This map will guide the interview discussion, however, because the interviews are semi- structured, question order and wording may vary according to participant response. Questions will be similar to those provided.
Social media use
How often do you use social media? What social media do you use?
How did you first decide to sign up for a Twitter account?
I see your Twitter account was created on (give date). What can you tell me about how you’ve used your account since then?
Practice
I’d like to review Twitter use for this account with you. What part of the day do you first log on to Twitter? Where do you Tweet from (desktop, laptop, smartphone)?
What are your physical surroundings like most of the time you are tweeting (at work, at home, with others)?
Do you read your timeline first, or do you immediately begin posting tweets?
Can you walk me through your timeline from today and tell me about the tweets you posted? When you tweet, who do you see yourself tweeting for?
Tell me about some of the people you converse with on Twitter. Have you ever participated in a hash-tagged conversation?
What was the hashtag?
What was the topic of conversation? Who else participated in the conversation?
Network
Can you tell me a little about what encouraged you to follow: (name up to three accounts that the individual’s account has a reciprocal follower/following relationship with, allow
respondent to speak about each one).
How would you describe the relationship with you have with your followers? Have you ever met any of the people you’ve met on Twitter in real life?
How did you go about making a connection with these followers? How has your relationship changed since you’ve met?
How does your relationship with followers you previously knew offline differ from those you’ve met via Twitter?
What makes you re-tweet (RT) another person’s tweet(s)? (Give examples, ask respondent to explain)
What does it mean to you when you RT another person’s tweets and add your own comments?
Black Twitter
What comes to mind when someone mentions “Black Twitter”?
Does your reaction differ depending on the person or entity who mentions Black Twitter? For instance, if Black Twitter is mentioned on an online news site like CNN, is that different than it being mentioned on a site like TheRoot.com? When did you first become aware of something called Black Twitter?
How would you explain Black Twitter to a person who has never heard of it?
Who is a part of Black Twitter? Do you consider yourself a part of Black Twitter? Why or why not?
How does Black Twitter work?
How would a person who is not a part of Black Twitter know it when they see it? How does a person become a part of/participate in Black Twitter?
Tell me about some of the topics you’ve seen Black Twitter discuss.
What’s the last hashtagged conversation you remember being discussed by Black Twitter?
How did that conversation begin?
How would you say Black Twitter made the conversation its own (i.e., made the conversation different than what was trending that day or being reported in the news)?
What would you say is important to Black Twitter?
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