Crimson Hexagon

Social Intelligence: How “May Day” Occupied Social Media Channels

Crimson Hexagon's Editorial Team — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:26 +0000

Crimson Hexagon gathered social intelligence to reveal online conversations in the latest chapter in the Occupy Movement that unfolded on May 1st. Organizers partnered with Labor Unions and Immigration Rights Activists in San Francisco, Chicago, Sydney, and London to “celebrate” International Workers’ Day.

Since the movement began last summer, reactions have been mixed. How did the conversation shape up on the days directly surrounding May Day?

Using our ForSight platform, we analyzed over 19,300 opinions to parcel sentiment related to the “May Day” protests.

27% of the conversation supported the movement:

14% vocalized direct support
13% was promotional, and advocated the message expressed by occupiers and the importance of the event itself

The most substantial portion of the conversation—65%—was neutral

54% was simply sharing links to media coverage
12% of the discussion were passing mentions

The remainder, 8%, actively disagreed with the movement.

As always, we’ll continue analyzing social intelligence on interesting topics and trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us on Twitter @CrimsonHexagon or via email at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform for social media monitoring and analysis. Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Analysis by Miles Branman and Sean Finn

Social Sentiment Analysis On Time’s Cover Story

DJ Capobianco — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:54:02 +0000

Public Reaction to “Attachment Parenting” Creates Media Frenzy

Time Magazine’s latest cover featuring a mother breastfeeding a 4 year-old. Crimson Hexagon’s social sentiment analysis reveals a wide mix of online reactions.

Time Magazine’s latest story on “attachment parenting” features 26 year-old mother Jamie Lynne Grumet breastfeeding her 4 year old son, Aaron, on the cover of the magazine. By itself, attachment parenting is a controversial topic. But the photo Time chose for its cover has led to a downright media frenzy.

We used our ForSight social media analysis platform to understand the almost 4,000 opinions on the controversial topic. What did we find? The majority disagree with the editors at Time.

45% of the conversation is negative; specifically:

20% find breastfeeding in public to be an intimate moment, and shouldn’t be exploited to sell magazines
12% ask: “is Time Serious?” Specifically, these comments question the appropriateness of the cover and the newsworthiness of the story
The remainder, 13%, simply find the concept of attachment parenting odd

26% of the conversation was positive:

10% praise Time’s usage of the photo as it has effectively brought the topic into the mainstream conversation
Another 10% find breastfeeding to be a natural part of life that shouldn’t be considered objectionable or lewd regardless of where its seen
6% find nothing wrong with “attachment parenting,” and see it as a viable method for rearing their children

The remaining 30% was sharing the news of the cover or simply didn’t express an opinion either way.

As always, we’ll continue analyzing sharing social sentiment analysis on the space for interesting trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us on Twitter @CrimsonHexagon or via email at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform for social media monitoring and analysis. Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Sean Finn also contributed to this post

Political Analysis of Same-Sex Marriage Announcement

Crimson Hexagon's Editorial Team — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:43:28 +0000

A Turbulent Week In Social Media Reactions to Obama’s Support and North Carolina’s Ban

In the wake of mounting pressure from gay rights activists and the Democratic base, President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriages, one day after a vote to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in North Carolina. The President’s previous stance in his support for civil unions, but not marriage, was made complicated on Sunday morning after Vice President Joe Biden’s Meet the Press appearance, in which he said he was, “absolutely comfortable” with the idea of homosexual couples marrying one another.

Political analysis of the opinion expressed by the Whitehouse is not one lost on many Americans, with 52% of Americans in favor of same-sex marriages. But what does that say for those in the Twitter-sphere? Of about 370,000 opinions, Crimson Hexagon’s social media analysis found the following in light of the President’s remarks:

31% agree with the President’s position on marriage equality.
17% are discussing the importance of President Obama’s stance, and the process of “evolution” (from civil unions to same-sex marriage) he took to arrive at it.
9% disagree with the President’s views
8% thought Biden and Obama’s announcements—and their timing—were solely for political gain
4% feel that the announcement will change voting behavior

Conversely, an additional 4% feel that the announcement is unimportant to most voters
The remaining conversation (26%) was simply sharing news of the announcement.
A day before President Obama declared his support for same sex marriage, North Carolina voted on Amendment 1, which sought to define marriage as being “between one man and one woman,” not only banning gay marriage, but civil unions and domestic partnerships as well.

