Twitter and the startup Topsy have a new political index aimed at gauging the daily state of the U.S. presidential horserace. Useful? We'll see.
Twitter and social media startup Topsy unveiled this week a new political index aimed at gauging the daily state of the U.S. presidential horserace by analyzing 400 million tweets a day.
"Imagine getting a glimpse into election conversations happening all over the nation every day. Topsy analyzes massive amounts of tweets in real-time to measure those conversations, understand what people are talking about and make sense of it," Duncan Greatwood, Topsy's Chief Executve told AFP.
Twitter's head of Government, News and Social Innovation, Adam Sharp, also trumpeted the new tool:
Just as technologies like radar and satellite joined the thermometer and barometer to give forecasters a more complete picture of the weather, so too does the index we've partnered with Topsy on stand with traditional methods like surveys and focus groups to paint a more complete picture of the political forecast.
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We'll withhold judgement about the service for now, but it raises the obvious questions about social media as myopic echo chambers. Based on a Twitter analysis of, say, your favorite television show Community, one might end up with very skewed perceptions of popularity.
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