Search Twitter Users
Collin Dever & Kaleb Crisci
2/9/2020
Import Packages
To first search twitter users we will load the rtweet library. A library is a collection of functions that someone else has provided so that we don’t have to do the work of explaining to the computer what we want to do. We can just call the already created functions. We use functions from other packages here as well such as the tidyverse
library(rtweet)
library(kableExtra)
library(tidyverse)Search Users
The rtweet package includes a function called search_users() once we have loaded the library we can simply type search_users().
Search Users Arguments
Arguments are information we pass to a function so that it knows what kind of information we are interested in returning. For example with search_users() we might want to give it a term to search users for. Here are the arguments we can pass to search_users()
search_users(q, n = 100, parse = TRUE, token = NULL, verbose = TRUE)- q [string] - What search term you want to look for when looking for users. This seems to be related to
screen_name,user_nameanddescription - n [integer] - the number of users you want to return. If you don’t specify the default will be to return 100 the most you can return is 1000
- parse [boolean] - Whether to return the twitter response object (JSON) or a data.frame the default is TRUE and that’s the best thing to leave it as. It will make working with the data easier.
- token [Token] - If you have a developer token created by the
create_token()function you can pass it with this argument. It should not be needed for asearch_users()call - verbose [boolean] - whether to output debug messages or not. This will print in the console what the function is working on and any errors it encounters.
Search User Returns
The search_users function returns a list of user objects. User object contain a lot of data on users (90 variables!!) some are not very useful for our research while others can be quite useful. We will look at some useful ones below.
- screen_name [string] - This is the
@name for the account it is permanent - name [string] - This is the user’s display name and can be changed
- description [string] - The short text blurb on the user’s account
- location [string] - The user-defined location. This could be real place or not.
- created_at [datetime] - When the account was created
- followers_count [numeric] - number of followers account has
- friends_count [numeric] - number of accounts the user is following
- listed_count [numeric] - number of public list user is a member of
- favourites_count [numeric] - number of tweet user has liked in their lifetime
- statuses_count [numeric] - The number of tweets issued by the user
Here is an example output for what search_users returns. This is a very Long table (90 variables!!) but you can scroll sideways to see it all.
data <- search_users(q = "chico", n = 10, verbose = FALSE)
kable(data, "html") %>%
kable_styling("striped") %>%
scroll_box(width = "100%")| user_id | status_id | created_at | screen_name | text | source | display_text_width | reply_to_status_id | reply_to_user_id | reply_to_screen_name | is_quote | is_retweet | favorite_count | retweet_count | quote_count | reply_count | hashtags | symbols | urls_url | urls_t.co | urls_expanded_url | media_url | media_t.co | media_expanded_url | media_type | ext_media_url | ext_media_t.co | ext_media_expanded_url | ext_media_type | mentions_user_id | mentions_screen_name | lang | quoted_status_id | quoted_text | quoted_created_at | quoted_source | quoted_favorite_count | quoted_retweet_count | quoted_user_id | quoted_screen_name | quoted_name | quoted_followers_count | quoted_friends_count | quoted_statuses_count | quoted_location | quoted_description | quoted_verified | retweet_status_id | retweet_text | retweet_created_at | retweet_source | retweet_favorite_count | retweet_retweet_count | retweet_user_id | retweet_screen_name | retweet_name | retweet_followers_count | retweet_friends_count | retweet_statuses_count | retweet_location | retweet_description | retweet_verified | place_url | place_name | place_full_name | place_type | country | country_code | geo_coords | coords_coords | bbox_coords | status_url | name | location | description | url | protected | followers_count | friends_count | listed_count | statuses_count | favourites_count | account_created_at | verified | profile_url | profile_expanded_url | account_lang | profile_banner_url | profile_background_url | profile_image_url |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17068492 | 1243686001702289408 | 1585352824 | ChicoState | Made it through the first week of virtual classes! Take some well-deserved rest