presented at DGI Konferenz on 22 March - text at http://scr.bi/GY4nPR "L'uso dei social media nelle elezioni amministrative italiane" - testo all'indirizzo http://scr.bi/GY4nPR

1. Usage of social media in
Italian local election
campaigns
DGI 2012 - Düsseldorf
Agnese Vardanega - University of Teramo
!1

2. Italian local elections
Double ballo P reference system
t s
Civic Lists Single ballots
Single-member system
National parties Local leaders
!2

3. Electoral systems
Major towns Small towns Provinces
Mayor /
Double ballot Single ballot Double ballot
President
Majority - Majority -
Single candidate
Council Preference Preference
system
system system
Disjoint vote YES NO NO
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4. Different electoral systems and rules
• Coalition candidates / single party candidates
• Local / national alliances
• Lessened role of national parties
Diversification of web practices
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5. Web 2.0 and Electoral Campaigns
Institutions
Participation
Organisations
Social Actors
Inequalities
!5

6. Personalisation of Communication
• Personal characteristics of candidates
• Electoral systems
• Party size and internal organisation
(Party) Control over Communication
!6

7. Interactivity
Media Interaction
Human Interaction
Technology
Relationships
Interactivity does not imply actual
interaction, or real relationships
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8. Indicators
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9. Independent Variables
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10. Web Presence
Provincial
Provinces Other towns TOTAL
Capitals
% % % W% N % W%
Personal 52.5 45.8 17.7 6.1 209 33.2 9.3
45.7
34.4
32.7
31.8 78 37.3 35.8
Website Comments
(n. 48) (n. 11) (n. 19)
List / Party 22.9 15.3 20.4 18.4 130 20.7 18.6
Page 42.1 34.7 13.5 6.6 164 26.1 9.2
Facebook Account 37.7 37.5 30.2 17.2 212 33.7 18.7
Group 32.3 12.5 10.5 8.2 116 18.4 9.5
19.7 16.7 2.7 0.4 65 10.3 1.7
Twitter 63.6
91.7
88.9
64.0
47 72.3 68.3
Active
(n. 28) (n. 11) (n. 8)
Web Presence 91.5 81.9 59.3 38.8 461 73.3 42.6
TOTAL 223 72 332 — 629 100.0 —
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11. Social Interactivity
None Low
Medium High
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12. A Multiple Correspondence Analysis
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13. Associations (Test Values)
Factor 2
Factor 1
Factor 3
Geographical
Constituency Party Size
area
Website Personal 13.60 20.89 15.77
List / Party -11.39 5.59 0.30
No 1.08 -18.38 -10.48
Yes 12.61 20.60 14.00
Updated Website
No 6.08 3.12 10.14
Page 10.34 18.06 7.97
Facebook Account -3.93 10.58 10.51
No -3.23 -20.83 -14.28
Facebook group Yes 2.15 2.47 8.17
Yes 9.39 11.63 10.41
Twitter Inactive 5.21 3.12 3.29
No -10.73 -11.41 -10.49
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14. Associations (Test Values)
Social Factor 1
Factor 2
Factor 3
Interactivity Constituency Geographical area Party Size
0 -3.00 -21.43 -15.47
1 -7.16 6.01 7.24
2 2.84 11.37 8.28
3 11.13 16.47 7.47
4 6.68 9.46 4.41
5 7.69 7.41 4.72
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15. Summary
• Digital Divide between Centre-North and
South
• Electoral system
• Political relevance of the vote (constituency)
• Two patterns of web presence
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16. Thank you!
& thanks to lademocrazia.it team
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