State-of-the-Art of Social Media Analytics Research

Social media consists of the tools, techniques, and technologies that use the internet to facilitate communication in an open environment. Types of social media include social networking sites (Facebook), microblogs (Twitter), blogs (Blogspot), chat (AIM), open source mapping (Wikimapia), and photo and video sharing (Flikr, Picasa, YouTube). Current research in social media analytics tends to focus around three main domains: content analysis (popular topics, and sentiment/mood), group/network analysis (define users within a group, characterize how group members interact, and identify influential users), and prediction of real-world events or characteristics. Overviews of the most recent capabilities in each area are presented below. A brief explanation of “social media as a sensor” and challenges in future social media analytics research is included at the end.

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