Data, Method, and Research Questions

Twitter was used to collected data for this research. The microblogging and social media network is home to “330 Million user and 145 million daily active users” (Oberlo, 2019). Twitter is also home to a plethora of Tiger King commentary data. I have performed a two-part data research process including both quantitative and qualitative research methods. First, I used a quantitative method to perform an advance search provided by Twitter’s platform to collect #FreeJoeExotic tweets over a 15-day period.  I gathered the first 10 tweets every other day starting from March 22, 2020 to April 6, 2020. Once this data was collected, I organized and coded it into like categories. Then I used a qualitative and rhetorical analysis to make conclusions based on the trends found throughout the discourse.

There is no evidence that this was the methodological best practice, however, there are some convincing elements to why I chose this method. First, I chose Twitter over other platforms because it is conveniently equipped with the advance search tool. This quality allowed me to search hashtags and specific dates that they were used. The time frame of my data selection covers the window from when #FreeJoeExotic was born through its apex and fall. Tiger King sat as Netflix’s #1 show for 15 days straight from March 22 to April 6; the days I collected data through. It important to recognize that the Most Popular List on Netflix feature was released on February 24, 2020 (Netflix). That is less than a month before the release of Tiger King. So, while Tiger King ran an intriguing streak, it is not all that significant considering the duration of the most popular feature.

Twitter Data searchs:

1. Starting from March 22, 2020 to March 23, 2020
2. Starting from March 24, 2020 to March 25, 2020
3. Starting from March 26, 2020 to March 27, 2020
4. Starting from March 28, 2020 to March 29, 2020
5. Starting from March 30, 2020 to March 31, 2020
6. Starting from April 1, 2020 to April 2, 2020
7. Starting from April 3, 2020 to April 4, 2020
8. Starting from April 5, 2020 to April 6, 2020

= Total of 80 tweets collected

Code Categories

1. Praising Joe Exotic: includes advocating for Joe Exotic, his release from prison, his brand i.e. G.W. Zoo, music, politics, etc.
   1. Total of 33 tweets
   1. 2 of which were extreme in the sense of comparing Joe Exotic to Jesus Christ
2. Rescuing Joe Exotic: includes actual plans to #FreeJoeExotic, “me on the way to free Joe Exotic” memes, and references to celebs freeing Joe Exotic
   1. Total of 9 tweets
3. Self-association Tiger King: includes fan pics with Joe Exotic, pics with tigers, dressing up as Tiger King characters, Oklahoma natives
   1. Total of 7 tweets  
4. Raging Joe Exotic: including negative connotation about Joe Exotic
   1. Total of 2 tweets
5. Raging Carol Baskin: includes negative connotation about Carol Baskin
   1. Total of 25 tweets
6. Advocating Animal Rights: includes commentary regarding advocacy for animal rights issues i.e. references to the tiger’s wellbeing
   1. Total of 2 tweets
7. Neutral: includes neither fully praising or raging
   1. Total of 2 tweets

As I have gathered more data, as you can see, I have added a few more categories: Rescuing Joe Exotic, Self-Associating with Tiger King, and Raging Joe Exotic. The most surprising data I came across were the detailed plans of recusing Joe Exotic from federal prison. One featured a step by step plan of how to rescue Joe and another featured a detailed map of how to get sneak him out. I will discuses this in more detail in my final product. Also, I was not expecting to come across the tweets that compared Joe Exotic to Jesus Christ. People actually took the time to Photoshop Joe’s face over an art piece of Jesus.

Research questions herein:

1. Why are people coping with chaos with a series about absolute chaos?
2. Why Tiger King out of all the series to be obsessed with?
3. Why is this the type of content that has viral spreadability?
4. Is it only spreading because FOMO?
5. How has Tiger King had a an effect on society based off how people are communicating on social media? 

Tiger King features several characters who walk the line between morality and legality, all of which cross the lines of both sides… and this is what people love about it. I am particularly interested to reveal why society is so supportive of this demonstration of complete chaos. Especially during these panic-filled times, it is quite interesting that we see people admiring a man who is in prison for murder for hire. This is so big that even our local news was encouraging viewers and colleagues to watch it. The magnitude of Tiger King’s virility doesn’t make much sense but neither does the toilet paper shortage.

I am hypothesizing that the consumption of absolute chaos dilutes the current state of chaos people are existing in. The wild rampage of praising and raging about Tiger King on social media is at least a means of distraction and connection. Its crime-filled-plot-twist nature offers excitement; something that these days seem to lack. The historical context of this trend is more important than most of my past research projects. As I move on to my literature review, I will consider looking into how society has coped with past historical tragedies on social media.