This document discusses how leveraging location data from GPS-enabled devices can help provide context for analyzing social media content. As more mobile phones and other devices gain GPS capabilities, location data can be used to filter social media by geographic location and time to add context. This additional context from location can help address issues with social media content lacking substance, authority, or being biased by identifying demographic trends in different areas. Aggregating social media by location can also help prioritize analysis and response when handling events. The document envisions a future where real-time data from billions of interconnected devices enables new types of contextual analysis and insights.

1. Leveraging Geo to Provide Context for Social Media

2. Of the 318 million mobile handsets
shipped in 2011 79.9% will be GPS enabled
iSuppli 2010

3. Jess3 2011

4. Meeker 2011

5. In Kenya the hottest selling new phone is
Huawei’s $80 GPS enabled Android phone,
which has already sold 350,000+ units
MIT 2011

6. By 2014 18% of laptops and 42% of
portable video games will be GPS enabled
iSuppli 2010

7. In the United States 72.2% of users accessed
social media sites and blogs through their
mobile devices – up 37% from 2010
ComScore 2011

8. Over 40% of content on Twitter came from
mobile devices in 2011
GigaOm 2011

9. Meeker 2011

10. Create new value by broadening and deepening our
analytic expertise. By providing deeper, contextual
analysis of places informed not only by the earth’s
physical features and imagery intelligence, but also
by “human geography.”
Director of the NGA, Leticia Long

12. Risk of Social Media
1. Social media content lacks substance
2. Social media content lacks authority
3. Social media content is biased
4. Social media location is fuzzy
5. Social media content can be spoofed

13. Social Media Substance

14. Social Media Authority

15. Social Media Bias

16. Social Media Spoofing

17. Can Location Help?

19. Location as a filter for substance and authority

20. Filter by the location and time of the event

22. Identify demographic bias by geography

27. Aggregate to DMA
Mobile Tweets
Geo-IP and Profile Tweets
Exact Location

29. Prioritize search grids by exposure and risk

30. Zoom into an area for tactical
response and coordination

31. Publish to mobile

32. Create field data

33. Real time updating

34. Data collected in the field
updates the map in real time

36. The NYC Marathon’s Human Sensor Network

40. Common thread to interconnect data

41. The Future
Real time data streaming from billions of
interconnected devices
Scalable Real Time Real Time Analysis &
Infrastructure Visualization Alerting
41