#IUseTwitterBecause: content analytic study of a trending topic in Twitter

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose a robust framework for assessing motivations to use Twitter. Drawing on previous studies, diffusion of innovations, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, and uses and gratifications frameworks were incorporated to capture the variety in Twitter gratifications. Design/methodology/approach - This study explored the motivations to use Twitter through data mining and content analysis of #IUseTwitterBecause trending topic in Turkey. The sample was consisted of 4,465 tweets posted by 3,794 unique Twitter persona. Findings - Findings revealed 13 distinct Twitter gratifications which were grouped under four main categories: content, process, social and technology. Process gratifications were found to be the strongest motives for using Twitter whereas content gratifications were the weakest. The current findings indicated that Turkish users engage with Twitter mostly for self-expression, escapism, and social interaction. Moreover, the study found a novel campaign gratification for using Twitter solely to make political or social agenda visible in the society. Originality/value - The current study extends the previous literature on motivations in using social networking services from both analytical and methodological perspectives. The naturally occurring data and relatively large sample size in this study provides a deeper look into social media gratifications and yields more generalizable findings. Besides, this study contributes to the alleviation of conceptual confusions among the past social media gratification studies.