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     COLLOQUIUM OF THE COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE CENTER
       AND THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL AND DATA SCIENCES
                         (CSI 898-Sec 001)
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       GeoSocial Media Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities

                          Arie Croitoru
             The Center for Geospatial Intelligence 
         Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science 
              George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 

Over the last few years, social media (e.g. Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc.) 
have become an integral part of the modern information and communication 
landscape. Through social media, individuals, groups, organizations, and 
even states can now acquire, probe, and deliver information, as well as 
shape and reshape public opinion. At the same time, social media content is 
increasingly related to physical geographical locations. Fueled by advances 
in of Web 2.0, mobile computing, and spatially-aware technologies (i.e. GPS 
enabled smartphones), social media can provide a unique opportunity to observe 
and study the flow of information in both cyber and physical spaces. Employing 
a geographically data-driven analysis approach allows us not only to track how 
information spreads, but also to derive information about real-world events and 
happenings. We call this geospatially-driven approach "GeoSocial Media Analysis." 

In this presentation I will review some of the key trends and developments that 
has enabled the rise of geosocial media, and shaped their characteristics. I 
will then move on to describe examples of various geosocial analysis methods 
in the context of different application areas (e.g. natural disasters, protests, 
international relations). Looking ahead, I will conclude the presentation with 
some of the emerging challenges and needs in the analysis of geosocial media data.

                           September 21, 2015
                               4:30 pm
                    Exploratory Hall, room 3301 
                          Fairfax Campus

Refreshments will be served at 4:15 PM.
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Find the schedule at http://www.cmasc.gmu.edu/seminars.htm