RootWise, founded by David Cyprian, specializes in analyzing social media data for humanitarian, public health, and security purposes. The company provides AI-powered tools for crisis management, situational awareness, and real-time broadcast radio analytics.
Understanding perceptions and beliefs
RootWise's core mission is to reveal perceptions and beliefs that drive behavior in complex social environments. This insight helps organizations navigate crises, make operational decisions, and develop effective strategic communications. Their approach combines innovative data collection techniques with AI-driven analysis to rapidly answer challenging questions about the narratives and influences that really matter in specific regions or communities.
The quest for hyperlocal data
To deliver accurate, hyperlocal intelligence, RootWise needs access to relevant social media data from specific communities on various platforms. Over the years, the company has explored multiple avenues for data acquisition, including building custom data extraction tools and purchasing data from various providers. However, these methods often fell short of providing the specific, targeted information needed for RootWise's analyses.
Apify: precision in social media intelligence
RootWise found in Apify a more reliable and cost-effective solution for targeted social media data acquisition. David appreciates the flexibility and redundancy of selecting from various Actors in Apify Store, which allows him to choose the best tool for each specific data need. He emphasizes the precision of this approach:
"I’m using Apify for surgical social media data acquisition — it’s where I'm finding it most useful."
-- David Cyprian
The company primarily uses Apify through its API, integrating it directly into its backend systems. This approach means that Apify's automated data collection fits seamlessly in RootWise's existing value proposition analyzing hard-to-acquire data in a near-real-time analytics pipeline.
Innovating in analytical tools
RootWise is currently using Apify to develop a new product that requires specific social media data. The flexibility of the Apify platform allows the company to adapt its data collection methods as the project evolves.
Apify API integration enables RootWise to dynamically configure different Actors, automating the collection of platform- and project-specific data from various social media platforms for its AI-driven analysis.
Learn how to get data from TikTok in our tutorial below:
The future for RootWise
As RootWise continues to develop, the company anticipates increased usage of Apify's services. They're particularly interested in potential features like chained Actors for improved reliability, which could further improve their data acquisition capabilities.
With Apify's support, RootWise is well-positioned to continue delivering valuable, hyperlocal intelligence to its clients in the national security and humanitarian sectors. This partnership demonstrates how targeted data acquisition can fuel innovation in social media analysis for critical global issues.