PT Insights

Nov
02

On the Pulse

Jenna Langer

Powell Tate is on the pulse (pun intended) of sentiment analysis. That is, now we’re measuring not only how many people are talking about a given issue online, but their attitude and pivot points within actual conversations. Last week we launched PoliPulse, a tool that visualizes this data and creates a unique daily graphic summary of the policy issues driving online conversation.

But don’t take our word for it. Crimson Hexagon, our PoliPulse development partner, has demonstrated that they know a thing or two about sentiment analysis. In fact, they were recently quoted in both The New York Times and Fast Company on how we’re figuring out how to use the (literally) billions of tweets, blog posts and Facebook updates typed every day. The articles highlight one of the significant benefits of sentiment analysis: the ability to provide data on public opinion in real time – and not only that, but the ability to passively monitor conversations, tracking issues as they develop organically (vs. having respondents reply to specific questions presented by a pollster).

We use PoliPulse to monitor eruptions (and latencies) in a given set of conversation topics and analyze the impetus behind the fluctuations, the sentiment behind them and, most importantly, how best to engage (or not engage) in the issue. Our colleague Eric Hoffman last week used PoliPusle to analyze the Tea Party movement, suggesting that although the Tea Party consists of loose-knit organizations, their concerns are cohesive – and that typically leads to large voter turnout.

As you can see, the significance of sentiment analysis is catching on, and you can expect to see it in media coverage of the midterm elections today. The New York Times recently launched an online tool that measures Twitter traffic for candidates running for Senate or governor. And as part of its famed election coverage tonight, CNN will use sentiment analysis to identify issues that gain traction online. Can you say the new iteration of the Election 2008 Interactive Map?