With the exception of the Tiger Woods debacle, President Obama’s health care reform is the most talked about issue in our country today. And it should be, as it is going to affect all U.S citizens in one form or another – for better or worse. The discussions (or debates) about the reform plan not only rage on in Congress and on national news channels by experts in the field — but also among us regular ol’ citizens. And we’re not just discussing it at home with our families and friends, we’re discussing it online and we’re tweeting and face-booking about it.
So how can one gain an accurate insight as to what the country is truly thinking about this issue, over the long term or at any given moment? The answer: By analyzing all the comments on social media sites, while also using traditional polling techniques. Harris Interactive and Clarabridge are working together to provide a more in-depth view of public opinion and how it is formed and influenced. A more accurate assessment, if you will. A true 360 degree view of what the country’s opinion is. A Voice-of-the-Country.
On the social media side, we used our text mining solution to analyze comments from almost 240,000 social media and online postings, while Harris surveyed 2,475 adults online. The Clarabridge/Harris Poll found through social media analysis that Americans expect health care reform to pass by a 4-to-1 margin, while a public opinion poll shows a 2-to-1 margin believing that reform will pass by the end of next summer. Furthermore a 65% to 35% majority of online postings that express an opinion on health care reform are supportive of it, compared to survey research that is equally split 40% to 41%.
Research results suggest that the month of August, during the height of the town-hall debates, marked a turning point in the public debate around the health care issue. Social media chatter jumped 75% to 79,342 postings in August before leveling off in September. August also saw a cross-over in social media opinions around likelihood of passage – prior to August more postings indicated health care reform was not likely to pass, while after August more indicated a likelihood of passage
This massive amount of information, gathered and analyzed quickly and accurately provides incredible insight into a topic of utmost importance in our country today. Imagine what it can do for one’s business!