this weekend—maybe spend some (socially distanced) time in nature to relax. (📸 by @jasonhalley_csu) https://t.co/0exNvZSEXJ | Sprout Social | 180 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | FALSE | 170 | 28 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUJ1zqWXkAIsLDv.jpg | https://t.co/0exNvZSEXJ | https://twitter.com/ChicoState/status/1243686001702289408/photo/1 | photo | c(“http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUJ1zqWXkAIsLDv.jpg”, “http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUJ10DgWkAA1Y8W.jpg”, “http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUJ10aeWsAAH70M.jpg”, “http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUJ10rzXkAE7kfx.jpg”) | c(“https://t.co/0exNvZSEXJ”, “https://t.co/0exNvZSEXJ”, “https://t.co/0exNvZSEXJ”, “https://t.co/0exNvZSEXJ”) | c(“https://twitter.com/ChicoState/status/1243686001702289408/photo/1”, “https://twitter.com/ChicoState/status/1243686001702289408/photo/1”, “https://twitter.com/ChicoState/status/1243686001702289408/photo/1”, “https://twitter.com/ChicoState/status/1243686001702289408/photo/1”) | NA | 403935444 | JasonHalley_CSU | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243686001702289408 | Chico State | Chico, CA | The official Twitter account of California State University, Chico — home of the Wildcats! | https://t.co/OdysBYADEw | FALSE | 21519 | 259 | 303 | 13661 | 13346 | 1225384171 | TRUE | https://t.co/OdysBYADEw | http://www.csuchico.edu | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/17068492/1583531164 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme7/bg.gif | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1236043257563340800/1MvpXXdn_normal.jpg |
| 41171271 | 1244044718578774016 | 1585438348 | ChicoER | Phil Bryant All-Star Game rosters finalized prior to postponement of annual Northern Section basketball showcase https://t.co/50ehM1cJ68 | SocialFlow | 136 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | FALSE | 0 | 0 | NA | NA | NA | NA | trib.al/5DJu8LT | https://t.co/50ehM1cJ68 | https://trib.al/5DJu8LT | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1244044718578774016 | Chico Enterprise-Record | Chico, Calif. | Top local news about Chico and Northern California. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. | http://t.co/31qF8gjQRU | FALSE | 12619 | 266 | 338 | 55765 | 323 | 1242756613 | TRUE | http://t.co/31qF8gjQRU | http://chicoer.com | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/41171271/1487104025 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/994354408111538176/kFrX8pZj_normal.jpg |
| 70509424 | 1243862550518915074 | 1585394916 | Chicos | An #OOTD for all your virtual plans. From museum visits to Broadway plays, we’ve created a list of 24 activities to get you through the weekend. Click here to read more on our blog, Inside Chic: https://t.co/FrUHPyA88i https://t.co/V8e54eK8Te | Sprinklr | 218 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | FALSE | 7 | 1 | NA | NA | OOTD | NA | spr.ly/60101vUPo | https://t.co/FrUHPyA88i | http://spr.ly/60101vUPo | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUMWZbjWAAEDih4.jpg | https://t.co/V8e54eK8Te | https://twitter.com/Chicos/status/1243862550518915074/photo/1 | photo | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUMWZbjWAAEDih4.jpg | https://t.co/V8e54eK8Te | https://twitter.com/Chicos/status/1243862550518915074/photo/1 | NA | NA | NA | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243862550518915074 | Chico’s® | Chic is in the details. | https://t.co/VlGuJy7hFJ | FALSE | 44218 | 1007 | 406 | 7521 | 3898 | 1251755078 | TRUE | https://t.co/VlGuJy7hFJ | http://www.chicos.com | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/70509424/1583166539 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1234516055034343424/v797_blq_normal.jpg | |
| 412795908 | 1243313256644644866 | 1585263954 | chicoflores |
And the results are in… As voted by the #JackArmy, our greatest away win 👇 🏆 Valencia 0-3 Swansea 🏆 Thanks for voting! https://t.co/6RHf8bVini |
Twitter for iPhone | 140 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | TRUE | 0 | 14 | NA | NA | JackArmy | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 472385266 | SwansOfficial | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1243217005819367425 |
And the results are in… As voted by the #JackArmy, our greatest away win 👇 🏆 Valencia 0-3 Swansea 🏆 Thanks for voting! https://t.co/6RHf8bVini |