This conversation wasn’t lost on Twitter, where Crimson Hexagon analyzed roughly 1,000 opinions over the past two days regarding the passing of the Amendment.

27% disagreed with the passing of the legislation and felt that the bill, as well as its supporters, were homophobic and bigoted
22% encouraged people to get out and vote against the amendment
16% of the discussion aimed to inform their followers about the details of the amendment, explaining its ramifications for civil unions and domestic partnerships
11% shared how they voted on the Amendment or were referring to it in context
8% were in favor of the Amendment to the state’s constitution.
Additional conversation, at 17%, was spreading news of the legislation

As always, we’ll continue analyzing the space for interesting trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us on Twitter @CrimsonHexagon or via email at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform for social media monitoring and analysis. Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Sean Finn and Giselle Lopez contributed reporting.

Social Sentiment on French Election

Crimson Hexagon's Editorial Team — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:45:27 +0000

Twitter Reveals Mixed Opinions

The French presidential election, which ended Sunday with Francois Hollande ousting incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy, generated widespread buzz and mixed opinions on Twitter. Since May 6th, social sentiment in France about the election has drawn over 235,000 relevant mentions.

Twitter analysis revealed 25% of users express satisfaction with the results, though opinions are divided according to support for Hollande and a strong desire to get Sarkozy out of office:

16% of users actively show support for Hollande
9% express a strong dislike for Sarkozy

33%, on the other hand, express disappointment in the election outcome, with many noting a poor outlook of French politics:

11% of users are against Hollande, and convey a fear that France is going to “hit the wall” with his economic policy stance
13% express support and gratitude to Sarkozy for his leadership as president and disappointment that he lost the election
9% of users noted the significant amount of blank votes or reflected on the overall poor state of French politics

While a majority of the neutral conversation surrounding the election consisted of election news coverage and questions, election results consisted of 16% of all relevant conversation. The hashtag #RadioLondres, a medium used throughout the election to spread results, was again a driver of social conversation on Sunday and allowed users to know the winner before results were officially announced.

The social sentiment surrounding the French election reveal not only cynicism in the country’s political atmosphere but also anxieties about the implications of the election for the economy and France’s future. With the large volume of posts immediately surrounding the election and the widespread use of #RadioLondres, it is also clear that there is a great demand for real-time information among the French population, particularly regarding significant changes in the political environment.

Giselle Lopez contributed reporting.

Is CISPA Really in the Internet’s Best Interest?

Crimson Hexagon's Editorial Team — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:40:48 +0000

Congressional lawmakers, who first attempted to curb Internet piracy with the highly unpopular SOPA or Stop Online Piracy Act, have revived and revamped the legislation in the form of CISPA (the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act). Where SOPA prevented advertisers from doing business with websites who infringed on the law and required Internet service providers, or ISPs, to block access to those websites, CISPA allows these websites to instead share this information with the US Government and are thusly granted immunity. Those who previously opposed the passing of SOPA are calling this new legislative measure, “SOPA 2.0”, as it is merely a restructuring of the previous law, with the provisions that detail the government’s true reach lifted, ultimately “undermining privacy and civil liberties.”

The US House of Representatives passed the measure in a 236-185 vote on April 23rd, much to the dismay of the internet and have taken to Twitter to voice their outrage. After Crimson Hexagon analyzed the CISPA-driven conversation of 254,000 online opinions, our social analysis extracted a few key insights.

At 60%, the conversation as overwhelmingly negative:

18% of the conversation noted similarities to previous legislation (SOPA et al); 18% detested the fact that CISPA would create unregulated government surveillance and threaten Internet privacy.
14% is general negative conversation, including disgust with Congress and the federal government prioritization as opposed to other issues in the US.
The remaining 10% of the conversation sought the immediate voting down of the legislation citing its implications for free speech and activity online.

