Location and Hyperlink Analytics

Location Analytics is the practice of mining the location of people and their data, and visualizing the results with mapping. GPS embedded in our phones provide location-based services to consumers and provide data to location miners. Location analytics can be helpful in understanding cultural behaviors, aiding in localized weather alerts, and many other safety hazards.

Hyperlink Analytics

Hyperlink Analytics is the process of extracting, analyzing and interpreting hyperlinks to research internet traffic patterns. Historically, hyperlink analytics has been used to study university rankings, blogosphere interconnections, and scholarly websites. It is also now used to look at political networks and business competitiveness.

Location Analytics with Google Maps

For businesses, Google offers a robust set of mapping tools that is populated through location analytics and in turn, provide location data back to both Google and the companies who use their map platform. Here is an example map I created, using public data provided by Google, in order to help you understand how raw data translates to useful and valuable information for a maps user.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1IrvufB677RQ1Wdf_Gi_qyzpjQmnpJE7u&w=1000&h=480]

Play around with the map above. I live in Brattleboro, Vermont, so I decided to list my favorite places in Brattleboro, categorized by activity. If someone were to visit, these are the places I would recommend. This platform is pretty neat because not only can you pin locations, but you can draw lines hiking trails or create shapes.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1cRlge62whjRqZE2XIjihkU0X5AR9mRBX&w=640&h=480]

Here's another example using data points. This map shows the dates that sharks were spotted and maps out the beaches nearby. This can be useful for tracking migration and safety for beach visitors.

Hyperlink Analytics with Mentionmapp

You can use Mentionmapp.com to find business insights from Twitter networks. If you'd like to investigate a brand or a keyword of your choice, you can find out useful information by the examination of social media connections.

Since we're on Wordpress, I thought we'd look at their Twitter. This is Wordpress's Mentionmapp. Mentionmapp displays connections to user profiles and hashtags that been been mentioned by their central users.

Mentionmapp

This is Wordpress's Retweetmapp. This map shows who is retweeting/mentioning Wordpress. Retweetmapp displays connections to user profiles that have mentioned the central users.

Retweet mapp

Lastly, this is Wordpress's Retweetcloud. The Retweetcloud displays user profiles that have retweeted Wordpress. The users' colors are color-coded based on sentiment. Green for positive, red for negative, and beige for netural.

Retweet Cloud

Mentionmapp helps you visualize and explore social interactions and find out who is carrying the conversations online. You can find new hashtags and followers that you may have missed!

I hope that today's exercises help you understand location and hyperlink analytics just a little bit more!