1585241006 | Twitter Web App | 256 | 14 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243313256644644866 | Chico Flores | Madrid,Spain. | Official Twitter of Chico Flores Fuenlabrada FC Player | https://t.co/w77xlzMPI8 | FALSE | 250118 | 749 | 311 | 11318 | 16004 | 1321330389 | TRUE | https://t.co/w77xlzMPI8 | http://www.chicoflores.com | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/412795908/1530614748 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme5/bg.gif | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1177760211853074432/mQzszkho_normal.jpg |
| 48035012 | 1243998871501537280 | 1585427418 | chicoharlan | This is a singular story of suffering, one among thousands and thousands, which makes this pandemic all that much more unimaginable. https://t.co/kRPzJGQcUf | Twitter for iPhone | 140 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | TRUE | 0 | 51 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 121857220 | elisaslow | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1243987959231033356 | This is a singular story of suffering, one among thousands and thousands, which makes this pandemic all that much more unimaginable. https://t.co/kRPzJGQcUf | 1585424816 | Twitter Web App | 78 | 51 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243998871501537280 | Chico Harlan | Rome, Lazio | Rome bureau chief for @washingtonpost, covering Southern Europe. Previously in Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney, and the Nationals Park press box. Instagram: chicoharlan | https://t.co/7LHGpxYgem | FALSE | 17642 | 314 | 912 | 7068 | 48 | 1245258951 | TRUE | https://t.co/7LHGpxYgem | https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/chico-harlan/ | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/48035012/1524836476 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1242731450597851139/hxL3Tzpm_normal.jpg |
| 1227722562 | 1243936892606971904 | 1585412641 | TopoChicoUSA | At Poison Girl, noon-8pm daily. Curbside service for hot dogs, beer and booze. @topochicousa @jimbeamofficial Come and get it. #poisongirllovesyou #littledipperlovesyou #supportbartenders https://t.co/E8P858VqCL | Twitter for iPhone | 139 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | TRUE | 0 | 1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(“161703581”, “1227722562”, “2518552490”) | c(“antidotecoffee”, “TopoChicoUSA”, “jimbeamofficial”) | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1243613184839335937 | At Poison Girl, noon-8pm daily. Curbside service for hot dogs, beer and booze. @topochicousa @jimbeamofficial Come and get it. #poisongirllovesyou #littledipperlovesyou #supportbartenders https://t.co/E8P858VqCL | 1585335463 | Twitter for iPhone | 3 | 1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243936892606971904 | Topo Chico | Texas, USA | Official account of Topo Chico Agua Mineral in the USA. (888) 456-4357 | https://t.co/nm3IphSiTJ | FALSE | 10512 | 1949 | 68 | 5559 | 5963 | 1362063735 | FALSE | https://t.co/nm3IphSiTJ | http://www.TopoChicoUSA.net | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/1227722562/1471141047 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1194459337697177600/GbXtcuj5_normal.jpg |
| 118247024 | 1243596639073427458 | 1585331518 | chicoBean | How long y’all think we gon be…. https://t.co/Du4GpCeW6r | Twitter for iPhone | 34 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | FALSE | 40562 | 10931 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUIkjHEXYAAWY9Q.jpg | https://t.co/Du4GpCeW6r | https://twitter.com/chicoBean/status/1243596639073427458/photo/1 | photo | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUIkjHEXYAAWY9Q.jpg | https://t.co/Du4GpCeW6r | https://twitter.com/chicoBean/status/1243596639073427458/photo/1 | NA | NA | NA | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243596639073427458 | Chico Bean | ÜT: 36.061243,-79.844903 | Comedian/Actor/Producer, 1/4 of The Freestyle Funny Comedy Show, Newest Cast Member of @MTV2 WildnOut Season 5, for booking contact bookingChicoBean@gmail.com | https://t.co/iJHZjJb23P | FALSE | 211847 | 659 | 127 | 13926 | 191 | 1267323091 | TRUE | https://t.co/iJHZjJb23P | http://www.chicobean.com | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/118247024/1524704621 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/989308997458067456/Ax8Lh9xy_normal.jpg |
