This is our first lecture on text analytics.
We'll discuss how can use data from Twitter
and turn them into knowledge.
Twitter is a social networking and communication
website founded in 2006.
Users share and send messages that
can be no longer than 140 characters long.
It is indeed one of the Top 10 most visited sites
on the internet.
It had an initial public offering in 2013,
and it's current valuation is about $31 billion.
Let's discuss the impact of Twitter.
Protesters around the world use Twitter.
It had an important impact on Arab Spring.
People also use it as a method of notification
for natural disasters and for tracking diseases.
Celebrities, politicians, and companies
connect with fans and customers using Twitter.
Everyone is watching.
To illustrate this last point, let
us discuss a tweet that was supposed
to be from the Associated Press.
The Associated Press is a major news agency
that distributes news stories to other news agencies.
In April 2013, someone tweeted this message
from the main AP verified Twitter account.
It said that two explosions in the White House and Barack
Obama is injured.
The S&P 500 stock index fell 1% in seconds,
but the White House rapidly clarified.
Many companies maintain online presences.
Managing public perception in an age of instant communication
is essential.
Reacting to changing sentiment, identifying offensive posts,
determining topics of interest are indeed crucial.
In this lecture, we'll see how we
can use analytics to address these questions.