SentimentView

Debut of a Reddit Bot

primaryobjects — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 22:09:00 -0400

As I’m searching for additional practical applications for the sentiment analysis engine, I thought it might be interesting (and fun), to run it as a bot on the social networking site reddit. Therefore, introducing sentimentviewbot!

While in beta, it’s important to start small. Once the bot is released into the wild, you want to at least make sure that you’ve ironed out the kinks. Thus, I’ve started a test thread in the bot-friendly subreddit, /r/botwatch.

It’s interesting to see that the sentiment analysis accuracy for reddit comments appear to be on-par with that from Twitter posts. As they generally contain the same length and context of conversation, this is well within the data points that the SentimentView engine was trained upon.

It’s been 4-hours and the bot has already racked up some comment karma. I suppose that shows some interest.

sentimentviewbot

1 link karma
18 comment karma

#TakingSides Sentiment Analysis of a Twitter Hashtag

primaryobjects — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 22:28:00 -0400

So far, most of my examples have focused on topics that happened to have an overall positive polarity. Surely, there are Twitter topics with an overall negative polarity. This one comes from NBC News #TakingSides. Leave it to politics to help out with a healthy example. (Keep in mind, the sentiment is accurate to about 80%.)

Tweets

7 Sep
Negative

Richie Weinman

@richieweinman1

#TakingSides Oppose Syria military action 1. Let other nations lead first. 2. There is no clear purpose or outcome 3. waste of $
6 Sep
Positive

mary ann transon

@cobra99mat

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/es4qwGicp5 via @NBCNewsWorld
6 Sep
Negative

Chris Silvey

@Chris_T_Silvey

We should not strike Syria because there is no right side to this conflict, except the side of peace. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Ruthie Spoonemore

@RuthieSpoonemor

“@NBCNews: Should the U.S. intervene militarily in Syria? Weigh in using the hashtag #TakingSides //NO!
6 Sep
Negative

Bobby Gladd

@BobbyGvegas

#TakingSides I favor "boots on the ground” a la the bin Laden raid. Arrest al Assad for war crimes, take him to the Hague. No missiles.
6 Sep
Negative

Silver Winds

@slvrwnds

We should not strike Syria because their civil war is NONE of our business. Classic diversionary tactic from the OA from ocare.#TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

myaka

@myaka

Standing by and doing nothing makes the sane among us guilty too. A man who runs into a burning bldg to save one kid is a hero #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Politiwars

@politiwars

#TakingSides NO to taking action on #Syria. We don’t need a unilateral war based on lies.
6 Sep
Negative

Douche Alert

@DoucheAlert1

#TakingSides NO WAR with Syria! Major Douche Alert! #Syria #PrayforPeace http://t.co/X9L7saPdqI
6 Sep
Negative

@Wind4me

@wind4me

@joanna_gen3 #TakingSides USA has 48,000 USA troops at Korea, what if Korea gassed our troops?? how bout Iran Gassing Israel?
6 Sep
Positive

BuzCAST.com

@BuzCAST

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/c9i3h15KYu
6 Sep
Negative

David Sanchez

@davidsancar

#TakingSides Not this time.
6 Sep
Negative

hes

@hesretired

.. #TakingSides … why not follow Pres Carter’s president in 1980-81 Iran Iraq war usage?
6 Sep
Negative

hes

@hesretired

#TakingSides. absolutely no action Syria ! (bet 70+% who were in fighting combat, regardless of age, would agree.)
6 Sep
Negative

chrisjapely

@chrisjapely

No attack on Syria by US. It will only add to the carnage. #takingsides
6 Sep
Positive

@Wind4me

@wind4me

@NBCNews @KGWNews YES , we cannot allow #ChemicalWeapons #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

paul

@phr117

Absolutely not #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Terry Cornell

@TerryCornell

We should not strike Syria because they stayed away from OUR Civil War. We should return the courtesy. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Natalie Novoa

@gnati

#takingsides No bombing Syria.
6 Sep
Positive

Ms.AwEsOmE

@cosmicblush

NO “@NBCNews: Should the U.S. intervene militarily in Syria? Weigh in using d hashtag #TakingSides and visit http://t.co/0xKaFgGNDA for more
6 Sep
Negative

Kate_C

@KC52inNC

#TakingSides Where is NATO? NO #Syria #Strike w/o stronger diplomatic efforts, support from allies 1st! .@UniteBlue.@AFSCpeace.@StateDept
6 Sep
Positive

