New York, Feb 25 (IANS) Can’t decide what type of tweet group you belong to? Researchers have an answer for you.
There are just six types of tweets so it won’t be difficult to find out which group you are in.
After scanning endless twitter conversations, University of Maryland researchers have classified the twitterverse into six categories.
So there is ‘Tight Crowd’ that only debates with those with similar viewpoints. Tweeters in the ‘Community Cluster’ discuss big global stories.
“This research provides a visual map of the twitterverse that would ultimately help others to better interpret the trends, topics and implications of these new communication technologies,” explained computer scientist Ben Shneiderman from University of Maryland.
‘Polarized Crowds’ often form around political topics and communicate very little with those holding opposing viewpoints while ‘Brand Clusters’ are formed around products and celebrities.
‘Broadcast Network’ is created by people re-tweeting commentary from pundits and breaking news and ‘Customer Service’ conversations revolve around a singular source.
The researchers used open-source software NodeXL to interpret the data.
NodeXL allows researchers to examine the interplay of tweets, retweets and the social networks of twitter users.
It can also be used to study Facebook, Flickr, email, scientific citations and other network structures.
The research could help improve understanding of everything from health to community safety, from business innovation to citizen science, and from civic engagement to sustainable energy programmes, said the study reported in Daily Mail.