Each month I gather and report statistics for the Twitter communities in a few Canadian cities. This page provides details on that process, definitions, and other background information.
The source of the data is primarily Twitter Search but also from Twitter directly.
The monthly number of local users reflects users who posted at least one tweet during the month with their location set to something that makes them a local user as described above. This number should be treated as a minimum – there are probably many more users without their location set or that were not captured for some other reason.
A number of factors make it difficult to compare raw numbers between months. Among other things, Twitter is constantly tweaking the results that are returned via Twitter Search, and I frequently update my code with improvements and modifications.
Edmonton – February 2010, 2009 in Review
If a user has his or her location set to Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Nisku, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan, Beaumont, Spruce Grove, or matching lat/long coordinates, they are considered an Edmontonian, and therefore a local user.
Calgary – February 2010
If a user has his or her location set to Calgary, Airdrie, Okotoks, Cochrane, Strathmore, or matching lat/long coordinates, they are considered a Calgarian, and therefore a local user.
Victoria – February 2010
If a user has his or her location set to Victoria, Saanich, Sooke, Langford, Highlands, Colwood, Metchosin, Oak Bay, View Royal, or matching lat/long coordinates, they are considered a Victorian, and therefore a local user.
Winnipeg – January 2010
If a user has his or her location set to Winnipeg, or matching lat/long coordinates, they are considered a Winnipegger, and therefore a local user.
Ottawa – January 2010
If a user has his or her location set to Ottawa, Gatineau, Hull, or matching lat/long coordinates, they are considered a local user.