Editor's Note #23: Tweepidemiology#2..

Thought it was time to update the "Tweepidemiology" graph I first posted back in September of 2014.

The Ebola virus disease epidemic of 2014 certainly drive the biggest of my Tweepidemics.

Followers of my @MackayIM Twitter account (and this blog which gets
promoted through it) since I started tweeting.
This shows the cumulative rise, and pause, of followers and the relationship between the rate of that rise and some active periods of infectious disease outbreaks..
Click on the graph to enlarge

This will be something I check back in on from time to time. Interesting stuff. 

As above but zoomed in to show the dip in followers of the @MackayIM Twitter account.
Click on the graph to enlarge.

Something else this little analysis showed me was still interesting, but very disappointing. That thing was one of the biggest losses of followers and slowest periods of follower gains that my Twitter account has had in its 2 years. 

This dip happened immediately after I changed the background on my avatar to reflect my support for the US Supreme Court's legalisation of same sex marriage. I kept that background for a week. I haven't been able to find anything else to attribute to the dip - I haven't been any more annoying or rude than I usually am! I don't blog to gain followers per se but followers are very helpful because they help spread sometimes useful information further than it might otherwise reach. Also, because you're mostly a likable bunch of course! In the scheme of things it was a blip - and there is always a turnover of newcomers and "newleavers" and the latter generally increases in proportion to a decrease in my level of engagement. It just strikes me as sad that people feel so much dislike or annoyance that they need to respond by leaving the table in disgust or annoyance like a child who doesn't get what they want.

Data. So many things to learn from them.

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Editor's Note #20: Tweepidemiology...

Updated 05JUL2015

Followers of my @MackayIM Twitter account (and this blog which gets promoted through it) since I started tweeting. It shows the cumulative rise and rise of followers and the relationship of the rate of those rises to very active periods of infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics over the past 18-months or so.
Click on the graph to enlarge

While it's hard to separate whether I pick up followers because of the delivery of specific content or because as you pick up followers, they help spread the word and you pick up more followers, to simple old me this cumulative graph looks like MERS-CoV and the West African Ebola virus disease outbreaks drove people to seek information. Sometimes those people have done me the honour of following me on Twitter, accompanying me on my own journey to understand what's going on. I'm constantly amazed at that, let me assure you.

I thought it worth having a look at the Tweepidemiology of my Twitter account. That is, the epidemiology of my Twitter followers - a bit of a long bow - but you follow me because I talk about infectious disease outbreaks and stuff and because I like my new word...I'm keeping with it!

I paid Twitter Counter to get my Twitter data, plotted it in Excel, tidied it using Illustrator and here it is. 

I started Tweeting a little after I started blogging - this Twitter thing is for the young people and their constant need to take selfies and update the world on their lives...live and learn. 

Despite VDU blog posts on the emergence of influenza A(H7N9) virus in China dating back further in time, I came to Twitter well after H7N9's Wave 1 was engaged. So the slow burn could have been due to that or just because no-one knew me or that I could generally be trusted and generally don't spout drivel. 

Generally.

So there ya go - Tweepidemiology - a way of looking at when and perhaps why one gains followers through social media when it's used to engage the public and try and help people understand what's happening with new or emerging viruses and diseases . Perhaps I should check what happens when I post photos of my cat too.

Updates...

1. Corrected some typos and grammatical errors

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