Social Media: can “sentiment” be analyzed automatically?

An excellent white paper by SYNTHESIO.

Summary:

The web has made it possible for brands to discover what people are saying about their brands online. The next step for brands is finding out whether people are talking positively or negatively about their brand, and why.

 How is “sentiment” calculated by automatic software?

Sentiment is not analyzed via artificial intelligence, (…). Rather, it is analyzed via a systematic process that involves the use of a sentiment lexicon. This lexicon assigns a degree of positivity or negativity to a Word by itself that is then used to give meaning to the entirety of the article.

 The white paper explains different flaws of current automatic treatment of the sentiment into online media and how Natural Language Processing (NLP) and semantic technologies will improve the systems.

 But according Synthesio, “the best option is currently combining both machine and man“.

 Synthesio  – The Truth About Natural Language Processing -­ March 2011. White Paper, 10 pages. Available online: http://synthesio.com/corporate/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/SYNTHESIO-NLP.pdf