Anna

@Anna63280960

#TakingSides: Should the U.S.intervene militarily in Syria? http://t.co/GNGy6JccJv
6 Sep
Negative

Pierre Bierre

@pierrebierre

#TakingSides As usual, the politicians and media are giving us false choices.Redesigning the U.N. to be effective in its security role is #1
6 Sep
Positive

Shawn Staniford

@sastan022

We should strike Syria because what if it was our Gov’t gassing us. Wouldn’t u want some1 to help us. What if that was ur fam? #TakingSides.
6 Sep
Negative

Bruno V. Pires

@VilhenaReport

Apart from being a moral issue, a government that kills his own people with chemical weapons needs to be punished. #TakingSides #Syria
6 Sep
Negative

Pierre Bierre

@pierrebierre

#TakingSides Both Isolationism and Cop of the World Nationalism end badly for USA. Internationalism is the strategy that lowers risk
6 Sep
Negative

Jim Day

@jimdayok

We should not strike Syria because I don’t believe the evidence, it’s had nothing to do with us and its not worth our soldier #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Pierre Bierre

@pierrebierre

#TakingSides International Law has to grow up and specify legally-authorized responses to violations, timeframes and who should do it
6 Sep
Negative

lina fetter

@poconomom61

#takingsides no we should not attack Syria. It is not our war. Send Obama there instead and make him stay
6 Sep
Negative

Katie Spence

@magickkkk

#takingsides It is a shame that so many were killed by their own government, but it is not clear if it was the government…I say no
6 Sep
Negative

Tammy B

@Greedsakiller

We should not strike Syria because if we can’t afford to take care of our own people, we cant afford to spend billions on war #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Todd Takei

@ToothTakei

if the Arab League and the UN won’t act, why is it our business? #takingsides
6 Sep
Positive

NBC News PR

@NBCNewsPR

As Obama makes the case for military action in Syria to Congress, @NBCNews wants your thoughts. #takingsides. http://t.co/Z0XLLdGOtD
6 Sep
Negative

Tammy B

@Greedsakiller

We should not strike Syria because the world community needs to come together to stop him, not just us. #TakingSides #NoWarWithSyria
6 Sep
Negative

David Joseph Smith

@david318

#TakingSides "No to mil. strike of Syria. Violates Powell Doctrine: Not last resort; no clear risk to nat. security; (3) no public support.
6 Sep
Negative

Tammy B

@Greedsakiller

We should not strike Syria because the only people who will die are citizens, theirs and ours when they retaliate,not Bassad! #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

jeison

@stryfer29

We shouldn’t strike Syria b/c the republicans will see it as a way to increase federal spending at a time when cuts are needed #takingsides
6 Sep
Positive

Pierre Bierre

@pierrebierre

#TakingSides The U.N. is ineffective at its security and peacekeeping responsibilities. Reforming the U.N. should be our top priority.
6 Sep
Negative

Ra

@Ra__

We should NOT strike Syria because we devastated Iraq & Afghanistan with our "help”. Depleted uranium use makes us hypocrites #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

sammax

@shalagh72

@NBCNews #takingsides no no no
6 Sep
Negative

David Yocum

@SenileDavid

#TakingSides We should not strike Syria because the Rebels are the ones that used the chemical weapons to obtain military reaction from USA
6 Sep
Negative

rnddaway

@rnddaway

We should not go into Syria because we need to take care of HOME. We are not the police of the world!! #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Dave Schlafman

@schlafman

Hells no. ԀNBCNews: Should the U.S. intervene in Syria? Weigh in using the hashtag #TakingSides & visit http://t.co/ZEmL6w2ovt for moreԼ/span>
6 Sep
Negative

Kari

@sweetkaritotwit

I think it’s a no. It’s the UN’s job! #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Deeds

@monsieurdeeds

Not sure what to do abt #Syria. But, I voted 4 him, and I trust the president. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Elizabeth Sara

@Saratonins20

@NBCNews NO!! #TakingSides we need to start fixing America before we try to “fix” other countries we just want oil from!
6 Sep
Positive

His Holiness Raiel

@Q_mass

Many people think #takingsides in #Syria is merely trying to pick which terrorists win.
6 Sep
Positive

Real Matty

@SchoolerLA

@NBCNews Yes it is our moral obligation. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

D.A. Pickard

@2014KCMOPlatte6

We should not strike Syria because Syria presents no threat to us and it’s none of our business. We are not the world’s police. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Kate_C

