Are hashtags an useful barometer of sentiment?

Everybody knows the impact Twitter had during Iran elections and also during the Mumbai Terror attacks last year. To many the tweets following #Iran elections and #Mumbai represented real news and not just real-time news (I guess, anything is better than the screaming banshees of news channels)

There is also one more use. Sometimes a quick read of tweets pertaining to a ‘hashtag’ can be an indicator of trends or sentiment. Just yesterday my 13-year old niece wanted some help for an essay on wildlife. #wildlife gave me a quick summary on the topic which was not way off the mark. The links provided the support.

Even a mild curiosity is easily addressed by following a ‘hashtag’ tweet-stream, like this one on Gold. A quick run-through of the tweets told me that ‘gold is Gold’ (Couldn’t help the corny comment!)

I do not know whether the sentiment one unearths from ‘hashtags’ are momentary or whether they can stand the scrutiny of experts. However, there is no doubt in my mind that they are a barometer, a quick and useful one at that.

Any thoughts?

(Image courtesy: marc.benton)

World's best job?

“Imagine moving to the heart of Sonoma County, where every day you’ll come home to more than 450 wineries along the beautiful northern coast of California. Picture living rent free, learning the intricacies of making the perfect wine, and capturing and sharing the entire experience for your network of Twitter followers. Now imagine getting paid $10,000 a month to do it. Listening?”

Hear more from Jennifer Van Grove who has all the details.

If this is not a viral or a PR stunt or a marketing ploy, it is truly a dream job. Now who can say that social media does not work?

BTW, I wonder what the tweets from the ‘Lucky One’ will be like.


(Image courtesy: BlakJakDavy)

Twitter Backlash

Here’s a link to the post about how a seemingly innocuous tweet from a senior PR Executive led to a backlash (Link via Chris Brogan. Thanks)

For the reader it would be funny but not so for the PR man and his PR agency. He must be the next popular man from the US in the blogosphere after Obama.