NOTE: This post was written by Dylan Ashdown, Ana Figueiredo, Mia Riley, and Alyssa Pack.
Dylan Ashdown is a Dual MA student in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations pursuing a MA in Diplomacy and International Relations and a MA in Strategic Communications. Having graduated from the University of Central Missouri, he holds a BA in Political Science and a BA in International Studies, along with minors in Tourism Management, History, and German.
Ana Figueiredo is an MA student in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. She holds a BA in Business Administration from Fundação Educacional Dr. Raul Bauab in Brazil.
Mia Riley is an MA student in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations with specializations in International Organizations and International Economics and Development. She holds a BS in International Business and Business Administration from Rider University.
Alyssa Pack is an MA student in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations with specializations in Foreign Policy Analysis and Global Negotiation/Conflict Management. She holds a B.A. in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations, with minors in Economics and Italian.
Graduate students from Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations have concluded a study on Twitter usage by international organizations in collaboration with Professor Martin Edwards, Director of the Center for UN and Global Governance Studies.
Some international organizations use Twitter more frequently than others, and they also use Twitter in different ways. Based on “Twiplomacy” data from the global public relations and communications firm Burson-Marsteller, Dr. Edwards’ students aimed to understand these variations. Using a sample of 63 international organizations, the students conducted a statistical analysis correlating social media behavior with institutional attributes.
The evidence suggests that those international organizations that represent more countries, those with larger staffs and budgets, and those making decisions by weighted voting are all more active on Twitter. The statistical analysis also found that early adopters use Twitter more frequently, and it found little evidence that Twitter use is shaped by what peer international organizations do.
These findings bring with them a number of implications for how we address the digital divide in social media use by international organizations. They also suggest a need to focus further empirical study of international organizations on their differences in terms of resources as well as institutional design.
The full report is available for download at the link below:
Why Do International Governmental Organizations Tweet Differently?
For more information on the project, please contact Professor Martin Edwards at martin.edwards@shu.edu.