Apple today confirmed it has bought social media data analytics firm Topsy labs, which focuses on analysing raw data from Twitter in order to gauge customer opinion.
One of the few companies allowed uninhibited access to Twitter’s unfiltered data stream, Topsy is responsible for creating a navigable database of all of the social network’s activity since its launch in 2006; that’s over 425 billion tweets.
Although Apple hasn’t disclosed the cost of the acquisition, Wall Street Journal has alleged the deal has cost the Cupertino-based company around $200m (£122m).
With Apple already a Twitter partner, analysts suggest that the aim of such a purchase is to utilise Topsy to parse trends and incorporate their findings into the launch of upcoming products.
Another theory behind the acquisition is that Apple aims to use the raw data Topsy harvests to recommend apps in a more tailored fashion, replacing the rather generic approach it currently takes.
Sanjana Chappalli, Asia-pac head of LEWIS Pulse, a digital marketing firm, suggests that Twitter is ripe with content that could be used to a company’s advantage, provided said content was “filtered” and “understood”.
Apple’s purchase of Topsy suggests that the technology giant is now keen to utilise the data upon social networks such as Twitter, to improve both its products and user experience, with the analytics firm doing most of the dirty work for them.
Read More: iPad mini 2 review
Via: BBC
