From: Alan Patrick (a.patrick@btinternet.com)
Date: Sun 02 Mar 2003 - 21:09:13 GMT
> Leaving aside the unfortunate degeneration of language (not that that is a
> new phenomenon!), and leaving aside 'celebrity'-based fads, I wonder
whether
> word-spike studies might not have a serious purpose, indicating trends in
> the adoption of ideas or preoccupation with them. One could conceive that
> such spikes indicate shifts of attention.
This technique is already used by various future-prediction outfits as a way
of picking up tipping points/new trends, as well as similar counts such as
no. of column inches on various subjects. I don't know how good a predictor
it has proven to be before an event though, as it is not clear to me whether
"the media" (ie financed, edited media) is a leading indicator, but I can
see how analysing Google searches or Blogs or suchlike (ie any unedited
medium) could be more interesting.
Rgds
Alan
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