Tweetscapes - Real-time Sonification of Twitter data streams for Radio Broadcasting

Abstract

This paper introduces Tweetscapes, a system that transforms message streams from Twitter in real-time into a soundscape that allows the listener to perceive characteristics of twitter messages such as their density, origin, impact, or how topics change over time. Tweetscapes allows the listener to be in touch with the social platform / medium Twitter and to understand its dynamics. We developed Tweetscapes with and for the Sound Art department of Germany-wide radio program Deutschlandradio Kultur where the sonifications are now broadcast several times per week for a few minutes since October 2011. The goal was to create a new sense of media awareness and an example for how sound can support monitoring applications differently than mere alarms. This paper introduces the methods, the ideas, the design, the sounds, and it discusses our experiences with, and novel interaction possibilities offered by Tweetscapes.