Virtual campaign effects in the universe of social media: the behavior of voters on Twitter during 2010 Elections

Abstract

The proposal of this exploratory research is to discuss the relationship between social network sites (SNS)and the decision-making process, based on the assumptions of theories of voters’ behavior and Brundidge’s inadvertent exposure thesis, which provide a framework for understanding how people can be exposed topolitical information online. This study focuses on the use of Twitter during 2010 presidential race in Brazil, the country's first campaign with the use of social media. Through an empirical analysis based on a survey applied online, we seek to understand how Brazilian voters had access to political information, interacted with candidates on Twitter and felt about the use of social media during the campaign

Keywords

• Online Campaign
• Social Network Sites
• Voters’ Behavior