Nederlandse politici op Twitter: wie, waarover, wanneer en met welk effect?

This article examines the use of Twitter by politicians during the 2010 Dutch election campaign. It examines which politicians used Twitter, which topics are being discussed and when politicians use Twitter. Furthermore, this article investigates to what extent posting tweets leads to more preferential votes. A content analysis of tweets posted by politicians was used to address our hypotheses and research questions. The results show that politicians post tweets about their private lives as well as the election campaign. We also found that politicians communicate in an interactive way with their audience. Finally, the results show the use of Twitter makes a difference. Politicians who used Twitter during the course of the campaign received more preferential votes than those who did not.