Relationships Among Twitter Conversation Networks, Language Use, and Congressional Voting

As Twitter becomes a more common means for officials to communicate with their constituents,
it becomes more important that we understand just how that communication relates to other
political activities. Using data from 411 members of Congress’ Twitter activity during the
summer of 2011, we examine relationships among the resulting conversation networks, language
use, and political behavior. The social networks that result from their communications have
surprisingly low density and high diameter, indicating a level of independence that is surprising
for a group so tightly connected offline. Our findings also indicate that officials frequently use
Twitter to advertise their political positions and to provide information but rarely to request
political action from their constituents or to recognize the good work of others. Our analysis
suggests strong relationships between anti-social behaviors indicated by the loosely connected
network and low incidence of pro-social conversations and polarized or extreme Congressional
voting records.