Shorter Version: http://slidesha.re/tO43c This is the full slide presentation I prepared for the Internet:Critical 2009 conference in Milwaukee. It is the translation into slides of a paper in which I use Victor Turner's model of the Rite of Passge to analyse both how users are initiated to Twitter and to describe the role of Twitter as a space of social innovation within society at large. You can dowload the draft paper from my blog: http://wp.me/peBnE-u4

1. Liminality and Communitas in Social Media: The Case of Twitter Jana Herwig, M.A. Dept. of Theatre, Film & Media Studies University of Vienna Email: [email_address] Twitter: @digiom Blog: digiom.wordpress.com

2. Point of Departure: Can anthropological concepts of ‘rites of passage’ help us understand early social media use?

3. Rite of Passage (Turner): 1 - Subject is stripped of its social status 2 - Subject goes through a transitional phase (liminality) marked by anti-structure, chaos and egalitarian relations between initiands (communitas) 3 - Reintegration with an elevated status

4. 0 friends 0 followers 0 updates Detachment from Social Status:

5. Chaos or confusion:

6. Usernames level hierarchies: pic by @mimimixer

7. Can these concepts also help us understand the role of social media in society?

10. How can these concepts be applied in the analysis of Twitter and Social Media in general?

12. Preview Pt. III: ‘Early Adopter’ vs ‘Mainstream user’ Activity

13. Sample 1: signed-up Oct’06 - Mar‘07 94% (15 out of 16) went on a hiatus of ≥ 28 days, 75% (12) did so in first 2 months Sample 2: signed-up Mar’09 - Jul‘09 9% (1 out of 11) stopped updating for ≥ 28 days (max. time on Twitter: 6 months)

14. Sample 1: signed-up Oct’06 - Mar‘07 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 12.5% women (2 of 16 active users, randomly identified) Sample 1: signed-up Oct’06 - Mar‘07 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 91% women (10 of 11 active users, randomly identified)

15. Part I. Interfaces 1. The Threshold Page

16. Log-in Sign-up

18. Sign-up? (how cynical…)

19. Log-in Sign-up Service Description Service Description

21. New HP: Caters to (potential) initiands AND non-users Service Description Service Description for non-members Service for non-members Log-in Sign-up

23. Part I. Interfaces 2. The Sign-up Procedure

24. 0 friends 0 followers 0 updates Detachment from Social Status:

25. Optional anonymity: Username check, but no real name check… yet (Project Verified Accounts)

29. Scenario I: People addressing each other by usernames in face-to-face situations pic by @mimimixer

30. Scenario II: People with social capital gained in other social spheres maintain their status Example 1: With its more than 2 million followers, the account @oprah receives several replies in an hour, and has replied six times in its first seven months – only once to a non-celebrity.

31. Scenario II: People with social capital gained in other social spheres maintain their status Example 2: Although the informal ‘Du’ is typically used between German-speaking Twitter users, the account of Austrian TV-anchor @ArminWolf is mostly addressed with the formal ‘Sie’.

32. Part II. Users 1. Activity Patterns

33. Sample 1: signed-up Oct’06 - Mar‘07 94% (15 out of 16) went on a hiatus of ≥ 28 days, 75% (12) did so in first 2 months Sample 2: signed-up Mar’09 - Jul‘09 9% (1 out of 11) stopped updating for ≥ 28 days (max. time on Twitter: 6 months)

35. User A

36. User D

37. User G

38. User K

39. User L The used visualization tool tweetstats.com starts with the first update; User L wrote the first update 600 days after signing-up.

40. User O (‘Lead User’) Video with all activity patterns in sample 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhPdQaZ_Wu4

41. Part II. Users 2. Contexts in which Twitter use emerges

47. Part II. Users 3. Early Twitter Experience, or: Making Twitter into a social medium

51. Part III. Social Media Services 1. Social Mechanisms on Twitter: ‘Early Adopters’ vs ‘Mainstream Phase Users’

57. Part III. Social Media Services 2. Gendered Twitter-Phases?

59. Sample 1: signed-up Oct’06 - Mar‘07 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 12.5% women (2 of 16 active users, randomly identified) Sample 1: signed-up Oct’06 - Mar‘07 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 91% women (10 of 11 active users, randomly identified)

61. Conclusion: Anthropological concepts of ‘rites of passage’ help us understand several aspects social media use:

63. Questions or Feedback? Send an email to [email_address] or, preferably, post a comment on my blog. You can also download the draft paper (with comment and annotations) from there: http://digiom.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/coming-to-grips-with-twitter-200607-vs-2009 Short link: http://wp.me/peBnE-u4