twXplorer

On the DiRT Directory: http://dirtdirectory.org/node/1354

*Especially useful for journalists.

Full review: https://jadwigap.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/twxplorer-digital-humanities-tool-review/

“TwXplorer helps make Twitter search more useful by helping users find and explore chatter about topics that interest them.” (from twXplorer website)

How does twXplorer do this? First, a Twitter account is required. The user signs into twXplorer through his Twitter account and is directed to the TwXplorer page. He then types a term into the search box. This term can be a hashtag (#digitalhumanities), a mention (@dhnow) or simply a word.

TwXplorer then trawls Twitter for the 500 most recent results of the search term, and presents them to the user. It omits unedited retweets, instead explaining that, for example, 380 tweets and 120 retweets were found. The page is divided into several columns: the left column displays the latest tweets from the results; the center column, the most common terms; the right column, the most popular hashtags and the bottom column, any links mentioned in the tweets. To narrow down his results, the user can click on any subset of terms or hashtags. He then only sees results within that specific term. TwXplorer also offers the functions of taking a snapshot of the results and sharing them.