Data Collection
Data was collected for ~14 days, April 12, 6:00pm through April 24, 1:30pm. Data was sampled using the Twitter Search API once every 15 minutes, 96 samples per day, 1156 total samples. Each sample requested the maximum number of tweets allowed for free which is 100 tweets. Some samples fell short of this maximum (see figure for Tweet Counts Per Sample). Tweet data was saved as text files in json format.
Time vs. Top Tweeters
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Numerous gaps are prominent which appear to narrow as we approach the top tweeters.
There were 13184 unique users. A prominent demarcation line can be observed where the follower counts appear to drop to zero. This line marks the top 9600th tweeter, approximately.
Time vs. Top Tweeters, Top 100 and Top 10 Tweet Color-Coded
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Legend
Time vs. Top Tweeters with UTC_Offset, User Created At, and 100 Most Frequently Retweeted Tweets
Download ANTz visualization of time vs. top tweeters with utc_offset, etc. for Windows Version 1.
Download ANTz visualization of time vs. top tweeters with utc_offset, etc. for Windows Version 2.
Tweet Counts Per Sample
Distinct User Names Per Sample
Follower Count Variation
Follower counts are typically greater for more frequent tweeters and also typically increase with time, thus leading to the appearance of growth towards a corner. Follower counts appear to drop to zero at a specific demarcation line just above center, at a value approximately for the 9600th top tweeter.
Decreases in follower counts occur far less frequently than increases.
User Daily Tweet Glyph for Top 4000 Tweeters
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What a Bot Might Look Like
The image below includes 8 glyphs which are identified by BotCheckMe as showing propaganda bot behavior. The gray color of the spokes indicates the user is not identifying with a specific time zone. The minimal number of tweet 'spokes' indicates tweets occur at specific times of the day. One glyph includes a green spoke corresponding to an original tweet but most tweets are retweets. Another glyph includes a blue tweet 'spoke' indicating that user has specified a time zone or utc_offset. That user account has been suspended.
