1. First, most of this is automated. If you know me at all, and how I like to work, if there’s a way to automate a part of a job, I’ll attempt to do that. In this case, I’ve automated the data collection process. I’ve created software that grabs key data points daily for a selected group of users. Right now it’s grabbing government accounts, but it could in reality grab any public Twitter account. (This will probably feed into a future research project similar to TheFacebookStudy – which I’ve been sitting on for a while, I know.)
2. Following my favorite ETL method, the automated kind, I pull the data into my big data machine, do some data cleansing (not changing, just cleaning up), and load it up for analysis.
3. From there, the sky’s the limits. I have some automated data functions that return the type of data you see in TWT: follower and friend changes, tweets analysis, etc. I can pull data for any date range, so the flexibility of comparing different areas is great. Also, Twitter users are in groups – which makes combining and comparing data points much easier.
4. Finally, I spend some time putting the data into the design you see published. I think the design can use a bit of work – there’s a lot of data there, and frankly I would like to put even more on there. I’m trying to figure out the best way to display a ton of data in a nice graphical format…that I can easily and quickly update on a weekly basis. That last part – regular updating, is key. The consistency you see online now makes it easy to read and follow from week to week.

That’s the short, behind-the-scenes look at The Weekly Tweet. As of this post I’m tracking the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and 2012 Presidential Candidates. Soon I’ll be adding the executive branch to the listings; probably in the next 2 weeks. I’m also trying to figure out a way to turn this information into a podcast as well. I’d prefer an audio podcast – but this much data much be tough to digest in an audio format. If anyone has suggestions – I’m all ears.

Researcher friends: any interest in doing some data mining and Twitter analysis? Precedent suggests I cover how college students use/don’t use Twitter.

Update: 8/6/2011: I am in the process of redesigning The Weekly Tweet and hope to relaunch it in the upcoming months. The new version will be an interactive version with more data and analysis.

• Moderators
• Professionals
• Participants
• Lurkers

Each of these roles has a function within the community; and I’d argue that every community (or website in general) has each of these roles.

Moderators: The moderator(s) is usually the founder of the site and the overall administrator of what’s happening online. The moderator is in charge of enforcing policies and ensuring the community stays true to its purpose. One of the main day-to-day responsibilities of a moderator is managing the spam and conflicts that occur within their community. Unwanted spam and inappropriate language can quickly spin an online community out of control; making the moderators job even more critical.

Professionals: Professionals are users within the community who take on a larger role, serving as an expert or qualified member. Professionals may be invited into the community or may evolve over time into the role (evolve from a participant).

Participants: Participants are the day-to-day community members who drive an online community forward. Some participants will be positive forces within the community while some will play a destructive role. Moderators benefit from positive participants in that they will help self-regulate the community. Participants may evolve into the professional role and are also involved in inviting new members to join the community.

Lurkers: Lurkers are “members” of the community who are non-active participants. Research suggests that over half the populations of online communities are comprised of lurkers. Lurkers in some communities feel like active participants, by reading and knowing the community trends. Some researchers suggest lurkers have a negative influence on communities; with lurkers present, participants might not be interested in sharing information to a population who, themselves, is not interested in sharing information.

When curating a community, it’s important to think of the participation and activity each of these roles play online. One must consider the type of community desired to be portrayed against the type of community online members are interested in. Communities moderate these roles with techniques like: requiring users to apply for membership, requiring a login before viewing/participating, and even by being an invite-only community.

Here are some recommended resources for more information about online communities: (Preece’s book is a must-read for those interested in the science behind online communities and the people behind them. Her theory of “purpose, people, and policies” is a great base for considering how to build a successful online community.)

Preece, J. (2000). Online communities. designing usability, supporting sociability. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, LTD.

Nonnecke, B., Preece, J., Andrews, D. & Voutour, R. (2004). Online lurkers tell why. New York, New York. August 2004

I’m now starting to get together a group of scholars who are interested in conducting a follow-up study next year (spring 2011) to see how the landscape has changed for students. I also plan on diving into a few more detailed issues to see what, if any, implications lie between Facebook and students. For example, I’m interested in diving a little into the impacts Facebook has on academic performance. The rough plan is to conduct research in March 2011 and analyze results in April/May.

If you’re interested in jumping on board, be it as an academic interested in analyzing information, a university administrator who would like his/her institution to participate, a statistician who likes to crunch massive data, or as someone who would like to provide feedback and assistance moving forward – please reach out to me and let me know how you’d like to assist. You can reach me at via the contact form on my website.

I’ll continue to update this blog with information on the study as we move forward (though no information that would impact the results). Mainly just status, progress, and after data collection is over, some initial results.

