Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Image Use In Social Network Communication: A Case Study Of Tweets On The Boston Marathon Bombing, Jungwon Yoon, Eunkyung Chung

School of Information Systems and Management Faculty Publications

Introduction. This study aimed to understand how images are used in communication practices in the Twitter environment. Method. 1,428 Boston marathon bombing related Twitter messages with embedded images were collected, and content analysis was conducted. Analysis. Characteristics of image use were examined and were analysed by type of Twitter messages. Results. People used diverse types of images in Twitter messages including: direct photos, captured images, computer graphics, and maps. Depending on the content of Twitter messages, uses of images were categorised into four types: 1) to illustrate news, information, and anecdotes, 2) to disseminate visual information that cannot be provided …