How People Share Information about Food: Insights from Tweets Regarding two Italian Regions

Abstract

Sharing information about food through Twitter contributes to the evolution of food cultures, accelerating the exchange of information and knowledge about food. The aim of this study is to describe the type of information regarding food shared on Twitter and what kind of network is established between Twitter users in those cases when the #food in question is associated to a geographical area (#Tuscany or #Sicily). Using two different methodological approaches, combining quantitative tools with Network Analysis, the study highlights the fact that there are differences between the two networks surveyed, both with regard to the actors involved and to the way in which they share information on Twitter.