Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Yoonjae Nam (Doctoral student)Department of Communication, State University of New York at Buffalo

Yenn Lee, Ph.D. Department of Health & Social Care, Royal Holloway, University of London

Han Woo Park, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Department of Media and CommunicationWCU Webometrics Institute, YeungNam University, South Korea

Web Ecology of the 2010 Regional Elections

in South Korea

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

OutlinesWeb ecology

Inter-relationship among websites by the human activity of using the Internet in information ecology

Observing integration and changes of diverse information behavior during the campaign period of the 2010 regional elections in South Korea

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Web ecology

Public opinion & Campaign

Issues

Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Elections and Internet UsePoliticians use Internet because…

Large amounts of information /Updated quicklyOpportunity to set their own agenda

Multimedia, More interactive, & Less dependent on the journalist-controlled traditional media

Mobilizing voters, Encouraging donations, & Enabling immediate transactions and recruitment

Hyperlink systemAllowing users to generate content -Public participation

Interactive feedback functions, Discussion boards & SNSs.

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Web ecology and elections - 2Information ecology is “a science which

studies the laws governing the influence of information summary on the formation and functioning of bio-systems, including that of individuals, human communities and humanity in general and on the health and psychological, physical and social well-being of the human being; and which undertakes to develop methodologies to improve the information environment.” - Eryomin (1998)

Integration of diverse types of information

Recognition of evolutionary changeObservation and DescriptionFocus on people and information

behavior

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

RQsRQ1: Can web ecology provide a clearer

understanding of people’s information behavior during election campaigns?

RQ1a: Are there differences in the dynamic structure of the web ecology of various elections as a result of differences in the types of positions (e.g., mayor/educational superintendent), peoples’ interest in those positions, and other related issues?

RQ1b: How do people maintain the web ecology of political campaigns? producing and disseminating information by posting, tweetingReferring information –by hyperlinking

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Methods -1Hyperlinking co-occurrences (By Yahoo colink search)

Candidate A

Candidate B

User, Voter(Blog, SNS

etc.)

HyperlinkHyperlink

Hyperlinking co-occurrence

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Methods -2Name mentions

Web mentions of individual candidates’ names were collected from blogs, news articles & Twitter

Measuring the level of word-of-mouth communication in the three different spheres

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Result - 1

Time (from 24th May to 2nd June)

Mayors

Educational superintendents

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Results - 2

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Date Link(2010_M)N=44

Link(2010_E)N=69

24-May-10 3.77 0.03 25-May-10 3.82 0.04 26-May-10 3.86 0.04 27-May-10 3.77 0.11 28-May-10 3.62 0.15 30-May-10 3.87 0.63 31-May-10 3.92 0.92 01-Jun-10 4.03 1.24 02-Jun-10 4.10 1.36

Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Results - 3Mayors

○Grand National Party●Democratic Party△Independents■Participation Party◆Liberty Forward Party▲ New Progressive Party

Educational superintendents

▲Non-Seoul metropolitan Area●Seoul metropolitan Area

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Results - 5

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Web Ecology - 2011 ICA

Discussion Inter-relationships between people and the information

environment encompassing information strategies and information-seeking behaviors for politics

Web ecology can be influenced by not only its surroundings, but also by other adjacent web ecologies in a superordinate systemweb ecologies of both educational superintendent and mayoral

elections are sub-ecologies in a superstructure, which co-evolve interdependently.

Analysis of name mentions illustrate the relations between keystone species and their habitat in the web ecologySNSs would be a revolutionary tool for connecting politicians and

voters directly.The information retrieval methods tracing the trend of

information seeking behaviors do not require contacting voters individuallya complementary tool for polls.

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