Digital Curation in the Age of Twitter

This presentation examines the creation and preservation of a subject-centered collection of tweets from the eighteen days of protest in Egypt during Arab Spring. Presented at the Born Digital and Cultural Heritage 2014 conference in Melbourne, Australia.

Transcript

1. Digital Curation in the Age of Twitter Examining the Creation and Preservation of a Subject- Centered Collection of Tweets from the Eighteen Days in Egypt Credit: Nick Bygon
2. Objectives > Changing Uses of Twitter > The API and Preservation Principles > Collection Methodology > Examples of Tweets from the Revolution in Egypt
3. Tweets for History > Twitter I, II & III (‘Debanalizing Twitter’, Rogers 2013) > The Subject-Centered Collection > #jan25 Credit: AP Photo/Amr Nabil
4. > GET search/tweets (REST API) / 180 requests per 15 minutes at 100 results per request = 18,000 tweets per 15 minutes > GET statuses/user_timeline (REST API) / Can capture a user's tweets up to past 3,200 > Stream APIs The APIs
5. Preservation Risks & Principles > Our Goals > A Double Construction > Preserving Methodology
6. Collection Methodology > Scope / Location, Time / Qualitative, Quantitative / Opinion Leaders > Search Terms / Common vs. niche hashtags / #Jan25 or #7uriyya Credit: MEHR > Collection Issues / Spam / Vernacular (Rais/Ra'is) / Veracity
7. Examples Calls for Collective Action Call for March of Millions on Sunday, Tuesday, Friday! #Egypt #Jan25 people join us at Tahrir sq. Our numbers are sharply decreasing and we're exhausted #egypt
8. Fundraising Please support https:// secure.avaaz.org/en/egypt_blackout/ to help get #Egypt back online. If you can't donate please RT. Thanks Help fund more SAT uplinks. Donate $$ to help Tor get Non-state controlled #internet access to #Egypt! Please donate --->http://ow.ly/3NJ6z
9. Pls RT: #NYC joins million man march for #Egypt Tue, 4-6 PM, Egyptian Consulate, 58th & 2nd. #Mubarak
 On my way now to US embassy in London for #solidarity demo with #Egypt revolution #jan25 #tahrir Transnational Solidarity
10. Helio: Mostafa 0103778585. Maadi: Marwa 0100057579. Mohd: Aya 0123337815. Zamalek: Dina 0123337815 Please circulate #Egypt
 
 @wikileaks_pp: DNS -> 8.8.8.8 / Twitter->; "128.242.240.52" Facebook->"69.63.189.34" Google->; "72.14.204.99" #Egypt Proxy Server Access
11. Reports of Censorship i was just very briefly detained by army at egyptian museum. they let me go but mokhabarat stole my camera. #Egypt #Jan25 Hotel security just entered our room and told us we are not allowed to have cameras on balcony #Egypt #6pm Citizen Reportage
12. Reports of Corruption Video Confession #Jan25 Man paid £5000 by Ministry to wreak havoc in Cairo protests http://f24.my/dK0EOh #Egypt In Tahrir square i SAW captured thugs admitting they were paid LE100 to protest & others with ID's of police officers #egypt Citizen Reportage
13. > Cultural literacy is critical to collection methodology > Preservation is centered on recording collection actions > "Preserving the Voices of Revolution" / The American Archivist, Fall/Winter 2014. Conclusion