@KC52inNC

#TakingSides NO #Syria #Strike until USA stps violating #CWC by illegally stockpiling CWs. USING *NOT* same as STORING, bt still #Hypocracy
6 Sep
Positive

Eric Hippeau

@erichippeau

Great @RebelMouse site: Taking Sides ֠NBC News ֠#TakingSides - http://t.co/B03xB07AYh
6 Sep
Positive

Matthew Elliott

@gt90v12

#NBCNightlyNews #TakingSides As the world’s most advance military, we have an obligation to the world to see international policy enforced.
6 Sep
Negative

Furyious

@Furyious

#TakingSides Repubs said we can’t afford to take care of our own poor, young, and old. Who pays the bill for another Iraq?
6 Sep
Negative

Alex Zivkovic

@AleksaZAlex

Anti-military intervention sentiment spans the political spectrum. Congress should pursue aid & criminal charges, not strikes. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Tom

@Ratchet2215

#TakingSides each missle costs millions plus the cost of maintaining a force in the area …um we are we are already trillions in debt.
6 Sep
Positive

Alissamay itch bay

@Alissamay75

Americans need help right here .how do you want to go to war and you won a Nobel piece-prize?Sincerely Detroit #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Kate_C

@KC52inNC

#TakingSides NO #Syria #Strike until ALL diplomatic options hav bn exhausted. Where R~180 signatories 2 #CWC? gather 100+ .@BarackObama.@OFA
6 Sep
Negative

calibratedatthecross

@Calibratedx

#takingSides the EU needs to handle Syria. Wheres their horror? US stay out.
6 Sep
Negative

Tom

@Ratchet2215

#TakingSides its a no win deal and no strategy has been determined - you can’t just bomb someone into submission, our debt will increase.
6 Sep
Negative

Marti Miller

@humarti

#TakingSides No! We have problems here that need to be addressed
6 Sep
Negative

Jen Coffey

@cobi_

We should not strike Syria because…there are too many reasons to list in a tweet. #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Brian Atwater

@brian_atwater

The US most definitely SHOULD intervene in Syria, but not without talking to Russia first in order to prevent another war #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Stephanie Rice

@__SGR

I can’t Totally see what I did now and I’m on your side #bitch #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Aaron Bowman

@bowmanaw

#TakingSides stay out of Syria! We are not the worlds police. Lets get back to the foreign policy that FDR used.
6 Sep
Positive

Patricia Wilson

@brandcottage

@NBCNews good coverage tonight interviewing Americans about Syria #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Bobbie Tatum

@upbeat2

#TakingSides We should not get involved. Whatever we do will not change the end results. We should spend our efforts taking care of home.
6 Sep
Negative

Cyndy Cole

@Lavender4CC

We should NOT strike Syria because the #USA cannot and should not try to police the world alone. Where and when does it end? #TakingSides.
6 Sep
Negative

Usama Ben-Musa

@BenMusaU

#TakingSides #Syria spend the money helping refugees not bombing and creating more refugees.
6 Sep
Positive

Kristen McLaughlin

@krisnicole293

Concerned for our country. #SyriaCrisis #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

kim

@kimbuggy

#TakingSides #justsayNOtosyria
6 Sep
Positive

Bill Marchlewski

@stlguitarist

We sell billions of dollars worth of war planes and weapons to Syria’s neighbors. Let them punish their neighbor. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Steven Stamper

@StevenStamper2

#TakingSides: should the US intervene militarily in Syria? NO!!!!!
6 Sep
Positive

Jarrod Dicker

@jarroddicker

Excellent execution, powered by @rebelmouse! MT @NBCNews Should the U.S. intervene in Syria? Weigh in #TakingSides http://t.co/na6erStmav
6 Sep
Negative

Danny M. Francis

@Eyepublius

#TakingSides. Some Arab states say they wiil pay for US led attack with big oil money for American blood. Clean up their own backyard first.
6 Sep
Negative

Alex Zivkovic

@AleksaZAlex

2+ years of violence. 100k dead. 2 mil. refugees. The military is no longer the solution. Pursue criminal charges and give aid. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

g??gs?? ??ll??g?a?

