Sochi Olympics on Twitter: Topics, Geographical Landscape, and Temporal Dynamics

Abstract

A successful destination must be favorably positioned in the public mind. Mega-sporting events are an integral part of destination marketing because they attract worldwide visibility and publicity, provide a nucleus for a positively framed public discourse, and have the potential to improve attitudes toward countries and the destinations within them. This study investigates how the Sochi Olympics were portrayed on Twitter by hosts and guests. The study addresses the following questions: What is the geographic landscape of Twitter messages about the Sochi Olympics? What issues were the most salient before, during, and after the games? What are the temporal dynamics of issues concerning the Sochi Olympics? The chapter illustrates an analytical approach to extracting topical, spatial, and temporal information from Twitter messages.