
• People’s identities on Twitter can be different than in
real life.

16. Thank you!