Crowds ‘could be counted’ with phone and Twitter data 

Nice gig if you can get it: Warwick University researchers studied geo-tagged Tweets and mobile phone use over a two-month period in Milan.

Seriously though, this is an unsurprising but interesting piece of research.

The article lead me initially to think about the use of mobile data to count crowds at football matches and political demonstrations. Perhaps that was me thinking ‘police state’ type thoughts.

On further thought I can see how this could be put to positive commercial use in conurbations, shopping centres etc. Remember, this is not just about counting people it is about counting people at known times. The load on shops, roads, tourist attractions and all manner of other things could be counted and the trends understood.

Have a read of the article and see what you think.

It may be possible to estimate the size of a large crowd based on geographical data from mobile phones and Twitter, according to a new study.

Source: Crowds ‘could be counted’ with phone and Twitter data – BBC News

Kevin Harrington

I’m a UK-based B2B marketing consultant, specialising in strategic advice for SME business owners. I bring extensive hands-on expertise to every client engagement. Senior leadership roles across technology, media, payments, and publishing have shaped my practical approach. Highlights include serving as Chief Marketing Officer at The Panoply plc (now TPXimpact), Chief Commercial Officer at Tungsten Network, and Global Marketing Director at BBC Worldwide. Over the years, I’ve guided numerous SMEs through transformation and value creation. Helping businesses evolve and thrive is a genuine passion. Practical marketing insights and succession planning strategies are at the heart of what I do, as I believe growing a business’s asset value should be a rewarding and positive journey for every entrepreneur.

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