Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

Twitter to release all tweets for scientists: massive scientific tool, but also an ethical dilemma

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
May 27, 2014
in News, Technology

Five hundred million tweets are tweeted each day – with so many details about the location, interests and behaviors of users, the tweets are a trove of useful information for scientists who might be, for example, looking to find patterns in human behaviors, checking out risk factors for health conditions and track the spread of infectious diseases.

sss There are many potential uses to this information. By analyzing emotional cues in pregnant women, Microsoft researchers developed an algorithm that predicts those at risk for postpartum depression. The United States Geological Survey uses Twitter to track the location of earthquakes as people tweet about tremors. I could go on for days.

However, while all tweets are public, researchers wanting to access them have to do it through Twitter’s application programming interface, which currently only looks through 1 percent of the archive – drastically limiting the amount of available data. But all that is about to change.

Twitter announced that in February 2015, they will make all their tweets dating back to 2006 available for scientific research – with everything up for grabs, the usage of Twitter as a research tool will likely skyrocket. With so many data points to mine, it’s almost impossible to think of all the potential applications.

But this also raises some tough ethical questions: will Twitter claim any legal rights to any scientific findings? It seems somewhat understandable, and they could make a very strong case. But the most important question is: is it ethical to use the data of the people, without them giving consent? Again, on one hand, it’s very valuable data, and scientists could make good use of it, ultimately providing benefits to mankind. But on the other hand, maybe I just don’t want to reveal my data – I don’t feel comfortable with it. How could this be solved?

Caitlin Rivers and Bryan Lewis, computational epidemiologists at Virginia Tech, published guidelines for the ethical use of Twitter data in February. It seems like common sense, but I guess it needed to be written down. The gist of it is: never reveal personal information about users. Username, location, personal preference, whatever – that’s private, and you shouldn’t reveal personal information, just statistical information. Rivers and Lewis argue that it is crucial for scientists to consider and protect users’ privacy as Twitter-based research projects multiply. Well, as Spiderman said, with great data comes great responsibility! Or was that Snowden?

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Analysis reveals Donald Trump’s angry tweets are his own, moderate ones are from staff
  2. Morally outraged tweets spread better, but largely stay within ‘red’ and ‘blue’ bubbles
  3. Analysis of over 800 million tweets reveals how our thought patterns shift throughout the day
  4. What is the scientific method: our best tool for unlocking the secrets of the universe
  5. Astronaut tweets incredible pictures of Hurricane Florence heading for the US East Coast
Tags: data miningtwitter

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW