Post-holiday Twitter catch-up: Embarrassing ad campaigns and more
Despite some recent hiccups with Twitter Inc.’s falling share prices, a lack of investor confidence in company CEO Dick Costolo, and a sudden drop in service for Android users, the 140-character micro-blog service is still going strong. Here are a few things you may have missed on Twitter over the holidays.
Tweets used to plan cities
A recent study published in Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence claims that data gathered from timestamps on geolocation-enabled tweets can assist in urban planning by providing an accurate, up-to-date representation of where people spend their time.
The study, conducted by siblings Vanessa and Enrique Frías-Martínez of Telefonica University and the University of Maryland respectively, used data from New York City, London, and Madrid to divide the cities into geographical regions based on “similar tweeting activity patterns.”
While city planners have little trouble determining the concentrations of where people will work and where they will live, they have a harder time anticipating sudden spikes in population density due to nightlife attractions, which this study seeks to address.
Twitter analytics shows users how popular they are – or aren’t
Twitter released a new feature for the iOS version of its app that gives users more data on how many people actually see their tweets.
Twitter released an analytics tool desktop version earlier this year, allowing users to measure tweet activity and engagement statistics, follower demographics and interests, and more.
The new iOS feature now allows users to view this information from the mobile app, and an Android version of the tool is planned for a later date.
Stop saying “Bae”
There are few things more embarrassing than a multinational corporation trying to sound young and hip, and a new Twitter account gained sudden popularity when it started calling them out on it.
@BrandsSayingBae posts screenshots of big name brands using the slang terms like “Bae” toward their customers.
Now this is good #branding and #social #engagement. It’s not just someone roleplaying as a sentient restaurant. pic.twitter.com/kWYMiXbIfM
— Brands Saying Bae (@BrandsSayingBae) December 29, 2014
Some of the brands’ tweets may be more satire than serious, but with tweets like Denny’s “~maybe buy a sundae for your fun bae~,” it can be hard to tell.
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