News Science Quarterly (NS)

News Science Quarterly (NS)

The role and characteristics of Twitter influencers in the image of an organization (case study: Azad University)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD student of Communication Sciences, Research Sciences Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. E-mail:mohsen.finizadehbidgoli@srbiau.ac.ir
2 Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Epistemology, Research Sciences Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. E-mail:a.mozaffari@srbiau.ac.ir
3 Professor of Production Faculty of Broadcasting University, Iran. E-mail:khojasteh@iribu.ac.ir
4 Professor of Communication Sciences and Media Management, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.. E-mail: aafarhangi@ut.ac.ir
Abstract
Objective:The ever-increasing expansion and diversity of social networks, both in terms of the number of users and the expansion of its use in different dimensions, brought the world into a new era that completely changed the equations and structure of human life. On the one hand, human social interactions changed and human communication became more and more flexible. In the meantime, the influential users of social networks as one of the important elements in social networks have a greater contribution and effect on public opinion and the approach of users and people every day. The image that is formed from the data published by these users of an organization plays a significant role in the image of the entire organization in social networks and public opinion. . Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the characteristics and role of Persian Twitter influencers, especially the role of these users in the image of an organization, which has been investigated in the form of a case study of Islamic Azad University as a large and multifaceted organization.
Method: This research has analyzed the raw data of Twitter social network using data mining technique. In the first step, by extracting the top Twitter users in terms of the number of followers, I presented an initial picture of the political approach and... and in the second step, by focusing on public raw data, it was extracted from the Twitter social network of these users, and after refining the raw data into data Structured transformation and analysis was done on the data.
Findings: The findings of this research are based on the two components of the political approach and following the influencers. On the other hand, the content published by the same users about Azad University shows that the political portrayal and corruption of the university have the main contribution, and the contribution of student issues and problems such as tuition fees or scientific and research topics is insignificant.
Conclusion: What is clear from the study of influencers on social networks is its position and impact on public opinion and the general society, as well as paying attention to active platforms among Persian and Iranian users, such as Twitter, which can have a serious effect on the media sphere. If the country has one, it is possible to understand the importance of Twitter influencers in the current environment, which causes the accuracy of its specifications and details and their classification in the scientific opinion and research in indicators such as political approach or the number of followers. And also the field of activity drew more detailed findings of the level of influence and their role.
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