| 3314757086 | 1241149321023639552 | 1584748032 | ChicoFD | Today our recruit firefighters trained on search and rescue techniques at the Fire Training Center. In this picture, you see the thermal imaging outline of a recruit firefighter as he works through zero visibility conditions. #ChicoFD #ChicoFire https://t.co/vaoNvzljzM | Twitter for iPhone | 245 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | FALSE | 11 | 1 | NA | NA | c(“ChicoFD”, “ChicoFire”) | NA | NA | NA | NA | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETlytxJU0AEqcee.jpg | https://t.co/vaoNvzljzM | https://twitter.com/ChicoFD/status/1241149321023639552/photo/1 | photo | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETlytxJU0AEqcee.jpg | https://t.co/vaoNvzljzM | https://twitter.com/ChicoFD/status/1241149321023639552/photo/1 | NA | NA | NA | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | https://api.twitter.com/1.1/geo/id/9b381228ebd9a499.json | Chico | Chico, CA | city | United States | US | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(-121.919174, -121.748286, -121.748286, -121.919174, 39.676071, 39.676071, 39.818003, 39.818003) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1241149321023639552 | Chico Fire Department | Chico, CA | Official Twitter page of the Chico Fire Department. Call 911 in an emergency. | https://t.co/RmoL8t706t | FALSE | 9823 | 111 | 120 | 1614 | 333 | 1439529158 | TRUE | https://t.co/RmoL8t706t | http://www.chico.ca.us/fire/home_page.asp | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/3314757086/1523856896 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/689132857298518016/Kw-Bvwdu_normal.jpg |
| 539247527 | 1243351640259719169 | 1585273106 | ChicoChamber | CARD is opening a program to provide childcare options for children of critical workers who do not have access to typical care because of COVID-19 closures. Details in the link. https://t.co/QEGpWyvuIB | Twitter Web App | 140 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | TRUE | 0 | 5 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 43942200 | ActionNewsNow | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1243252636348006409 | CARD is opening a program to provide childcare options for children of critical workers who do not have access to typical care because of COVID-19 closures. Details in the link. https://t.co/QEGpWyvuIB | 1585249501 | SocialNewsDesk | 9 | 5 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA, NA) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1243351640259719169 | Chico Chamber | Chico, CA | The Chico Chamber is one of the largest business advocacy organizations in Northern California. Leveraging the voice of business for community good. | http://t.co/wyLQT6WiKS | FALSE | 2112 | 583 | 48 | 4298 | 7451 | 1332957263 | TRUE | http://t.co/wyLQT6WiKS | http://www.chicochamber.com | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/539247527/1580760666 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme3/bg.gif | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/955590292253556736/vgxvOd0M_normal.jpg |
| 119115558 | 1242225460647321601 | 1585004603 | ChicoPolice | Follow the link to the City of Chico COVID 19 Press Briefing and information regarding public safety response. https://t.co/M0cjYtlAPM. @ChicoCityof @ChicoFD #chicoca #COVID19 #SocialDistancing #publicsafety https://t.co/0Cm9Y6s389 | Twitter for iPhone | 207 | NA | NA | NA | FALSE | FALSE | 1 | 1 | NA | NA | c(“chicoca”, “COVID19”, “SocialDistancing”, “publicsafety”) | NA | facebook.com/OfficialCityof… | https://t.co/M0cjYtlAPM | https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCityofChico/videos/875224276249889/?vh=e&d=n | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/ET1FeG9U8AA5Wu5.jpg | https://t.co/0Cm9Y6s389 | https://twitter.com/ChicoPolice/status/1242225460647321601/photo/1 | photo | http://pbs.twimg.com/media/ET1FeG9U8AA5Wu5.jpg | https://t.co/0Cm9Y6s389 | https://twitter.com/ChicoPolice/status/1242225460647321601/photo/1 | NA | c(“1235295913494450176”, “3314757086”) | c(“ChicoCityof”, “ChicoFD”) | en | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | https://api.twitter.com/1.1/geo/id/9b381228ebd9a499.json | Chico | Chico, CA | city | United States | US | c(NA, NA) | c(NA, NA) | c(-121.919174, -121.748286, -121.748286, -121.919174, 39.676071, 39.676071, 39.818003, 39.818003) | https://twitter.com/NA/status/1242225460647321601 | Chico Police Dept. | Chico Ca. | The official account of the Chico Police Department. Our mission: enhance and facilitate community safety. Site is NOT monitored 24 hours. 9-1-1 for emergencies | https://t.co/8tJO2mQxHE | FALSE | 7000 | 655 | 139 | 1449 | 1229 | 1267554458 | TRUE | https://t.co/8tJO2mQxHE | http://www.ci.chico.ca.us/police/home_page.asp | NA | https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/119115558/1579224238 | http://abs.twimg.com/images/themes/theme14/bg.gif | http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1072255407899369472/LEnb9fL7_normal.jpg |
Code Example
This is an example of using the search_users() to find 10 users with the query term “chico”. This is the same function call we made above to show the results in the table.
