Advising the Government on Sentiment Analysis
Federal Computer Week took an in-depth look at how the government officials can benefit from sentiment analysis. I offered up my thoughts for the article:
The technology continues to evolve to more accurately discern meaning in unstructured data. The complexity and nuances of human language are such that they often confound text analytics, said Andy Beal, who helps clients manage their online reputations. Think of the blogger who texts that his new cell phone is wicked bad.
At present, sentiment analysis tools are right 70 to 80 percent of the time, but compared to the cost of surveying 1,000 people by telephone, theyre a lot more efficient, Beal said.
If a government agency can use sentiment analysis to determine the pulse of people affected by a planned project or spending proposal, it will cut down on human input and the expense of market research, he said.
