Earlier today Apple acquired Topsy Labs, a company primarily known for offering search and data analysis tools that work with the Twitter data stream since 2006. Most analysts believe that it isn’t immediately clear how Apple will use Topsy’s know how, or its access to the Twitter firehose. Here are my guesses:
Curated Tweets
My first guess is that Apple will use Topsy’s capabilities to add Twitter analysis capabilities to Siri. In iOS 7, Apple customers can ask Siri:
What’s Tim Cook talking about?
… and get his Siri to show you his recent tweets about on World AIDS Day, Auburn Football, and Thanksgiving.
I expect Apple to allow Siri to answer questions like:
Who’s talking about the NHL Canadian TV deal?
… and have Siri show me the most relevant tweets on the subject from people like Bob MacKenzie. Not just people talking about that topic, but what the most socially-relevant people are saying.
Tweets Related to Other Apple Services
Topsy data could also influence services like iTunes Radio to make it more like Twitter #music, although I understand Apple has some access to Twitter #music already.
My question is, could Topsy find tweets about traffic situations that can help Maps with navigation around traffic incidents, construction, and use those as a factor in alternate root selection?