We have been having a bit of fun with Trendsmap over the past few weeks building visualisations out of geo-coded tweet data.
What is a geo-coded tweet? In basic terms, it is a tweet where the person has made available their precise location as part of the tweet. This is typically done using the GPS in many of today’s smart phones running twitter clients.
The images below show a heatmap representation of the density of geo-tweets across Melbourne, Australia.
Click on each image to see a larger resolution version. (right click and ‘save image as..’ to download a copy).
More images to come, but next time we will not tell you which city is represented. You will have to guess!
Here you can see the distinctive outline of Port Phillip Bay as the ‘void’ in the middle, the city of Geelong to the bottom left. The gridded road network is also just visible here, and more clearly the snake-like lines representing the metro train network.
This zoomed in version gives a much clearer view of the gridded road network. You can also see a clear line heading west from the CBD representing the West Gate Freeway, with Tullamarine Airport near the top left of the image as a hot spot. There are a number of other hot spots that become evident including shopping centers, universities, and popular nightlife areas such as St.Kilda and South Yarra.