big data, small data and everything in between

1

Big Data, Small Data and Everything in Between

Weiai (Wayne) Xu, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher Department of Communication Studies Northeastern University

curiositybits.com

2

Big enough to be powerful, small enough to be personal.

BIG DATA

• Computational tools

SMALL DATA

• Contexts• Theories

3

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT

Xu. W.W, & Miao, F. (2015). Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0. Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia, 14(1), 23-43.

“Peeling the onion” to understand the Twitter community against internet censorship

Social network analysis

4

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT

Social network analysis

5

Dimension Themes # of Tweets # of Retweets

Technological

Reporting 172 3702Sentiment 54 146

Commentary 87 188Solution 273 7019

Mobilization 20 212

PoliticalSharing news 130 684Commentary 121 741Mobilization -- 69

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT

Content analysis

6

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT

Context analysis

7

DATA ANALYTICS FOR THEORETICAL INSIGHTS

actioncommunity

information

Social connectivity Issue involvement

Testing Opinion Leadership Theory on Twitter.

• Social connectivity and issue involvement predict retweets• Linking social media analytics to theoretical components

Xu, W.W., Sang, Y.M., Blasiola, S., & Park, H.W. (2014). Predicting opinion leaders in Twitter activism networks: The case of the Wisconsin recall election. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(10), 1278-93.

8

Investment Social Media Capital Return

Message-based investment

Connection-based investment

Network locations

Embedded resources

Word-of-mouth

Recognition

DATA ANALYTICS FOR THEORETICAL INSIGHTS

Data source: All Twitter-based community foundations in the U.S.

9

Variety of targeted stakeholders

Investment Social Media Capital

DATA ANALYTICS FOR THEORETICAL INSIGHTS

Return

# of targeted local stakeholders

# of targeted non-local stakeholders

Frequency of stakeholder-targeting

Message richness

# of tweets

the size of acquired stakeholder network

the influence of ties with acquired stakeholders

the strength of ties with acquired stakeholders

the variety of acquired stakeholders

Centrality

Retweets

Recognition

Growth in recognition

10

DATA ANALYTICS FOR THEORETICAL INSIGHTS

The evaluation stage in diffusions of (cultural) innovations

Semantic network Sentiments

Xu, W. W., Park, J. Y., & Park, H. W. (2015). The networked cultural diffusion of Korean Wave. Online Information Review, 39(1).

11

DATA ANALYTICS FOR THEORETICAL INSIGHTS

Xu, W. W., Park, J. Y., Park, Kim, J.Y., & Park, H. W. (in press). Networked cultural diffusion and creation on YouTube: An analysis of YouTube memes. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.

The trial stage in the diffusion of (cultural) innovations

Video genres in meme ecosystems

12

MOVING FORWARD

GO BIGGER AND DELVE DEEPER

• Use machine learning for mining public opinion and for tracking social movements: focus on connections, content and context

• Provide contextual insights to improve reality-mining algorithm