Neutral conversation comprised the remainder:

18% were spreading the news of CISPA’s existence, as well as comparisons to its predecessors SOPA and PIPA.
12% highlighted President Obama’s vow to veto the legislation if it arrives on his desk in its current form.
And 10% were perplexed by Facebook’s, as well as other companies’, support of CISPA after they opposed SOPA/PIPA.

The current topics of conversation on CISPA are similar to the conversation surrounding SOPA/PIPA, in that the topics of discussion about CISPA were observed in a previous social media analysis conducted by Crimson Hexagon in the heat of the SOPA discussions.

During their respective zeitgeists, SOPA received exponentially more conversation than CISPA has been experiencing over the same period. Additionally, the proportional breakdown these categories from CISPA to SOPA have changed dramatically.

The shift in conversation reflects the overall sentiment differences between the two pieces of legislation. Where 36% of SOPA’s conversation were calls to action; championing to kill the bill, 38% of the conversation is merely discussing CISPA and its implications, where only 23% of CISPA protesters are calling for the bill’s death.

So what does this all mean? The analytics themselves seem to indicate that the Internet has grown tired of fighting. Although a hefty majority are discussing CISPA, there seems to be little to no conversion to actual action. Those who fought against SOPA had a common ally in web entities such as Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Wikipedia, yet those who oppose CISPA are more or less left to their own devices as the legislation removes all accountability from the websites themselves and focuses it squarely on the user.

What side of the fence are you on? Do you find CISPA to be so morally reprehensible that it needs to be stopped or are you in favor of the legislation as it currently stands to curb internet piracy allowing for the protection of copyrighted content? Or are you somewhere in the middle, seeing the opportunity for CISPA to do good, but needing to be restructured to protect the true interests of the Internet? Be sure to tweet @crimsonhexagon and share your thoughts.

As always, we’ll continue analyzing the space for interesting trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform for social media monitoring and analysis. Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Egyptian Social Media Analysis Reveals Nation’s Perspectives on Election

Crimson Hexagon's Editorial Team — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:45:03 +0000

In the spring of 2011, Egyptians leveraged Twitter as a means to energize, inform, and organize public protests leading to the overthrow of the Mubarak regime. In the spring of 2012, Egypt’s upcoming election has generated a storm of controversy and instability that threatens the country’s safe transition to civilian democracy. As the events unfold, Egyptians have again taken to Twitter to discuss the issues, organize protests, and express their political opinions.

Our social media analysis examined English-language Twitter posts from users in Egypt. This undoubtedly is only a subset of all social media discussion in Egypt surrounding the election; nevertheless, this analysis provides insights into the trends and nature of the conversation within the country itself. According to our analysis of Egyptian sentiment on Twitter, public opinion of the election is primarily negative, with 26% expressing negative sentiment and just 8% expressing optimism about the election and candidates. Of the negative opinions, 18% generally criticize the elections, while 8% express specific opposition to the disqualification of candidates by the election commission.

The vast majority of the conversation about the election, however, is dedicated to neutral commentary, with 65% spreading news and information about the race. 27% of conversation specifically mentions the prospects of candidates:

18% mentions the platforms and backgrounds of candidates
9% discusses the disqualifications of candidates by the Electoral Commission

The entrance and elimination of Omar Suleiman, former vice president and intelligence chief during the Mubarak regime, particularly spurred a significant amount of discussion.

Protests, undoubtedly a critical factor in the political climate surrounding the election in Egypt, inspire 17% of the overall conversation. This category jumped to 30% of conversation on April 20 surrounding the protests in Tahrir Square. The influence of prominent groups also figures into neutral conversation and may be indicative of public perceptions surrounding these groups. The Muslim Brotherhood in particular generates 10% of overall conversation, while the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) draws just 3% in the context of election discussion.

The negative slant of opinions surrounding the elections is indicative of a public reaction to widespread political instability in Egypt. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that Egyptians continue to use social media platforms primarily to generate communication and spur political action as a positive force for change in their country.

Gigi Lopez contributed to this post.

