'Hedonometer' Gauges US Mood Via Blogs, Tweets

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 31, 2009 3:10 PM CDT

(Newser) – If you think blogs are useless, think again: Scientists have developed a “hedonometer,” or happiness gauge, that analyzes personal online statements to pinpoint the overall contentment of the US population on a given day, the Discovery Channel reports. The program looks at sentences beginning with “I feel” and then grades the statement based on what follows. “Triumphant” gets an 8.87; “hostage” scores a 2.20.

“We wanted to capitalize on the explosion of blogs and now Twitter to build an instrument that would give us some measure of the emotional signal from a large collective,” one creators says. Election Day registered as happy; the anniversary of 9/11 is generally down. The program’s limitations, however, mean that when a blogger writes, “I am not happy,” the statement will be considered an effusive declaration of joy.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A young blogger. (AP Photo)

An upset Internet user. (Shutterstock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

We don't want people to be happy all the time; that would be Brave New World. We clearly need a balance of good and bad days to keep us healthy and balanced. - Peter Dodds, University of Vermont

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

SOPA Author: 'I Don't Mind Taking That On'

Lamar Smith seems unfazed by powerful opponents to piracy bill

(NEWSER) - Rep. Lamar Smith, author of the fiercely controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, doesn't sound like he's bothered much by the heated opposition from e-powerhouses such as Facebook, Google, Reddit, and Twitter. "It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don't want to protect American consumers and businesses," the Texas Republican tells Reuters . The SOPA bill, which would authorize the government to seek federal injunctions against foreign-based websites suspected of piracy, is still in committee hearings and could reach the House floor in a few weeks. More»

Rupert Murdoch Stumbles in Twitter Debut

News Corp CEO deletes tweet about British holidays

(NEWSER) - Rupert Murdoch's big Twitter debut hasn't gone too smoothly, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The chief executive of News Corporation joined Twitter less than 48 hours ago and started with a message that he quickly deleted: "Maybe Brits have too many holidays for broke country!"—which he wrote while holidaying in the Caribbean. His wife, who also seems to have joined Twitter , reacted with: "RUPERT!! delete tweet!!" More»

Guy Already Camping Out for iPhone 5

Remember, it hasn't actually been announced yet

(NEWSER) - Rob Shoesmith is currently camped outside London's Covent Garden Apple store in a tent, awaiting the release of the iPhone 5. Not all that weird, except of course that the iPhone 5 hasn't even been announced yet. Why is he doing it? As a "marketing and PR experiment," of course, and the Los Angeles Times notes that he's blogging about the whole thing. More»

Happy Teens More Likely to Become Divorced Adults

Study of 2,276 people returns surprising result

(NEWSER) - Here's a less-than-intuitive finding: Happy teens are more likely to end up divorced than unhappy teens. The tidbit came out of a larger study of happiness, in which researchers looked at data on 2,276 people—that had been collected since they were born in 1946. A number of their conclusions aren't very jarring: Those who were happier and better adjusted in childhood were more likely to report that they were socially active adults with good mental health and job satisfaction. More»

Latest Casualties of Facebook, Twitter: Blogs

Young people turn from long posts to short tweets

(NEWSER) - Just a few years ago, blogging was hot enough to be Merriam-Webster’s word of the year—but as Facebook and Twitter have grown, blogging has declined, the New York Times reports. The trend is particularly notable among the young: between 2006 and 2009, a survey found, blogging’s popularity among 12- to 17-year-olds dropped by half, while between 2008 and 2010, it fell 2 percentage points among the 18- to 33-year-old set. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website