21 November 2011

Canberra tweeters anxious and aggressive?

| johnboy
Join the conversation
13

Personally I’d put any particular characterisation of “Canberra” on Twitter down to our parlous mental health system and the denizens of Parliament House (the latter certainly dominate my own local trend analysis).

But News is one of many outlets breathlessly reporting on research from the University of Technology Sydney attempting to put the qualitative onto the highly quantitative nature of Twitter data.

Specifically relevant to us is this bit:

“So we noticed in Canberra the majority of people on Twitter used anxious or aggressive language and were only happy on a Thursday afternoon compared to earlier in the week for the rest of the Australian cities,” he said in a statement about the research.

This reluctant tweeter reckons that most tweets nationally are self promoting (hence positive, whereas in Canberra they’re news analysis, which has a more negative tone).

While we’re here you can follow me on @Griffiths_John and this site’s output on @The_RiotACT .

Join the conversation

13
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest
Thoroughly Smashed4:24 pm 21 Nov 11

I heard Solly rambling on about something this morning, pretending to be some commercial radio shock jock.

Anyway, the ABC’s embarrassingly credulous reporting gives zero detail as to who actually did this “study” (short of attributing it to UTS,) much less their credentials. Turns out it’s the work of a “social media researcher”, whatever that means, at the UTS Business School.

johnboy said :

mehedges said :

I do like the fact that we’re apparently happier on Thursdays. I do like that student cheap drinks and clubbing correlate with twitter. Oh internets how you know us well 😛

I suspect it’s got more to do with parliamentary staff heading home for their long weekend.

Is Thursday public service pay day?

mehedges said :

I do like the fact that we’re apparently happier on Thursdays. I do like that student cheap drinks and clubbing correlate with twitter. Oh internets how you know us well 😛

I suspect it’s got more to do with parliamentary staff heading home for their long weekend.

I do like the fact that we’re apparently happier on Thursdays. I do like that student cheap drinks and clubbing correlate with twitter. Oh internets how you know us well 😛

The study was done over “the last few months” which sounds like they did the study during winter. I’m sure if the rest of the country had to get out of bed for (less than) 8 degree weather, they’d be just as angry 🙂

Was sent this story by a mate in Sydney before I saw this thread. I replied to him:

The basis of that analysis has got to be the flimsiest I’ve ever seen. Software analysis of words used to infer mood? Jaysus H Kryst on a popsicle stick … if there’s one thing software does exceedingly poorly, it’s interpret human emotion. From a list of words?
I put it to you that Canberrans – as the nation’s best paid, best educated and clearly most intelligent populace – are simply less interested in the sappy, saccharine guff that the rest of the country seems to use social networks for.

On top of which, I’m offended by the notion that Tweeters somehow represent the population. Surely this is the most vacuous demographic, and thus least representative of Cbr’s elite populace 🙂

I’ve wasted my life.

Someone’s paid a whole bunch of people to analyse what Twats think and published the results. Tragically, I’ve had to work for a living.

Watson said :

johnboy said :

Endrey said :

I love that I never see an analysis of Canberran happiness based on wealth, education, environment etc. but sweeping statements based on tweets are newspaper worthy.

I wanted to ignore the story, I really did.

So have you done an analysis of the RA comments yet? Are we more bitchy before Thursday arvo?

I am, but thats Just becase I have some pretty big greivences with weekdays that dont contain the letter R!

Just plian P*sses me off!!!!

Gungahlin Al12:04 pm 21 Nov 11

Sentiment mapping is an interesting direction social media monitoring is heading. But the ol’ lurking variable rules – like our heavy local bias towards journos as Twitter users perhaps?

But doesn’t everyone feel better after Hump Day?
@alankerlin @GungahlinCC

johnboy said :

Endrey said :

I love that I never see an analysis of Canberran happiness based on wealth, education, environment etc. but sweeping statements based on tweets are newspaper worthy.

I wanted to ignore the story, I really did.

So have you done an analysis of the RA comments yet? Are we more bitchy before Thursday arvo?

They probably also didn’t bother separating the tourists who work on The Hill from the locals.

Endrey said :

I love that I never see an analysis of Canberran happiness based on wealth, education, environment etc. but sweeping statements based on tweets are newspaper worthy.

I wanted to ignore the story, I really did.

I love that I never see an analysis of Canberran happiness based on wealth, education, environment etc. but sweeping statements based on tweets are newspaper worthy.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.