«« older | newer »»

author photo

November 17, 2011

Simon Fodden

The Anatomy of a Tweet: Metadata on Twitter

On ReadWriteWeb there's an interesting map of the metadata that accompanies every one of your 140 character messages on Twitter, which I've reproduced below. (The map is the work of Raffi Krikorian. Click on the image to enlarge it.) There's nothing terribly shocking here, perhaps: much of this metadata can be learned from visiting the Twitter page of the person sending the message. Even so, it's sensible for those of us who are privacy conscious to be reminded from time to time that what seems to us to be a very minimal exposure to the unblinking glare of the internet carries with it a large amount of "body language," so to speak.

Click on image to enlarge.

[Here's the link to the same file as a PDF, so that you can enlarge it even more if you wish.]

These extras—this metadata—is of considerable interest to corporations that want to know which way the winds of commerce are blowing and how best to trim their sheets to capture them (and you) for profit. The ReadWriteWeb post talks about DataSift, a company that can consume the giant Twitter flow along with other gushings and extract information of an aggregate nature that might be useful to corporate clients. One imagines that governments, too, are mining this spate for purposes of their own.

Simon Fodden is the founder of Slaw. He taught law at Osgoode Hall Law School for more than 30 years before he retired to focus on writing, publishing, and IT and law.
[click on the author's name for more information]

Respond: make a comment | read the 2 comments

Share: Email | Save as PDF | Print | Bookmark & Share | Clip to Evernote | Reader later on Instapaper

More: in Technology: Internet | from

up

2 Comments on “The Anatomy of a Tweet: Metadata on Twitter”

  1. Steven J Fromm says:
    November 17, 2011 at 8:58 pm

    Wow! This is fairly scary stuff. Talk about too much information. Had no idea all this was available. Makes you want to think about commenting.

  2. IBBoard says:
    November 18, 2011 at 8:19 am

    What part of that is scary? Pretty much every single bit of that information is already publicly available via the Twitter website. The only bits I can see that might not be available through the web interface are your user ID# (which I've never seen, but which may be available somewhere) and your account creation date, plus some ancillary information (time zones and language). Things like location will only be included if you enable it on your account and on the app creating the tweet.

    Still, interesting to see how much data there is for app developers to play with. Surely someone has come up with some novel (and actually useful) uses for this information?

Make a comment:

Note that some comments may be moderated. If you have not had an approved comment here before, your comment will be held for approval. We are glad to publish comments that address issues raised in the post or other comments on it and that contribute to a fruitful discussion. We do not publish comments that seek to promote commercial products, that make personal attacks, or that seek personal legal advice.

Although we do not require it, we ask that in making a comment you use your full name. You must supply a valid email address, which will not appear with your comment.

 

SlawTips      

SlawTips Cash Flow Reports – Part 2
Thursday, May 24

This is the second in a series of ten tips dealing with cash flow reports and cash flow management. Gregory Nunn once said: “Never underestimate the value of cold cash.”… »»

Practice

SlawTips United Nations Documents
Wednesday, May 23

Today’s Tip: Monitor UN documents with RSS Since I last looked, the United Nations Documents site has a new look and feel. For what the site is trying to deliver, … »»

Research

SlawTips Updated Version of Great Social Media Guide for Lawyers Released
Wednesday, May 23

Last spring, Meritas’ Leadership Institute released a Social Media Guide for Lawyers. This helpful resource provided lawyers with an overview of the three main social media tools — LinkedIn, Faceb. […] »»

Technology

noted on Slaw    

MLB Selected Case Summaries    

These summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book.
More information.
  • Harkat, Re 2012 FCA 122

    Aliens - Exclusion and expulsion - Power to detain and deport - Minister’s certificate - Review - Evidence

    In 2002, Harkat was detained pursuant to a ministerial security certificate issued under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) as a person inadmissible to Canada on grounds ...

  • Girouard v. Druet 2012 NBCA 40

    Contracts - Formation of contract - Signing - Electronic signature

    The plaintiff expressed an interest in purchasing the defendant’s (vendor’s) condo. The parties agreed to carry on their discussions through e-mail. Following an exchange of e-mails, the plaintiff claimed that the defendant was contractually bound to ...

  • Donell et al. v. GJB Enterprises Inc. et al. 2012 BCCA 135

    Barristers and Solicitors - Relationship with client - Confidential communications - General

    The petitioner was a Receiver appointed in March 2009 by a California court over the assets of GJB Enterprises Inc. (a “Ponzi scheme”) and its principals, the Berkes (the GJB parties). The court ordered ...

  • Dish Network L.L.C. et al. v. Rex et al. 2012 BCCA 161

    Practice - Costs - Funding before judgment - When interim or advance costs available

    The plaintiffs were “direct to home” satellite based subscription program providers. Rex and other defendants offered “grey market” services to Canadian residents to facilitate the unauthorized reception in Canada of the plaintiffs’ ...

TalkLaw/ParLoi    

This is a listing of a few upcoming events in Canada of interest to lawyers, law students, legal librarians, and others involved in the practice of law.

Clicking on any event in the list below will give you access to more information and to links allowing you to see the full entry and to add the event to your own calendar.

Click this link for a fuller version of the TalkLaw/ParLoi calendar of events and for instructions as to how to add events and calendars to your own calendar.