10.22.11 @ 12:40
(via How Twitter Tracks the Spread of Disease in Real Time)
“Unlike basic Internet search … Twitter seems to have introduced too much noise into the process: As opposed to search requests, which are generally motivated only by a desire to learn more about a given subject, too many Twitter conversations about swine flu seem to be motivated by desires to fit in, do what one’s friends do (i.e. tweet about it) or simply gain more popularity,” explained one NPR article. In a paper about the study published in April, the research team describes its results as “promising” for assessing not just disease activity, but also ancillary issues like treatment side effects or potential medication shortages. At the same time, they’re also realistic about Twitter’s limitations for tracking disease. Not everybody uses Twitter, and there are some places where the social media tool has very few users. Twitter activity is also not constant throughout the week, and the demographic of Twitter users is not representative of the general population.
1. “Data scientist” Is the New Community Manager
2. Data Management Will Become a Real Industry
3. The Floodgates Are Opening
4. Big Data Will Become a Regulated Industry
5. You’ll Be Sick of Hearing About Data (If You’re Not Already)
via Mashable
11.01.10 @ 07:17♥1
Can the general mood on Twitter provide a sense of how the stock market will perform? Science says yes! “An analysis of almost 10 million tweets from 2008 shows how they can be used to predict stock market movements up to 6 days in advance.” (via Using Twitter To Predict The Future - PSFK)
