Politician vs. Celebrity

 Twitter is a platform that, by design, allows for generally more free expression than other social media platforms. It's content policies allow for more anonymity and less censorship than Facebook for example. Since the platform is built around the concept a feed of short messages, it also dictates how users can interact with it. Messages have to be as concise as possible to fit within the character limit of a single tweet. The addition of visual content (images or videos) can also help provide additional context to the message without adding additional text. In my experience, there are a couple of primary uses for Twitter that apply to both politicians and celebrities. These public figures are either using the platform for brand promotion or for connecting with fan communities or constituents on a more personal level, sometimes both. Traditional politicians running for major office or celebrities that are hyper brand conscious or more private utilize PR agencies with social media experts dedicated to crafting and posting content and limited follower engagement on behalf of the account. Hillary Clinton's Twitter account for example is combination of carefully curated content from her team and more personalized messages which she signs with her initials. By contrast, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes the more personal approach by default. Politicians generally seem to be more cautious about what they post and when they post it. With celebrities on the other hand, it seems more common that you will find the celebrity using the platform as a more freeform means to connect with their fanbase.