It is almost time for the historic vote in the American Federal Congress as to whether or not Health Care will become available for so many millions of Americans. This is truly the moment in which American politicians define themselves, perhaps more so than at any other time in the past 20 years. The Democrats are positioned to take social programs in the United States to a whole new level. But how does the majority of “netizens” feel about the bill?
According to http://twittersentiment.appspot.com, the overwhelming majority of sentiment on Twitter lends itself to disapproval. It is important to note that the value here is in volume not in unique numbers. Just because you are the loudest, doesn’t mean that you are right (or does it?) However, with numbers comes news coverage and the opponents of healthcare are a loud bunch.
It is through the use of metrics that we are able to see the actual volume of either side’s online conversations. Even further, we are able to see the degree of sentiment to which each side’s foot solders are aligned with. Using the same tool at http://twittersentiment.appspot.com we are able to see that the degree to which the opponents are vocal they are also radical. With keywords such as “reform” being used as slogans for winning the healthcare debate, it is easy to understand why the proponents are left with a slender list of jargon to use in their fight.
But what is even more interesting is the degree to which the opponents of this healthcare legislation become audible when conversations spike, many more times than those who support it. It would appear that the majority of un-supportive comments on Twitter are from those who are the most reactionary. And from this observation we are able to lead into an understanding of this discussion about healthcare, the radicals are coming out of the woodwork. It is therefore plausible to assume that the great debate, not that of evolution and God, but that of well being is actively, overtly sensationalized here.
This is a debate that is being fought by few for the many.
Related posts:
- Twitter and Healthcare It is incredible to be able to see real-time sentiment...