Social Media Analysis Shows Range of Reactions to GSA Scandal

Wayne St. Amand — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:56:53 +0000

In what began as the resignation of General Services Administration (GSA) administrator Martha Johnson ahead of an investigation into the misappropriation of $822,000 in taxpayer dollars for a lavish retreat in Las Vegas, has evolved into a full blown scandal extending to top executives at the agency tasked with preventing government corruption. At the center of it all is Jeffrey Neely, a senior executive at the organization who appears to have misused funds for a family vacation, under the auspices they were “scouting” trips, where he racked up over $40,000 in expenditures. With the economy still recovering and taxes high, the American taxpayer is, suffice it to say, up in arms over the imbroglio.

Crimson Hexagon analyzed the over 7,500 opinions on Twitter to discover that, despite the negative circumstances surrounding the situation, much of the blame wasn’t aimed directly at the GSA itself, but rather big government as a whole, in some instances specifically targeting President Obama.

At 13%, many felt that the failings at the agency were the responsibility of President Obama and reflected a failure in leadership; additionally many bemoaned the Whitehouse’s pivoting to blame the issue on the Bush administration.
12% of the conversation that encompassed “general negative” include social media conversation expressing incredulousness or disbelief at the situation as a whole.
11% saw this as another example of wasteful government spending, with some recalling Solyndra and others mentioning the First Family’s numerous vacations.
The remaining 8% feel this reinforces the notion that government spending should be cut and taxes lowered.

Yet amidst the outcry, 22% of the conversation, while not supportive of the administrators’ actions, is supportive of steps that could be taken related to retribution.

8% of tweets claimed they wanted some retribution to come out of the incident, not reimbursement for their tax dollars, simply restitution.
Another 8% feel that “ousting the executives” and cleaning up the powers that be will fix the problem.
And 6%, interestingly enough, came to the defense of other government workers, assuming the stance that “the actions of the few, do not reflect the many.”

The middle of the road conversations, measuring 33%, focused on spreading news surrounding the General Services Administration Scandal, which accounts for 23% of that conversation, while neutral conversation accounts for 10%.

What are your thoughts? Are you as outraged as the rest of the Twitterverse and think the agency should be shuttered or do think a few bad apples shouldn’t spoil the bunch? Tweet us @crimsonhexagon and let us know your thoughts.

As always, we’ll continue our social media analysis for interesting trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform for social media monitoring and analysis. Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Sean Finn also contributed to this post

Verizon Fees Have Many Saying They’ll Switch, According to Social Media Analysis

billie — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:04:13 +0000

Verizon Wireless looks to continue its perception of being a fee-happy company with consumers. What began with throttling users data access with a tiered data plan, followed by a $2 online payment fee that was repealed after customer outcry, is now turning into an additional $30 fee, as of April 22nd, in order to upgrade to the newest smartphone; a complete 180-degree turn from their current policy that offers a $30 credit toward your new smartphone purchase. While upgrade charges aren’t a foreign concept to cell phone providers, as Verizon’s three competitors have been charging for the privilege to upgrade, it no doubt comes as a stinging surprise to Verizon’s current and future subscribers. Regardless, Crimson Hexagon’s social media analysis found, not surprisingly, consumers aren’t finding it to be welcome news.

Click to enlarge

Crimson Hexagon analyzed over 4,000 reactions on Twitter, and while the reaction was (as expected) resoundingly negative at 51%, it’s interesting to identify what specifically those on Twitter were griping about (what’s driving the sentiment).

25% of the conversations skewed generally negative (general upset with Verizon but no other specific indications).
10% expressed their to desire to jump ship to another carrier or their commitment to not joining Verizon.
9% viewed this as another attempt by Verizon to take advantage of its customers by leveraging, “the level of service and support they’ve come to expect” as its vindication.
7% are feeling the sting and acknowledging the move as a “loyalty punishment” to its current subscribers.

The remainder of the conversation, at 39%, is neutral, with the conversation focused on sharing the news or asking others’ opinion.

What’s your take? Are you a Verizon customer waving goodbye to discounted upgrades or just watching the changing mobile landscape? Tweet us @crimsonhexagon and let us know your thoughts.

As always, we’ll continue analyzing the space for interesting trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ platform for social media analysis. Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Andrew Brearton and Sean Finn also contributed to this post

Social Media Analysis Reveals: What’s So Pinteresting?