@Tranceaholic13

We should not strike Syria because we have too much going on domestically to worry about someone else’s Civil War. #TakingSides @NBCNews
6 Sep
Positive

Alex Zivkovic

@AleksaZAlex

Obama has made #Syria a military-or-bust decision while intl. criminal courts and aid are undiscussed. http://t.co/9pDkCQI74z #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Mike Roberge

@mjrober33

#TakingSides HELL NO
6 Sep
Negative

David Garcia

@Adrian_RTG

#takingsides is hard to do without all the facts, what will we do if our government was to bomb us with gas. Who will step up to the plate.
6 Sep
Negative

Lynn Sanders

@HiLynnSanders

#takingsides We SHOULD NOT get involved in this at all. No clear GOOD side to this situation..too many bad people involved on both sides.
6 Sep
Negative

Entangled Dreams

@Deeker13

#takingsides against military action in Syria. War is not a means to end violence, the fact that such a notion exists is horrifying.
6 Sep
Negative

Joanna Rieke

@JoannaRieke

Syria shouldn’t be about #TakingSides. Pray for peace. @NBCNews
6 Sep
Negative

Anthony Harrison

@Tonyjh55

Israel is at risk and should be taking more action than the US. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Yazed Umayyad

@syrianfalcon11

Should the U.S. intervene militarily in Syria? Weigh in using the hashtag #TakingSides and visit http://t.co/Db3PzYDZxe for more"
6 Sep
Positive

William McNeil

@WmMcNeil

#Takingsides Bombing Syria without a clear objective is nonsense.
6 Sep
Negative

Psychonautic Express

@PNauticExpress

Violence will forever and ever beget violence. No strike. #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Anthony Harrison

@Tonyjh55

Now, we know where WMDs are and they are killing innocent lives. Plus, Syria is allies with Iran. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Michael Cram

@cramjo

#TakingSides United States intervene militarily in Syria? Absolutely NOT! No More PNAC convenient wars in middle east. Can’t afford it.
6 Sep
Negative

Anthony Harrison

@Tonyjh55

Remember when WMD’s was a big issue and a reason we went to war in Iraq. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Rev. Sylvia Vasquez

@revvasquez

#TakingSides we should not strike Syria because we haven’t explored a nonviolent response. Why should violence be a FIRST response?
6 Sep
Positive

Sal of CT

@Sal3CT

Does anyone remember Bosnia? #TakingSides #Syria
6 Sep
Negative

Amanda Robichaud

@ARobic96

#takingsides NO
6 Sep
Negative

Liz Taylor

@stellaluna02

#TakingSides we need to pump $ into our own gang ridden cities where innocent Americans (children) are killed everyday. #Chicago #Detroit
6 Sep
Positive

Lou Dubois

@dubois

Should the US intervene militarily in Syria? Weigh in using the hashtag #TakingSides and visit http://t.co/FOp3ryz4a2 for more
6 Sep
Negative

Shockwaver69

@Shockwaver69

@NBCNews #TakingSides I believe that we shouldn’t participate in this civil war because it’s not our FIGHT.
6 Sep
Negative

Peterson Tavil

@Ptavil

@NBCNews no they shouldn’t. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Scott

@Sc0ttR0d

This is of no concern to America, and more killing is no way to solve killing. This is just another Vietnam. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Liz

@runcyclemom

We should NOT intervene in Syria. We have our own issues and this will cause retaliation! Let UN/middle east deal with it #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

EricWuebben

@Eric_Wuebben

Should not #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Michael King

@King_Of_Mike

#TakingSides We have to trust the people with clearance to see the intel. My gut says punish ANYONE using chemical warfare. #SyriaCrisis
6 Sep
Negative

Chiquandra C. Cross

@ChiquandraCross

@NBCNews No! #StayOutOfSyria #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Jim Roadcap

@JimRoadcap

We should not strike Syria, it would open up yet another hornets nest. Let the Middle East work thru their problems as we did. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Tyler Wells

@tylerdw

Yes the US should intervene in Syria by giving them Krystal Sackfulls @NBCNews #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Sharon Hekman

@Sharon_Hekman

NO WAR WITH SYRIA!! No “limited action,” either. (Ha! Like we believe it really would be limited.) #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

GrumpiGramp

@GrumpiGramp

@grumpigramp We should not strike Syria because its not our job and not national security problem! #TakingSides #edshow #maddow
6 Sep
Negative

Geofrog

@TeamGeofrog

@NBCNews No, there shouldn’t be military intervention in my opinion. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Go Dawgs

@cmiles2005

#TakingSides you think the will of the American people matter? We will be in Syria some how some way.
6 Sep
Positive

