Twitter Stats Jan03 '08
Twitter Stats is a custom utility that generates unique stats for any given Twitter username. All you do is download the zip file, run a Perl script from the Terminal, then copy the data into Numbers. You have to be on Mac OS X to use this utility, and have Numbers installed. (Perhaps you can use Excel too, but I haven't tested this.)
This is particularly useful for Twitter users who have been active for over a year, and who have a significant amount of tweets. Statistics are always fun when it involves your own impulsive activities.
The results are rather appealing:
These screenshots are example statistics from my own Twitter account. Included statistics are:
- Top @replies
- Tweets per Hour
- Tweets per Day
- Tweets per Month
- Top Conversational @'s
Setting up installation
One thing that initially confused me was how to run the app. The instructions are rather vague.
You have to use the Terminal in OS X to run the Perl script. Not all average OS X users know exactly how to write commands using the Terminal.
Thankfully, all you need is one basic command to setup the installation.
cd \desktop\twitter_stats
This assumes you've downloaded and unpacked the zip file to your desktop. This command simply navigates into the appropriate folder, so it can find the file to begin the installation.
Download all tweets
Next, you must run the command to open the Perl file:
perl twitter_stats.pl [username] tweets.csv
Substitute [username] with your Twitter username. This command goes out to the web and begins downloading all of your tweets, and saves them to a csv file.
My first time running this, I had over 177 pages of tweets (20 per page), so it took about 5 minutes to download everything.
Numbers spreadsheet
The included Numbers spreadsheet has two sheets: one for data, and the second for graphs. You're gonna paste the information directly into the data sheet, which then reflects on the graphs automatically.
Paste into Numbers
Once everything downloads, the Terminal provides additional instructions. Your clipboard contains the first set of data to be copied to Numbers.
Once you copy the first set of data into Numbers, go back to Terminal and hit Enter. The second set of data has now been copied. Keep doing this until you fill up all of the data tables in Sheet 1 of the Numbers spreadsheet.
View your graphs!
Now, when you view Sheet 2 of the Numbers spreadsheet, you should see the graphs with your Twitter data. Visually informative!
Rinse, then repeat
What's unique about this process is that every time you wish to refresh your data graphs, you only download any new tweets, rather than re-downloading your entire set again. The csv file is what maintains this information.
Categories: Stats 
, Tutorials , Twitter , Utilities
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