We propose the data mining-informed cognitive radio, which uses non-traditional data sources and data-mining techniques for decision making and improving the performance of a wireless network. To date, the application of information other than wireless channel data in cognitive radios has not been significantly studied. We use a novel dataset (Twitter traffic) as an indicator of network load in a wireless channel. Using this dataset, we present and test a series of predictive algorithms that

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... w an improvement in wireless channel utilization over traditional collision-detection algorithms. Our results demonstrate the viability of using these novel datasets to inform and create more efficient cognitive radio networks.