Trendsmap works by bringing together two of the web’s most popular sites: Twitter and Google Maps. The website tracks trending tweets by location and overlays them on a Google Map, so users can see what people are talking about in in real time from Melbourne to Zimbabwe.

Since launching in 2009 the Melbourne-based service has found a global following and can count Google, Tom Cruise and CNN among its fans (and users).

Co-founder John Barratt talks to SMK about trends, people power and his next project.

Staying ahead of the trend

Back in 2009 Barratt was working at RetailMeNot when the idea for Trendsmap hit. The team he was working with had a background in mapping, and Twitter was beginning to gain traction.

“It was a test at the start to see what could be done and it just sort of evolved from there. It was a good problem to try and get one’s teeth into.”

How Trendsmap works

The site works by gathering data from Twitter that is crunched down and split by location. This is done daily, across the globe and in multiple languages.

And in real time.

Timing is everything

Barratt says that in the fast moving world of tweets, speed is everything.

“[We move] as quickly as we can from one end to the other. Obviously there are some delays.”

Not much of a delay though. Between tweets being loaded to appearing in the Trendsmap interface, there is a delay of around 30 seconds to a minute.

Branching out

Trendsmap recently produced a custom view for ABC during the Federal election, which pulled related tweets and presented them as a dashboard that showed who was talking about what around Australia.

Barratt sees more of this customer coverage happening in the future, as Twitter increasingly becomes the platform where news and public sentiment is measured.

Media and celebs taking notice

Since its launch Trendsmap has been popular globally, aided by the fact that the day after going live, a tweet from the Google Maps API account mentioned the new site, which was then picked up by the main Google account.

The site is increasingly being used by media organisations and has been featured on CNN and The Guardian, which used Trendsmap to gauge global sentiment about breaking stories, most recently the launch of the iPad 2.  

Celebrities are also using Trendsmap, with Tom Cruise tweeting about the site multiple times. Here at SMK we use trendsmap our tweather report on twitter, and Friday round-ups.

Building The Wall

Far from resting on their laurels, Barratt and his team are busy working on their next project, The Wall.

The Wall employs some of the same backend technology developed for Trendsmap and uses it to rank news, based on Twitter likes and shares.

For example, if tweets start coming in about a train delay, or people are talking about the latest episode of Q&A these results determine the most popular news stories. An entry for each story is created with links to online sources including brand websites, news sites and social media. 

“What you end up with is a unique perspective that’s proven not by what editors think, but by what people are actually talking about it. [The Wall] potentially allows us to break news before it’s available on other sites.”

People power

As social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter increasingly give consumers an active and empowered voice, Barratt sees sites such as Trendsmap and The Wall, which weight content by audience engagement gaining traction.

Brands can benefit

Here at SMK we use Trendsmap to put together our daily weather reports via our Twitter page and our weekly Tweather column.

Brands can benefit from Trendsmap by following campaigns, seeing how much a business is being talked about or even managing a crises. It also means that brands should ensure they correctly hashtag content so it can be easily found.

As the recent #qantasluxury and #vilekyle sagas have shown, crises can spread quickly. Being aware of and managing a crisis from the outset is a distinct advantage.