I’m a bit frustrated for two main reason:

1) This isn’t breaking news. I reported in my research 3 years ago about the relationship between Facebook and GPA. I would not say conclusively that prolonged usage of Facebook results in lower GPAs, just that a relationship exists there (same as the researcher said from Ohio State). As I suggested, more research needs to be done in this field. Now, perhaps that’s what Aryn Karpinski of Ohio State did, but I’m not sure – haven’t seen the full dissertation yet. I’m assuming the research was a bit more qualitative than mine was, but it sounds like Fox is taking this a bit far with their overly suggestive title. It’s more than complex than simple usage drives down GPA.

2) I’m just a bit stunned that it took 3 years from the publication of my research and the spike in Facebook traffic last fall to get the news to realize something is going on here. There are tons of things on social networks that are impacting college students (and society) that need to be examined. Yes, there is a relationship between lower GPAs and increased Facebook usage, but why didn’t you cover the relationship between students of color using Facebook as a medium to connect with people on a college campus – when they felt unable to connect in person? Or about the way it allows for non-heterosexuals to connect to other students on a college campus? These are just a few of the golden nuggets that lie in the usage of Facebook.

If you ask me from the perspective of a person with a master’s degree in counseling and student development, I’d rather have a student spend an extra hour on Facebook and feel connected to campus and suffer a few tenths of a point drop in GPA, then to have a student feel disconnected from their campus for a mere few tenths of a point. The goal of a college is to educate first, but that includes social education. Connecting students is critical to students feeling accepted and able to succeed.

If you want to really learn about students and their life online, check out what Kevin Guidry is doing. Now this is where colleges (and news agencies) need to focus — understanding the online world, how we can live within it, and how we can use it to enhance society.

We need more research – more data. If you have some, please share it! We need to educate society about social networks and the impacts they have on…well, the rest of society.

Aryn: I look forward to reading your work. I hope you would send me a copy once it’s completed. And if you’re interested, I’d love to share my data that I’ve collected and collaborate on some future research with you.

(Danah Boyd is another great researcher on the topic – please check her out and read her great work.)

Update 4/14@9:38a: I just discovered that USA Today (via CNET), Time, and MSNBC have all posted similar stories about the research. Time and USA Today seem to provide a bit more than the FOX story,  but MSNBC is using the same article that FOX used. Still more needs to be said than just the same story — let’s see the other research people! I know there’s some people in Indiana doing this research as well.

Cited in Publications

I’ve been cited in 3 published books that I’ve been alerted from Google Book Search. They are:

• Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World (Baron, 2008)
• Psychological Aspects of Cyberspace: Theory, Research, Applications (Barak, 2008)
• New Directions in Interpersonal Communication Research (Smith, 2009)

I’m very excited about these published works and am on the look for others citing my research. I’m assuming it’s starting to make it’s way into academic journals (something I wish I would’ve written it up for) and look forward to seeing academics add to the pool of social networking research.

Thesis Viewing Statistics

I’ve also recently noticed that K-State has begun publishing the statistics at the K-State Research Exchange (K-REx). K-REx allows students and faculty to submit research publications electronically as opposed to paying for the creation of mulitple print versions, binding fees, etc. Plus — it allows everyone with Internet access to read the research posted, without needing to be a student or have special access to the library collection.

K-REx has been keeping stats (from what I can tell) since July 2008. Since then, my thesis has had over 1200 views with an average of over 150 views a month. I’ve been the number one most viewed thesis for 6 of the 8 months (most recently beat out by faculty research on “Carcass disposal: A comprehensive review.” While I don’t have research interests in this area, it makes sense as Kansas is a very agricultural-based state and K-State has devoted many departs to studies surrounding argiculture.

Conclusion

I wanted to write this because, overall, I’m just flattered. I never really saw my thesis getting such traction. I claimed it was groundbreaking when I presented it and am delighted to see that it’s holding true. This is also a time when I need to reflect on bringing my research back to the front of my life and doing some follow-up on it and the progress/changes/status of where students (and society) are with social networks. I’m curious to learn more (as evident by my continued pursuit of advanced degrees) on the topic and would be interested in seeing how to take this research beyond groundbreaking and to the next academic/sociological/psychological level.

Recently I was interviewed by The McGill Daily of Montreal, Canada. Nikki Bozinoff published an article, “Anti-social site pokes fun at Facebook,” where she explored some of the reasons people don’t sign up for Facebook. I was happy to be put in the great ranks with Danah Boyd.

Update: 5.1.2007: I’ve removed a few other links and put them on my new personal blog which will focus on my personal life and random thoughts in the world. matthewvb.com will continue to be focused on technology and web developments.