The aim of this research was to understand what social media data was available, useable and beneficial to decision makers in local government in Wales.
We reviewed four options for accessing Twitter data and found each to have their own merits. Ultimately, we found that a tool developed by Cardiff University (COSMOS) was the most straight-forward and cost-effective way to gather Twitter data, as well as to access basic analytical capability.
In this report, we demonstrate that useful social media data can be accessed quickly, easily, ethically, and cheaply.
We hope that that this pilot will stimulate further, and more innovative, uses of social media data across local government in Wales.