The Story of SocialDatabase

Few people would place data management on par with the thrills and adventure of the Paris to Dakar rally. However, for Roland Rijpma, a retired data scientist turned rally driver, the vast amounts of data generated by the explosive growth of social media became as exhilarating as the arid dunes of North Africa.

A university research thesis by Thomas Slabbers reignited Roland's passion for data, prompting his "un-retirement." The paper, "You are who you follow, A deeper analysis of how people act on Twitter," crystallized Roland’s perspective on the immense potential of analyzing the ever-growing public data on Twitter.

Dakar Rally

In July 2013, Roland, Thomas, and data engineer Peter Versteegen co-founded SocialDatabase. It wasn't long before their unique data-complexity analysis of publicly available Twitter (now X) data successfully generated fact-backed insights and defined behaviorally predictive audiences. SocialDatabase’s servers began operating 24/7, processing and recategorizing vast amounts of data.

By 2015, Twitter noticed this significant data consumption and sought an explanation. During a meeting at Twitter’s San Francisco HQ, Thomas detailed how SocialDatabase had downloaded, restructured, and analyzed the entire Twitter database. Twitter was impressed not only by the scale but also by the efficacy of the restructuring, recognizing SocialDatabase's deep understanding of the Twitter database.

History

Our Principle

Our belief in the principle that “You are who you follow” grounds our targeting approach in the idea that users follow those they genuinely want to hear from, leading to more engaged conversations.

By reimagining the world's largest public database, we deliver exceptionally deep insights and receptive audiences. Our methods are more precise, scalable, and responsive than native tools available. We delve into underlying connections, interactions, and behaviors, offering unparalleled audience precision and effectiveness.

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