Wayne St. Amand — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:31:18 +0000

According to a “Benchmark and Trend Report” from Experian Hitwise, Pinterest—the virtual pinboard—has rocketed to the number three spot among social networks in terms of web-traffic popularity. This new ranking puts it just behind social giants like Facebook and Twitter and has become a hot topic among marketers and social media fans. Mashable and other social news outlets have reported that the Pinterest user base is approximately 60:40 females to males, but it has still been somewhat of a mystery as to why the 2-year old social network has become so popular and which demographics most enjoy “pinning.” By using the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ social media analysis platform, we’ll shed some light on this topic.

Analyzing more than 11,300 mentions across Twitter, Facebook and Blogs, we found the majority of positive conversation (22%) focuses on the benefits of visual representation of brands and products. Pinterest users enjoyed crafting a “lifestyle” around their brands to engage consumers and help them understand how the brand views itself. Other Pinterest users (19%) loved expressing their interests visually, without the need for a long word-based explanation. The other positive conversation (16%) focused on Nonprofits and the rewards of utilizing a Pinterest profile to visualize the cause.

Neutral conversation only included 9% of mentions dedicated to general nods to Pinterest in the news or related posts. The majority of Neutral mentions, at 25%, were links from Pinterest with infographics, frequently used to show other social media trends. For example, one infographic categorized Facebook user growth. The last neutral category showed 9% of users simply jumped on the bandwagon, per say, as Pinterest has grown in popularity among social networks.

The topic wheel below provides another way to analyze the most popular topics related to Pinterest users:

The Topic Visualizer shows groups of related posts, based on the themes and topics of conversation. Click to enlarge.

The largest topic concentration is “tips” related to using Pinterest, though we notice the allure of a “visual social network” is represented within most topic categories. Delving into the refined categories, we can also see the “Pinterest Boards” highlighted. This may suggest users enjoy the level of personalization offered by the use of Pin Boards.

Understanding who uses Pinterest and why may also reveal if and when the all-visual social network may go the way of Instagram, which was recently acquired by Facebook for $1 Billion. It’s certainly clear that visuals and the networks leveraging them captivate us now more than ever.

Do you think the visual social network will lose its charm, or will social networkers find better uses for personal or brand-level interaction? Tweet at @crimsonhexagon and let us know what you think.

As always, we’ll continue analyzing the space for interesting trends. In the meantime, feel free to contact us at info@crimsonhexagon.com with questions or to learn how your market, brand or product could benefit from leveraging the Crimson Hexagon ForSight™ social media analysis platform . Want to see the Crimson Hexagon platform in action? Request a Live Online Demo.

Miles Branman also contributed to this post.

Do the Dodgers Need More Magic?

Crimson Hexagon's Editorial Team — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:16:15 +0000

The Los Angeles Dodgers, after a highly publicized feud between former team owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig regarding the misappropriation of team funds for McCourt’s personal gain, have been sold to an investment firm led by NBA legend Magic Johnson for an astounding $2.15 billion. In offering a “100% cash option” for the team, Mr. Johnson and Guggenheim Partners have surpassed the previous record for the price of a major sports franchise, the last being $845 million for the Chicago Cubs.

As one of the most recognized franchises in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen on hard times during Mr. McCourt’s tenure, a fact that has been vocally lamented by Dodgers fans.

With this new acquisition, many Dodgers fans are hopeful that this will lead to a renaissance for the franchise, with 46% of the conversation viewing the sale positively:

26% of the overall positive sentiment acknowledge this as a good thing for the Dodgers.
8% are thrilled to have their team now owned by NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
An additional 7% view their new team owner as an inspiration for all; Magic had a very public battle with HIV in the mid 1980’s.
And in the wake of this news, 5% of the drivers will now root for the Dodgers.

With 38% of the conversation neutral, 24% were simply spreading news of the deal, while 14% discussed the astonishing price.

As the Dodgers were already in bad shape, it’s fortunate that only 17% of the conversation has expressed a negative opinion in the wake of the news, due to indifference or a lack of optimism for the teams success.

Sean Finn and Gigi Lopez also contributed to this post