Michael J. Owens

@MichaelOwens3

@NBCNews both are crucial to one another, so we must evaluate them individually….peanut butter is more important than jelly. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Jake Thornburgh

@JakeThornburgh

We must intervene in this conflict because the alternative is just not acceptable #TakingSides @NBCNews
6 Sep
Negative

Alxandro

@Alxandro

#TakingSides Why is war all of a sudden ok when there is a Lib in office? It’s the same WMD the world demonized Bush over, but now in Syria
6 Sep
Negative

Jason Kervin

@jkerv75

@NBCNews #TakingSides no. We have no business getting involved in something we can’t fix, Syria’s civil war.
6 Sep
Positive

Sidalia

@sidaliaa

The US needs to mind it’s own #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Jeff Bates

@JeffBates93

I think it’s best if we stay out of this one #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

3XT1 #FreeAOS

@3XT1

#TakingSides Of the people, by the people, for the people One voice matters in a democracy, the people, & they say no war in #Syria
6 Sep
Positive

DC

@DakotaCooley10

@NBCNews #takingsides sure if we want to keep supporting ppl in the same organization that killed so many here on 9/11. #AlQaeda
6 Sep
Positive

Barry D

@PrimeTime1014

@NBCNews @WCBD no way, this is civil war with the help of Al Qaeda and Mulsim Brotherhood running the rebels. #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Joe Busse

@JebusseJoe

NO!! #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Fred Burgess

@tclbbs

@NBCNews #TakingSides … Not just NO, BUT HELL NO!! If we have the money for another war, then PAY THE DEFICIT DOWN
6 Sep
Negative

Morality Is Freedom

@MoralsToFreedom

No, because I’m not evil. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

DennisKM

@dennis_km

#Takingsides No, unless Congress approves.
6 Sep
Negative

First name Emory

@Last_Name_Slone

@nbcnews #TakingSides HELL NO, we shouldn’t go! More money is spent on war than anything, meanwhile people starve to death around the world!
6 Sep
Negative

Jodie Goebel

@jodieg8er24

No! We have enough problems at home! #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

ConservativeAmerican

@letfrdmring

@NBCNews #TakingSides No! Just imagine how many MORE terrorist groups will want to attack the U.S. AFTER we strike Syria!! #StayOutOfSyria
6 Sep
Positive

Ppl call me Lucifer

@monkeyofdarknes

NO. #TakingSides Madeline Albright ok with killing 500,000 Iraqi children. http://t.co/KdGIteWY3B was that worth it?
6 Sep
Negative

Heidi Hetzel-Evans

@cuteshoechick

@NBCNews Not yet… #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Georgia Dunn

@pseudooctopus

We should not strike. Our efforts should be humanitarian focused. Aid to refugees, diplomacy. We’re bad at wars to stop war. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Angela McKnight

@AngieMcknight23

@NBCNews NO we would just be helping Al Queda #TakingSides now stop sucking up to obama and report all news truthfully
6 Sep
Negative

Noah May

@NoahMay3

@NBCNews #TakingSides no. Killing people because people were killed doesn’t make much sense
6 Sep
Positive

Robert Downey jr

@Downeyjr12

@NBCNews #takingsides yea we should..
6 Sep
Negative

Gerilenn

@Gerilenn

#TakingSides NO!!
6 Sep
Positive

Nick Engberg

@NickEngberg

@NBCNews #TakingSides we should not strike, Obama’s given America enough to worry about on the home-front.
6 Sep
Positive

Rabid Liberal

@rabidliberal

Side with rebels who include jihadists and al-queda? or side with assad? I say let’s sit this one out. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Alex

@MissMegalodon

The US will do what it must to protect her geopolitical position. I can’t say that it is right or wrong it’s just what it is. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Elizabeth Marie

@Mariee11223

@NBCNews #takingsides Now we have to, but I’d much rather have a coalition.
6 Sep
Negative

Cherie Calletta

@CherieCalletta

No intervention in Syria! #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Liz Abele

@liz_abele

@NBCNews hell no #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Dave Chautin

@DLC618

@NBCNews #TakingSides No.
6 Sep
Negative

Mud Lady

@MudLadysMind

@NBCNews #TakingSides I am unsure. I don’t want another war, but worry about the chemicals getting into the wrong hands & being used in USA.
6 Sep
Negative

Andrew Serrano

@andrewserrano52

The US must intervene in #Syria to send a message to the rest of the world that these actions won’t be tolerated #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Monica DiAndriola

