Research conducted by Bristol University’s Intelligent Systems Laboratory used information from location tagged tweets and status updates to predict flu outbreaks and rainfall by collecting keyword information related to the two subjects, and comparing their results to geographical weather information and NHS records to determine if there was a correlation.

During the several months over which the information was gathered, the academics were able to collect over 50 million geographically based tweets on which to base the study and help spot patterns relating to the two chosen subject matters.

In the future, the academics believe that information from social media could help to predict trends, disease outbreaks, and electoral voting patterns, and also gauge the scale of an event and its affect.

However only 0.00028 of the world’s 7 billion population is currently using social networks such as Twitter therefore the researchers concede that the information gleamed from such sources do have limitations and don’t cover enough of the population to give an accurate snapshot of events in specific geographical areas. Despite this, the researchers do believe that Twitter holds some value in its ability to track an event through the information shared on the network.

Women are also leading the way in terms of social network membership, with statistics revealing females are more likely to be a member of Twitter or Facebook compared to men with 60% of women found to be using social media, in contrast to 54% of men.

However when it comes to professional social networks such as Linkedln, men are storming ahead in the leader board as they are twice more likely to be part of one of these networks compared to women.

Facebook, Bebo and Twitter is at the forefront of the minds of the youngsters in the UK, with 91% of those aged 16-24 years, admitting to logging into social media in the last year. On the opposite end of the scale, Brits aged over 65 years of age are also getting into the swing of social networks as the figures show that 18% of pensioners are using social media of some kind.

Not only are more of us checking into social networks, the way we’re accessing information is changing as the results reveal that 45% of us are using smartphones to get online, compared to just 31% of use in 2010.

Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular social networks being targeted by online scammers as the cyber criminals view these users as a “soft touch” in terms of members’ security practices. Sophos also suggested that online criminals target social networks as their security walls are not as sophisticated as the security measures in place to prevent malware getting through on email accounts.

The scammers work by infiltrating a social network member’s account, and sending out a spam message via that account. Because the message is supposedly sent via a friend, the recipient is more likely to open the message without realising the potential threat.

While the study found that a high number of social network members are now very conscious of the threat posed by these cyber criminals, there are still a large number of naive users who are oblivious to the dangers.

The security report found that over the course of the last year, two thirds of Facebook and Twitter members have been spammed, which represents a 90% increase since the summer of 2009.

The Tayside force are taking part in a trial which will see eight of their community support officers logging onto Twitter during work hours to communicate up to the minute information with regards to traffic updates, outcomes from meetings, and also crime prevention advice.

The police force will also be one of the first to use a new online resource known as MyPolice. The site enables members of the public to communicate with their local police force, submitting feedback anonymously via the MyPolice website.

The authorities say they are always looking for new ways to communicate with the public and that the social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook offer the potential to open up a two conversation between the police and the public, especially with the younger members of the community who tend to be very involved with social networking sites.

Eight officers from the Tayside force will experiment with tweeting while on the beat as part of the trial. If the practice is deemed a success, the service may be rolled out across the country.

The research, which was conducted by Sysomos who specialise in analysing social media, found that 95% of current Twitter users signed up since 2009 which means that only 4.7% of current member members were using the site prior to this.

Sysomos reported that they examined over a billion Tweets and 20 million Twitter users as part of the study into the habits and changing patterns of the social network site.

Launched back in 2006, Twitter saw healthy growth figures within the first couple of years of its existence, but come 2009, the micro blogging site sky rocketed in the popularity stakes. The surge in sign-ups may have also been aided by the large intake of celebrities and also businesses who started to recognise the value of Twitter as a marketing tool to publicise information about themselves or their company.

The statistics collected by Sysomos also revealed that Twitter members have become more open about sharing information on the site, with the number of people choosing to add a 140 character bio to their profile doubling since 2009 going from 31% to 69%.

According to the study Twitter members also more willing to share their location via the site as 81% now reveal where they are, compared to just 44% in 2009.

This figure means British people are more likely to be found on their laptop or smart phone surfing the web before lights out than reading a book or flicking through a magazine, which were once the most popular pre-sleep activities.

The study, which was conducted on behalf of the Travelodge, questioned 6,000 people as part of their research making it one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind.

