A Web-Based Application for the Display of Geolocated Tweets on a Map
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UNIVERSITY OF FRIBOURG Pervasive & Artificial Intelligence Research Group LTMap A web-based application for the display of geolocated Tweets on a map MASTER THESIS Aron Martinez Student number: 06-208-771 Address: Via Ravecchia 11b, CH-6512 Giubiasco Email: [email protected] Head: Prof. Beat Hirsbrunner Supervisor: Apostolos Malatras Giubiasco, March 24, 2013 Swiss Joint Master of Science in Computer Science Acknowledgements Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank Apostolos Malatras for his support, guidance and good advice, and also for all the valuable feedback he provided me. I would also like to thank Prof. Beat Hirsbrunner for giving me the chance to be part of the PAI group for the duration of my master thesis. It has been a great pleasure to collaborate with the PAI research group and to meet all its very kind members during the project meetings and presentations. Finally I want to thank my family and friends for their moral support, and last but not least, I want to thank my wife Lucile for having always believed in me, and for her invaluable support and her continuous encouragement during the writing of the thesis. iii Abstract Abstract Today, different services offer geolocated information based on social networks, but in most cases this information is available only for some major cities around the world, for only one social network at a time and without focusing on the actual personal interests of the user. The purpose of this master thesis is to create a web-based application that uses open- source APIs to access localization services and social network information and displays the retrieved information on a map, based on the user’s location. One of the main focuses of the application is usability, therefore the display of infor- mation needs to be user-friendly by using a clear and simple design on one hand, and functions simplifying the display (like, for example automatic localization of the user’s actual position) on the other hand. To simplify the portability and future enhancements of the application, it will be integrated into a Drupal 7 module, respecting the standards for Drupal module devel- opment. Keywords Usability, Geolocation, Google Maps, Social networks, Twitter, Facebook, Drupal iv Contents Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Outline . 1 2 State of the Art 3 2.1 Introduction . 3 2.2 Social Networks . 4 2.2.1 Twitter . 4 2.2.1.1 Overview . 4 2.2.1.2 APIs . 5 2.2.2 Facebook . 6 2.2.2.1 Overview . 6 2.2.2.2 APIs . 6 2.2.3 Summary . 6 2.3 Geolocation . 7 2.3.1 HTML5 . 7 2.3.2 IP Geolocation . 8 2.3.3 Summary . 8 2.4 Maps . 9 2.4.1 Google Maps . 9 2.4.2 Yahoo Maps . 9 2.4.3 Nokia Maps . 9 2.4.4 Other map providers . 10 2.4.5 Summary . 10 2.5 CMS . 10 2.5.1 Drupal . 11 2.5.2 ExpressionEngine . 13 2.5.3 Comparison . 15 2.5.3.1 Price . 15 2.5.3.2 Usability . 15 2.5.3.3 Add-ons . 15 2.5.3.4 Final Choice . 16 2.6 Related Work . 16 2.6.1 Trendsmap . 16 2.6.2 Tweography . 18 2.6.3 GeoChirp . 18 2.6.4 A World of Tweets . 19 v Contents 2.7 Summary and Analysis . 20 3 Concept 22 3.1 Introduction . 22 3.2 Requirements Analysis . 22 3.2.1 Geolocation . 22 3.2.2 Map . 23 3.2.3 Tweets . 23 3.2.4 Layout . 23 3.3 SWOT Analysis . 23 3.4 Components . 24 3.4.1 CMS . 24 3.4.2 LTMap Module . 24 3.4.3 Twitter Plug-In . 26 3.5 Technologies . 26 3.5.1 PHP . 26 3.5.2 CSS . 26 3.5.3 JavaScript . 27 3.5.4 SQL . 27 3.6 Used software . 27 4 Implementation of LTMap 29 4.1 Introduction . 29 4.2 Architecture of LTMap ............................ 29 4.3 LTMap Module . 30 4.3.1 Configuration Page . 31 4.3.2 Fetching new Tweets . 32 4.3.3 Storing new Tweets . 32 4.3.4 Displaying all Tweets . 32 4.4 JavaScript Functions . 32 4.4.1 Map Display . 33 4.4.2 Geolocation . 33 4.4.3 Tweet Radius . 33 4.4.4 Tweet Display . 34 4.4.5 Map Update . 34 4.4.6 Other functions . 34 5 Operation instructions 35 5.1 Introduction . 35 5.2 Installation . 35 5.3 LTMap User Interface . 36 5.3.1 The Map . 36 5.3.2 Infos . 38 5.3.3 Actions . 39 vi Contents 5.3.4 Items . 40 6 Evaluation 41 6.1 Introduction . 41 6.2 Functional Evaluation . 41 6.2.1 Efficiency . 41 6.2.2 Functionality . 42 6.2.3 Maintainability . 43 6.2.4 Portability . 43 6.2.5 Reliability . 44 6.2.6 Usability . 44 6.3 Functional Comparison . 44 6.3.1 Trendsmap . 45 6.3.2 GeoChirp . 47 6.3.3 A World of Tweets . 49 6.3.4 Summary . 50 6.4 User Study . 50 6.4.1 Metrics . 51 6.4.1.1 Typology . 51 6.4.1.2 Participants . 51 6.4.1.3 Variables . 51 6.4.2 Scenario . 52 6.4.2.1 Use of LTMap . 52 6.4.2.2 Installation of LTMap . 54 7 Conclusion 56 7.1 Summary . 56 7.2 Limitations . 56 7.3 Future Work . ..