Twitter Diplomacy: Comparison of the Performance of the Chinese Ambassador Account in Tehran and the Persian Account of the US State Department in the Field of Networking

Abstract
With the spread of communication technologies in recent years and their growing influence on everyday life, social networks have grown to play a vital role, especially in public diplomacy and cyber diplomacy. Among these networks, Twitter has emerged as a pivotal platform, featuring its own unique set of dynamics and advantages as a public diplomacy tool. This study aims to evaluate the performance of two accounts on Twitter, namely, the Chinese Ambassador in Tehran and the Persian Account of the US State Department, toward the Islamic Republic of Iran, via two defined indicators, namely, network proximity and networking capacity. The research investigates these indicators to analyze and compare the accounts' engagement in interactions and networking on Twitter. The findings of this study demonstrate that in terms of the specified indicators, the account of the Chinese Ambassador in Tehran has outperformed the Persian Account of the US State Department.

Introduction

Recent advances and developments in communication technologies have facilitated the integration of social networks into daily life. The use of these platforms has grown extensively in the domain of public diplomacy and cyber diplomacy. Among others, Twitter has emerged as a significant platform for conducting public diplomacy. This study assesses and contrasts the effectiveness of two user accounts, namely, the Chinese Embassy's account in Tehran and the Persian Account of the US State Department regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Materials and Methods

For this research, relevant data regarding the chosen Twitter accounts were obtained and assessed via quantitative and qualitative methodology. The parameters used to analyze proximity to the horizontal network structure include tweets, retweets, mentions, and replies, generated by the Chinese Ambassador's account in Tehran and the Persian Account of the US State Department. Both user accounts were scrutinized for their retweet and reply activities, with the subsequent comparisons. In addition to contrasting the numbers of retweets from official governmental sources and responses to users, an effort was made to gain holistic insights by conducting a thorough exploration of the retweet sources and the recipients of responses. To probe the application of Twitter's networking capacity and user engagement, the retweets and mentions from the Chinese Ambassador's account in Tehran and the Persian Account of the US State Department were assessed and compared utilizing the obtained dataset. In this exploration, the retweet sources and mentioned users of the accounts were identified. If necessary, the content was perused to fathom the manner in which the user accounts employed the retweet and mention capabilities to advance their networking interests.

Discussion and Results

The conducted probes were dissected into two phases. The first phase focused on identifying and analyzing the sources used for retweeting, uncovering significant disparities between the two user accounts in terms of utilizing domestic and international sources. The second phase delved into examining the inclination of the accounts towards engaging in two-way communication with users by responding to their queries. In contrast to the U.S. Department of State's Persian Twitter account, the Chinese Ambassador's account in Tehran showed a more distinguished performance in leveraging this functionality, in terms of both the volume and quality of replies. The scope of utilizing Twitter's networking features was examined via an investigation of retweeting, replying, and mentioning practices. Regarding networking through retweeting, it was determined that the Chinese Ambassador's Twitter account in Tehran endeavored to leverage this feature for expanding relationships from in-person to online realms. In contrast, the US Department of State's Persian Twitter account, in this regard, occasionally engaged with opposition media outlets but refrained from creating an intimate network with this faction. Regarding the employment of replies and mentions for networking, the focal point of the research was on interaction with eminent Iranian elites and notable figures. The Chinese Ambassador's Twitter account in Tehran was found to have outdone the performance of the US Department of State's Persian Twitter account, with reference to both the volume and quality of such engagement, notably through utilizing the replies and mentions features.

Conclusions

Upon analyzing the findings, it was discerned that the US Department of State's Twitter account in Farsi exhibited lesser inclinations toward conservatism and vertical power expression compared to the Chinese Ambassador's account in Tehran. On the other hand, the ability of the Chinese Ambassador's Twitter account in Tehran to effectively utilize Twitter's networking capacities, especially through the mechanism of replies for fostering two-way communication, has been far superior to that of the US Department of State's Persian Twitter account. In short, the Chinese Ambassador's account in Tehran displayed superior performance in embracing Twitter's social networking capacity.