PeopleBrowsr, a company that provides marketing analytics based on the full stream of data from Twitter called the firehose, is suing Twitter for access to that stream. While Twitter is closing down who has access to the firehose, it shows where the company is headed. Read more »
Topsy, one of only a handful of companies with access to Twitter’s entire data stream of information, is releasing Tuesday a pro analytics service that will give brands greater access to that information. Read more »
Researchers are busy trying to use Twitter to predict everything from disease outbreaks and financial markets to elections and even revolutions. New research from Topsy Labs shows that Twitter can provide a window into events like the Arab Spring. But can it predict what will happen? Read more »
Twitter is rolling out some new features for its search, including the ability to see tweets ranked by relevance, but the bad news is that there is still much more the company needs to offer if it is really going to do search properly. Read more »
The first quarter of 2011 saw plenty of competition between various web companies — and some heated tension, too. Content farms generated the most debate, with Demand Media’s IPO attracting attention and controversy and Google making a major change to its ranking algorithm. Facebook, meanwhile, maintained its heavyweight status online, but this time the social network’s impact was centered on social search, unified communications and comment systems. And Facebook’s ongoing dominance raised the question, Is there room for more than one social network? If niche networks like Quora and Color are any indication, the answer is “yes.” Additional companies mentioned in this report include Twitter, Groupon, Microsoft, LinkedIn and MySpace. To see the full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Could Facebook’s social search patent mean that it is building an alternative to Google? If so, the social media giant will have to set itself apart in a field already crowded with big players and some innovative upstarts. Read more »
Topsy says it now has the most comprehensive index of Twitter content available online, having recently indexed its 5 billionth tweet and its 2.5 billionth link from the network. The company has launched a new architecture that it says can handle up to 100 billion updates. Read more »
