Some would say that social media doesn’t really tell an accurate tale about people. We are often portraying our “ideal self” as some famous psychiatrist once described, supporting causes and charities, giving compliments to our friends and family, and sharing funny links even when we don’t normally do anything in the real world with charities, we rarely talk to our friends or family, and we just aren’t able to deliver a joke. It’s not in the way we present ourselves but in how we react and what we do online through social media that really shows what Americans have in their guts. This isn’t a call for…

There is so much that can be learned about a people through social media data. People don’t always act the same way online as they do in the real world, but if anything it allows likes and interests to be more genuine based upon the anonymity associated (for now) with online activities. In other words, social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Tagged may know more about us than our friends and family do. In this graphic, we explore various pieces of data that help to paint a pretty clear picture of Americans and their online activities. We may all be aware that Americans love video games, but did you…

If you someone asked you where you were from, you would probably reply with your city or state. That’s the real world. On Twitter, we tend to answer that question a little differently. Do you live in Funkytown? How about Naptown? Bucktown? There are more than a few people who live in “Gotham”. There are many who tend to use the nicknames of their areas to indicate where they are on social media. This map by our friends at inboxQ breaks it down and shows us how America would be viewed if from Twitter’s perspective. Click to enlarge. …