SocialMediaLab (version 0.23.2)

CollectDataInstagram: Note: this function is DEPRECATED and will be removed in a future release.

Description

Collect data from Instagram for generating different types of networks

Usage

CollectDataInstagram(tag, n, lat, lng, distance, folder, mindate, maxdate,
  verbose, sleep, writeToFile, waitForRateLimit, credential = NULL)

Arguments

tag

character string. Hashtag used to filter media. It is only possible for a single hashtag.

n

numeric. Maximum number of media to return.

lat

numeric. Latitude of the center search coordinate.

lng

numeric. Longitude of the center search coordinate.

distance

numeric. Default is 1km (distance=1000), max distance is 5km.

folder

character string. If different than NULL, will download all pictures to this folder.

mindate

character string. Minimum date for search period.

maxdate

character string. Maximum date for search period.

verbose

logical. If TRUE then this function will output runtime information to the console as it computes. Useful diagnostic tool for long computations. Default is FALSE.

sleep

numeric, Number of seconds between API calls (default is 0).

writeToFile

logical. If TRUE then the data is saved to file in current working directory (CSV format), with filename denoting the current time/date.

waitForRateLimit

logical. If TRUE then it will try to observe the API rate limit by ensuring that no more than 5000 API calls are made per hour (the current rate limit). If more than 5000 calls are made within a 60 minute window, then all operates will suspend for 60 minutes, and resume afterwards. Note: API calls are only tracked within the scope of this function.

credential

Optional, a credential object created by Authenticate.

Value

A data frame object of class dataSource.Instagram that can be used with CreateBimodalNetwork.

Details

This function collects data from Instagram using either hashtag (e.g. #obama) or search coordinates (latitude and longitude), and structures the data into a data frame of class dataSource.Instagram, ready for creating networks for further analysis. This function draws heavily on the `searchInstagram` function (from the 'instaR' package) and includes all the arguments for collecting Instagram data using that function, as well as additional arguments listed below.

CollectDataInstagram collects public pictures and videos from Instagram, and also collects the maximum amount of comments and 'likes' for each post. It draws on and extends the `searchInstagram` function from the 'instaR' package.

As the 'instaR' documentation describes, it is only possible to apply one filter at a time: either search by hashtag OR search by coordinates. The 'mindate' and 'maxdata' search parameters only work when searching by location, not when searching by tag.

After the data are collected, the function finds and maps the relationships between users and posts, and structures these relationships into a format suitable for creating bimodal networks using CreateBimodalNetwork.

See Also

AuthenticateWithInstagramAPI must be run first or no data can be collected through the API.

Examples

## Not run: ------------------------------------
# ## Use your own values for myAppID and myAppSecret
# myAppID <- "123456789098765"
# myAppSecret <- "abc123abc123abc123abc123abc123ab"
# 
# # Authenticate with the Instagram API using `AuthenticateWithInstagramAPI`
# instagram_oauth_token <- AuthenticateWithInstagramAPI(appID=app_id, appSecret=app_secret,
#   useCachedToken=TRUE)
# 
# # EXAMPLE 1
# 
# # Run the `CollectDataInstagram` function and store the results in variable `myInstagramData`
# # (searching by hashtag)
# myInstagramData <- CollectDataInstagram(tag="obama", distance=5000, n=100, folder=NULL,
# verbose=TRUE, waitForRateLimit=TRUE)
# 
# # Create a 'bimodal' network using \code{CreateBimodalNetwork}
# g_bimodal_instagram_obama <- CreateBimodalNetwork(myInstagramData,writeToFile=F)
# 
# # View descriptive information about the bimodal network
# g_bimodal_instagram_obama
# 
# # EXAMPLE 2
# 
# # Run the `CollectDataInstagram` function and store the results in variable `myInstagramData`
# # (searching by coordinates in Brisbane (Australia) with a radius of 5km)
# myInstagramData <- CollectDataInstagram(lat=-27.4701, lng=153.0220, distance=5000, n=100,
#   folder=NULL, verbose=TRUE, waitForRateLimit=TRUE)
# 
# # Create a 'bimodal' network using \code{CreateBimodalNetwork}
# g_bimodal_instagram_brisbane <- CreateBimodalNetwork(myInstagramData,writeToFile=F)
# 
# # View descriptive information about the bimodal network
# g_bimodal_instagram_brisbane
## ---------------------------------------------