Twindex: Day-By-Day Twitter Political Index Aims to Augment Polling

By Rob Scott
September 5, 2012

Twitter has been tracking presidential campaign-related tweets for months. The microblogger is using the data for its Twitter Political Index (“Twindex” for short).
“What is the Twindex? Simply put, it’s a day-by-day guide to the online conversation and sentiment surrounding Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and other key players in the 2012 presidential election,” notes Mashable.
The Index scans tweets for mention of the candidates and creates a sentiment score relative to all tweets. It is the result of a partnership between Twitter, Topsy, USA Today, The Mellman Group and North Star Opinion Research.
Adam Sharp, head of Twitter’s government, news and social innovation team, provides a 6-minute Twindex video tour on the Mashable post.
“We’re very careful to point out this is not designed to replace polling. In fact, we believe it strengthens it,” explains Sharp in the video. “The same way that radar and satellite didn’t replace thermometers and barometers, but joined them to give a more complete picture of the forecast. We believe the Twindex can do the same for traditional polling.”

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