Abstract:

The future of the United Kingdom was in the balance. Polls were tightening. Sentiment became more and more heated, especially on social media. TNS conducted in-depth polling, which dominated the news. Yet survey was not sufficient–a whole new way of social media monitoring was required. TNS deployed techniques not just to ‘listen’ as per standard social media analysis, but to actively map networks of influence quantitatively and qualitatively, examining the interplay between furious online and offline debates. This presentation relates the campaign’s twists and turns from the perspective of the pollster, social media ‘geek’–and the politician: co-author Will Goodhand was campaigning for Parliament and relates the emotional rollercoaster in the corridors of power and on the UK’s streets.