Real-Time Major Events Monitoring and Alert System through Social Networks

The volume of information generated by social and cellular networks has significantly increased in recent years. Automated collection of these data and its rapid analyses allow for better and faster detection of major (in terms of National impact) 'real life' events. This study uses data obtained from social networks such as Twitter and Google+. It proposes a mechanism for detecting major events and a system to alert on their manifestation. The article describes the considerations and needed algorithms required to develop and establish such a system. The methodology presented here is based on linking major events that occurred in Israel during the years 2011-2014, with information extracted from social networks. Results indicate that alerts were received shortly after the event occurred for most of major events. Such are large fires, earthquakes and terror attacks. However, attempts to achieve alerts for 'local' secondary events failed. This as their impact on the social network is low. Furthermore, it was found that the volume of false alerts depends on the type of domain and keywords.