Differences in “Raw Visibility” and “Expertise Visibility” on Twitter

• In Event: 1555 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 8. Toward a Sociology of Visibility

Abstract

An emerging literature in sociology and computational social sciences uses online visibility as a proxy for social status in digital communities. However, online visibility remains undertheorized. Using a sample of over 800 Twitter user accounts, we provide evidence that visibility measures operate in different ways. To better understand online status, we propose a theoretical distinction between “raw visibility” and “expertise related visibility.” “Raw visibility” refers to the number of people who follow a user or discuss their content. “Expertise related visibility” refers to attention generated because audiences’ active affirmation of a user’s value by placing them on a list. “Raw visibility” does not appear to be linked to a user’s race or gender. In contrast, the number of lists that include a user is associated with the user’s perceived race and gender, as measured by their profile image, name, username, and description. This finding suggests that the mechanisms that generate inequality offline are more likely to affect some measures of visibility than others.

Author

• Anne Groggel, North Central College