This document summarizes a research project analyzing the #detroitfuture community on Twitter. The research questions examine who is tweeting, what they are tweeting about, and how the community has evolved over time in relation to media trainings and program events. The methodology uses tools like IFTTT and Twitter archives to collect tweet data and Gephi network analysis software to visualize connections between participants over time and identify communities. Key findings show the importance of online and offline organization in allowing innovative questions and giving participants agency. Future research could include sentiment analysis and interactive network visualizations.

1. Georgia Bullen
Field Operations
Technologist
georgia@opentechinstitute.or
g
Participatory Social Impact
Research

2. Creating digital networks is mostly a social
process.

6. Video, Audio, Graphics, Web, IT/Networking

9. Documentation: Collection Methods
• If This Then That (IFTTT) http://ifttt.com
– Whenever “#detroitfuture” is tweeted  Update
Wordpress Blog w/tweet info
• Open Source Twitter Archive Tool
– Immortal nTwitter, nTwitter, CouchDB, NodeJS
– Javascript Library for listening on the Twitter API*
• https://github.com/horixon/immortal-ntwitter
• https://github.com/horixon/ntwitter
• http://couchdb.apache.org/
• http://nodejs.org/
*In Glossary

10. Research Question
Who is the “#detroitfuture” community?
How has it evolved over the course of the
program?
– When and how often were people tweeting?
• How does this relate to the media trainings and program
events?
– Who’s tweeting?
– What are they tweeting about?
– Who’s tweeting to whom?

11. What does the data look like?
• Username
• Tweet
• Retweets
• Date & Time
• Users Mentioned
• Lots and lots of metadata…

12. Looking at Tweets Over Time
• When and how often were people
tweeting?
• How does this relate to the media trainings
and program events?
• Counts of Tweets by Date -> Chart
• Information about events & trainings

14. #detroitfuture social network
• Who’s tweeting to whom?
• ParticipantA ParticipantB, Count of Tweets
• Gephi – http://gephi.org
– Network Visualization Software, Open Source,
Easy to use
– Calculate edge (links) and node (participant)
scores
– Run an analysis for communities within the
community

15. #detroitfuture oct 2012

16. #detroitfuture june 2013

18. Key Findings
• Online & Offline organization
• Allows us to ask Innovative questions
• Agency and authority for participants
• Evolution from training  issues

19. Future Research
• Natural Language Sentiment Analysis
• Add interactive time control into the
network visualization
• Demographics based on Twitter Bios

20. Challenges
• Have to teach how to use twitter first
• APIs/Webformats/etc – need assistance
with more technical skill sets
• Twitter API doesn’t get everything
• Keeping the community engaged in using
the hashtag
• Hashtag is public and can be usurped

21. Philadelphia – KEYSPOTS Program

22. Research Question
Did the partnership function well? What
was the impact of the BTOP funding on
the partnership organizations?
– Did the organizations involved collaborate with
each other?
– Did the organizations involved collaborate with
outside organizations?

23. Collaboration Weighting Model
Within Grant: 1
External to Grants: 2
Between Grants: 3

24. Analysis Methodology
• Data cleaning & Coding
– Clean for text matching
– Grant assignments and weighting
– OrganizationA OrganizationB, Weight of
Collaboration

26. Thank you!
Contact info:
Georgia Bullen
Email: georgia@opentechinstitute.org
Twitter: @georgiamoon

27. Glossary
• API – Application Programming Interface;
Basically a query tool for interacting with
web systems

28. Resources
• OTI: http://oti.newamerica.net
• Detroit Future Program: http://detroitfuture.org
• #detroitfuture on twitter:
http://twitter.com/search?q=%23detroitfuture&src=
hash
• Gephi: http://gephi.org
• VLOOKUP & Excel Functions:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-
help/vlookup-HP005209335.aspx
• Pivot Tables: http://office.microsoft.com/en-
us/excel-help/pivottable-reports-101-
HA001034632.aspx