Dynamic Visualization of Time-Based Changes to Data Generated by Reddit.com: The Real Time Conversation Project

Abstract

With the increased amount of data generated by social networking sites there is also increased difficulty in the analysis of this data, including time-based changes, which can provide unique insights in social network analysis. Information visualization is a vital tool in assisting social scientists with analysis of large quantities of data; however, the gathering, formatting, and visualizing of time-related data from social networking sites still remains an obstacle. This research explores the process of gathering time-based data in real time and using dynamic visualization techniques to visualize and analyze time-based changes in data generated by discussions on the social networking site Reddit. The outcome culminates in our deliverable, the Real Time Conversation Project. KEYWORDS: Visualization; Network Analysis; Social Network; Reddit; Gephi