State what is collected, and what is left out
Collection starts from explicit seeds: accounts, post addresses or search terms, over a bounded period. Thirteen platforms are covered: LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Reddit, Pinterest, Snapchat, Bluesky, Mastodon and Telegram. Nexus gathers posts on all of them except Snapchat, which exposes public profiles only. Bluesky, Mastodon and Telegram run through their public interfaces at no cost.
Only posts enter the map. Comments, reactions and follower lists are never gathered. That choice keeps personal material to a minimum and avoids mistaking an audience for a structure.
Two ceilings are set before anything runs: a maximum number of items and a maximum amount to spend. Both travel with the request rather than being applied once results come back.
Read the map of accounts, hashtags and sites
Every account becomes a node, platform by platform; hashtags and cited sites become others. A link carries the name of what grounds it, and its weight is the number of posts that attest it.
| Observed relation | Useful question | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Mention | Which accounts cite which others, and in what direction? | A name written without a link is not read as a mention |
| Repost | Which messages travel, and through whom? | Passing a message on is not endorsing it |
| Shared hashtag | Which topics gather otherwise distant accounts? | A hashtag is easily diverted |
| Cited site | Which domains do the posts point to? | Shortened addresses are not followed |
Keep computed apart from estimated
Structural measures are computed on the map: centrality, communities, degrees. When a computation fails to converge, Nexus says so and names what it serves instead, rather than passing a fallback off under the expected measure’s name.
Coordinated behaviour belongs to another regime: it is estimated, held outside the graph, and no centrality depends on it. Two accounts posting almost simultaneously form a lead to verify, never proof of concerted action.
Protect people and keep the trail
Organisations and accounts flagged public appear in the clear, each for a written reason. Any other account is replaced by a stable code specific to the assignment, without name or address; the name is masked even inside the text that is kept.
- Perimeter, period and seeds declared
- Coverage report attached to the map
- Reason for disclosure, account by account
- Post address withheld when it would identify a person
- Raw data erased on an explicit gesture
Workspaces relevant to this question
Each workspace answers a specific question and contributes to the same decision file. Combined information remains sourced and checked before the trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Does Nexus measure influence?
No. A link weighs observed posts. Weighting by reach was removed from the computation: it measured virality, not structure.
Are comments and followers collected?
No. Collection stops at posts; reactions, comments and follower lists stay outside the perimeter.
What is visible about a private account?
A stable code specific to the assignment, with no name, no address and no text. Two assignments cannot be cross-referenced through that code.