Rescatemineros: Global Media Events in the Microblogging Age

Abstract

Contemporary media events are experienced within the complex scenario of convergence media. Broadcasting channels and traditional mass media coexist with online digital news channels and with countless social media services. This paper describes how a global media event (the rescue operation of the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for 69 days between August and October 2010) can be observed through the communication occurred inside Twitter, the largest microblogging platform. The article proposes a data-driven methodology that, starting from a large data acquisition procedure, is used to investigate: a) what communication patterns emerged within the microblogging sites; and b) how relevant information is propagated through the microblogging network of users.

Keywords: Microblogging, social network analysis, Twitter, information propagation, media events