ABSTRACT
The research design can be described as explorative, qualitative and longitudinal, aiming to identify development and emerging practices of social media strategies and user patterns practice in Norwegian politics. The analysis draws on two sets of data, research interviews with 29 Norwegian politicians conducted in the aftermath of the parliamentary election in 2009 and content analyses of Facebook and Twitter profiles of 35 Norwegian politicians during and after the local elections in 2011. The interview sample was non-random and included the two top candidates of each of the seven parties represented in parliament in the previous period in four different constituencies. The interviews were collected and analysed by employing a grounded theory approach (Corbin& Strauss 2008). The candidates were asked about how they conducted their election campaigns and their motives and experiences with social media during the preceding election campaign.