search_users("chico", n = 10, verbose = FALSE)Measuring User Activity
We will now run that same query again and save the results we save into a variable called statuses so that we can further manipulate the data.
statuses <- search_users("chico", n=10, verbose = FALSE)We can use this data in a variety of ways. One thing we can do is visualize the number of lifetime tweets for individual users.
ggplot(statuses, mapping = aes(y = statuses_count, x = screen_name )) + theme(axis.text.x=element_text(angle=60, size = 7, vjust = 0.5)) + geom_bar(stat="identity", fill="steelblue") + labs(y = "Total Tweets", x = "Screen Name") + ggtitle("User Tweet Totals")
We can use the lifetime tweets and the date that they created their account to determine how active each user is (tweets/time). First, we can create a new column to represent the number of weeks that a person has had their account.
statuses <- statuses %>% select(statuses_count, account_created_at, screen_name)
statuses$timeHadAccount <- sapply(statuses$account_created_at, function(x){
d <- as.POSIXct(Sys.time())
d2 <- as.POSIXct(format(d, tz="UTC", usetz=TRUE), tz="UTC")
return(difftime(d2, x, units ="weeks"))
})Next, we can get the ratio of how active each user is (avg number of tweets per week)
statuses$activity <- statuses$statuses_count/statuses$timeHadAccountNow, we can plot this data to show each user’s level of activity.
ggplot(statuses, mapping = aes(y = activity, x = screen_name )) + theme(axis.text.x=element_text(angle=60, size = 7, vjust = 0.5)) + geom_bar(stat="identity", fill="steelblue") + labs(y = "Ave Tweets per Week", x = "Screen Name") + ggtitle("User Activity Chart")
Who Mentioned the Corona Virus?
In this example, I will show how you can use simple pattern matching to find users for the search term corona virus and specifically mentioned the words “death, dead, infected” in their text description.
users <- search_users("corona virus", n=100, verbose = FALSE)The code below creates a new column in the data. A 1 will be placed in the column for that user if they mentioned any of the words we are searching for, and a 0 if they did not.
sick <- c("death|dead|infected")
users$corona_virus <- sapply(users$text, function(x){
if(any(grepl(sick, x))){
return(1)
}
return(0)
})Now, we can see how many of the 100 users wrote those words.
sum(users$corona_virus)## [1] 4This shows us that 3 people mentioned at least one of the three words. We can also see the specific message they sent.
users$text[users$corona_virus == 1]## [1] "#Breaking: US coronavirus death toll hits 2,000"
## [2] "US #CoronaVirus: To date, a total of 120,076 cases and 1,993 total deaths and #COVID19 deaths have been confirmed in the United States.\n\n#CoronaVirusOutbreak https://t.co/9Wt8WohlNY"
## [3] "ITALY has TODAY confirmed 889 new death cases from coronavirus. Total deaths in Italy now is 10023."
## [4] "#NewsAlert | Iran reports 139 new #coronavirus deaths, raising total to 2,517,\n\n#CoronavirusOutbreak #CoronaUpdate"Or, if we want to see only the username of the users who said these words in their messages we can use this code:
users$screen_name[users$corona_virus == 1]## [1] "CoronaNumbers" "CoronaVirusNow" "Obuchunju" "21daylockdown"