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Tracking online word-of-mouth: The people vs machines debate

Mike and Mark - thanks for a stimulating discussion. Mike said: "All of us in media analysis are still learning to understand the potential and, more importantly, the limitations of automated analysis tools. But as long as humans remain the final point of independent validation, computers can only ever remain a useful support and counting tool." This matches my personal experience in these matters. The automated system can attain a relatively high level of accuracy only if it is capable of "learning" from adjustments in sentiment. I started out with relatively poor accuracy that improved gradually, thanks to tweaks from the supplier and from several of us, double checking sentiment. This was an onerous and difficult task in a rapidly changing media environment of significant volume. The other comment I would make is that the perception of accuracy -- and the trust in it -- is nearly as important as the actual sentiment data. The summary sentiment is a "blunt instrument" and needs some kind of appropriate scale that accurately describes the myriad gradations of sentiment. For now, I'll tip my cap to the learned Mr. Daniels -- combination offers the best potential analysis at this point.

16-Jun-2009

8:54 pm