While the poll found that 72% of us are checking our Facebook or Twitter pages for new Tweets and status updates before hitting the sack, 18% of those who took part in the study also admitted to regularly posting a good night status update or Tweet to sign off for the night.

However sleep experts have warned that this kind of behaviour is damaging the nation’s sleep patterns and which could have a knock on effect on health. The bright light which is omitted from the laptop or phone screen prevents the brain from starting its shutdown process in preparation for sleep. The end result is that it’s taking us longer to nod off, which means our overall sleep period is reduced as a result.

As well as checking our Facebook pages, a quarter of Brits are also using their bed time to do their grocery shopping online. The average time spent on the internet while in bed was calculated as 16 minutes.

10-year-old Alex Wilson was sat in a car with his father when the pair witnessed a young man stealing an iPhone from an unsuspecting pedestrian. The thief, later revealed to be a jobless 24-year-old named Craig Royal, made his getaway by bike.

The father and son were stuck in slow moving traffic on a busy road in Darlington, Co Durham, and were able to catch a picture of the phone thief as he attempted to flee the scene by bike.

The school boy used his father’s phone to take the picture of the robber, and less than half an hour later, posted the image on Twitter along with a message which read “This idiot just robbed someone on Yarm Road about 20 minutes ago.”

The police were able to identify Royal from the snap taken by the 10-year-old and later arrested the suspect. 24-year-old Royal pleaded guilty to the theft of the iPhone and received a 12 month conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay a £50 fine and £85 in costs.

The authorities praised 10-year-old Alex’s quick thinking actions which lead to the arrest and prosecution of the thief.

The media is full of stories of couples who’ve split because of behaviour on a social network site, or employees getting the sack for ranting about their boss, so to safeguard yourself from falling into the trap of venting your true emotions on Facebook or Twitter after a few too many, you need to install the new sobriety test.

The system has been set up by online security site, Webroot. The sobriety test can be installed as an add-on to internet and Firefox. To get started you’ll need to visit the main site and create an account. At this point you’ll be able to specify which accounts you’d like the test to apply to, and also specific hours you’ll like the system activated.

The sobriety test can be used to access a range of sites including Facebook and Twitter, plus email accounts and blogs. Tests to check levels of sobriety include drawing a straight line with the mouse, and typing the alphabet backwards, amongst others.

The adverts will be marked as “promoted” in order to easily distinguish these ads from other tweets. The kind of adverts which appear on each individual’s timeline will be tailored to their likes and dislikes according to the information they give on Twitter.

The micro-blogging website was set up three years ago and now boasts 25 million members worldwide. Until the introduction of promotional tweets, the site was unable to make any money from the social network.

The move will allow advertisers and internet marketing companies to connect to a massive audience worldwide. The strategy of tailoring ads to users’ interests will ensure advertisers target the people who will be most interested in the product advertised.

Previously, advertising on Twitter only appeared in the search results.

As well allowing paid-for ads to appear on user’s tweet streams, in the future Twitter plans to offering advertising space on the main pages of Twitter members. As with the other ads, these will be geared towards the interests of that particular member according to the information they share on the micro-blogging website.

Twitter is currently experimenting with the new advertising system as it attempts to find the right times, and types of ad to display to its users. The paid-for adverts will only be available to view by those members who have installed HootSuite.

The new Twitter CEO has been revelaed as Dick Costolo

Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams has announced his plans to step down to allow another colleague to come forward to steer the company during its new phase.

Williams is the second Twitter CEO to step down after two years in the job. The Twitter co-founder is not leaving the company, he will instead be taking up a role in the organisation focusing on product development.

Dick Costolo has been named as the new CEO at Twitter. Costolo received a place on the board back in 2007 when he invested $5 million in the company. A year ago he took on the role of chief operating officer. Before Costolo became involved with Twitter he was the Chief Executive of Feedburner before it was sold to Google.

Twitter’s online audience has seen rapid growth during the time Evan Williams has headed up the company. When Williams took over as CEO in 2008 Twitter had 3 million registered users, two years on that figure now stands at 160 million.

Twitter is currently free to users, however the social networking site has struck deals with Google and Bing in recent times whereby tweets related to search enquiries appear in results lists. Another means by which Twitter are able to generate revenue is via a new system of promoted tweets where companies can pay to advertise on the popular social network. The change of CEO is part of the company’s strategy to focus more on generating revenue from the micro blogging site.