Social Shaling of Twitter

In this thesis the use of Twitter by American and Dutch book publishers is analyzed. A total of 617 tweets posted by sixteen American and Dutch book publishers were subjected to a content analysis to find differences and similarities in the use of the service. After that, interviews were held with eight Dutch book publishers to explain the differences and similarities in the use of Twitter. The theory of social shaping of technologies was used to explain the differences in use in the two distinctive local contexts. American book publishers appeared to make a more diverse use of Twitter by combining participating and producing roles. The use of Twitter by Dutch publishers can mainly be considered as an act of producing. The different shaping of the use of Twitter in both contexts can be ascribed to the level of domestication of the technology in both societies.