Dataminr (Real-Time Information Discovery)
Founded in 2009, Dataminr uses location analytics to transform the Twitter stream and other public data sets into actionable signals, discovering must-know information in real-time for clients in Finance, the Public Sector, News, Security and Crisis Management. With over 150 employees (2016), Dataminr is headquartered in New York City, with offices in DC, London, San Francisco, and Montana. Using proprietary algorithms, Dataminr instantly analyzes all public tweets and other publicly available data to deliver the earliest signals for breaking news, real-world events, off the radar context and perspective, and emerging trends.
Dataminr’s clustering and event processing engine distills over 500 million tweets a day down to the handful of signals that are valuable to the user. They classify signals based on geo-location, topic relevancy, and market moving implications and rank them by level of urgency.
These real-time signals are delivered via a Web Browser, Instant Messenger, e-mail, Mobile App or can be integrated into an organizations workflow using Dataminr’s custom API.
Dataminr for News helps the newsroom keep an eye on all of Twitter, alerting journalists to real-time leads for them to investigate further. Journalists don’t have to watch a stream of information—the most actionable Tweets find them, including the ones they don’t know they’re looking for. Dataminr for News is an enterprise application, with applicability across the newsroom. News professionals can define personalized signals based upon the user’s particular topics of interest and regions of focus. Signals are delivered automatically via the application, e-mail, instant message, and integration into internal systems. Dataminr for News was developed in partnership with Twitter. Figure 11.1 is an illustration of how Dataminr’s alerts are pushed out through various channels such as e-mail, instant messaging, application programming interface (API), and the Dataminr platform.
Figure 11.1 Dataminr’s analysis is pushed out via alerts through various channels
Financial Services professionals use Dataminr for Finance to act on early market moving information, to gather information from non-traditional sources, and to conduct deeper research from a perspective and timeliness that only Dataminr and our unique data set can provide. Dataminr for Finance delivers a relevant stream of content to financial professionals based upon their personalized portfolio of tickers, sectors, and macro topics. This provides financial users with a new source of alpha, as well as key insights, off-the-radar context, and differentiated perspective.
Transit Disruption News Alert Example
Breaking Alert: Amtrack Train Derailment—within minutes of an Amtrack Northeast Regional train derailing outside of Philadelphia, Dataminr alerted users to tweets sent from passengers still inside the overturned cars. Dataminr detected the earliest signal to the fatal crash 15 minutes ahead of major news reports. Once emergency responders arrived at the scene, Dataminr surfaced valuable updates from the crash site as new and relevant information emerged.
Mergers and Acquisitions News Alert Example
M&A Speculation NOK: Dataminr alerted clients to chatter surrounding Nokia participating in possible advanced negotiations to acquire Alcatel0Lucents’s wireless assets 40 minutes ahead of major news reports. Nokia closed up nearly 3 percent following revelations of a possible acquisition.
Dataminr is an extreme example of the use of location analytics in business. Dataminr’s clients directly benefit from the real-time data alerts that are sent according to the client’s specifications. Now that the company has just raised $130 million (March 2015) in new funding, be on the lookout for potentially new location analytics services as they move forward.