@monicow30

#takingsides nooo
6 Sep
Negative

Georgia Blue

@CureOurCountry

@NBCNews #TakingSides - US shouldn’t intervene in #Syria. It is too late and the waters are too muddy. Rebels attacking Christians.
6 Sep
Negative

Jody Jennings

@jodywj

#TakingSides No we should not strike them. We have enough problems over here.
6 Sep
Negative

Tony Chamberlain

@tchamber123

@NBCNews no. #takingsides
6 Sep
Positive

Kelly C

@kscolburn21

@NBCNews #TakingSides yes
6 Sep
Positive

NBC News

@NBCNews

Should the U.S. intervene militarily in Syria? Weigh in using the hashtag #TakingSides and visit http://t.co/WfYt8qA40T for more
6 Sep
Positive

Ric Rushton

@RicUfnav

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? via @NBCNews. Should because it supports the 1932 ban on chem wp http://t.co/KPRF2BKWGK
6 Sep
Positive

Nick Malik

@nickmalik

We should strike Syria because USA stands for more than self-interest. We stand for freedom from tyranny and rule of law #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

Jim

@boortzthebozo

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/9ejxwsxTVb via @NBCNewsWorld No, this is a religious, cultural war.
6 Sep
Negative

Becky C

@NurseBecky13

The US should not strike Syria because it is not our responsibility to police the entire world. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Brandi Skaggs

@S69Brandi

No #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Melissa Scarpate

@Melp1010au

We should not strike syria because it is not our war, we have no money, and we need to focus on our own for a change. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Positive

mrffffffollowme

@mrffffffollowme

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria?
6 Sep
Negative

John Medved

@johnmedved

We should not strike Syria. We need to fix our own problems at home first. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Amy Beth

@SedrickLuvr

#TakingSides We should not strike Syria because we are a selfish country motivated by money and power!
6 Sep
Positive

DTN Iraq

@DTNIraq

DTN Iraq: #TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria?: As President Obama attempts to to make the case for mil… http://t.co/ARBVT8v9ES
6 Sep
Positive

Aggregate Data

@AggregateData

#TakingSides: Should the US strike Syria?
6 Sep
Positive

Fashion Agent

@Fashion__Agent

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/fdFJU79qmA #fashion
6 Sep
Positive

Francis Beakes

@Tonybeak

#takingsides We should strike Syria as chemical weapon use is illegal and immoral.
6 Sep
Positive

Love My L

@Lovmyl

#LoveMyL #TakingSides: Should the US strike Syria? - http://t.co/hKFO4Ah4XO (blog): #TakingSides: Should the US… http://t.co/u2huGR2Ksn
6 Sep
Positive

Amrik Virdi

@imAmrik

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria?: As President Obama attempts to to make the case for military acti… http://t.co/BY1EeM5DSB
6 Sep
Positive

Pooja

@pm_girl

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/5aV3su4ZAk #tech #news
6 Sep
Negative

tom park

@tpark16

Isolationism seems to be taking grip. #Takingsides
6 Sep
Positive

Kimberly

@travinaround04

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? Join the #Debate on #socialmedia http://t.co/CwfmapVujt via @NBCNewsWorld
6 Sep
Negative

Barbara Stevens

@stevens7810

We should not strike Syria because we should be peacemakers. Other options are available. #TakingSides
6 Sep
Negative

Kimberly

@travinaround04

We should not strike Syria because it is not our/USA ’s fight. Syria has not done anything to the USA! http://t.co/mXPUiqfYYc #takingsides
6 Sep
Negative

Lara

@lawalker13

NO. #TakingSides #StayOutOfSyria
6 Sep
Positive

Askar

@a_askar

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria?: As President Obama attempts to to make the case for mili… http://t.co/RIqOvpzy6c #WhatsUp
6 Sep
Positive

World News

@News_WD

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/eJOVIYQJCb #NEWS
6 Sep
Positive

HOLLIS ESTES

@HOLLISESTES

#TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria?: As President Obama attempts to to make the case for military action in Syria to Congress…
6 Sep
Positive

World RSS Feeds News

@WorldRSSfeeds

#NBCNews #TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria?: As President Obama attempts to to make th… http://t.co/CQ2KHG8kJg #WorldRSSFeeds
6 Sep
Positive

National News Now

@NationalNews247

New post: #TakingSides: Should the U.S. strike Syria? http://t.co/gFRWcKco2z
6 Sep
Negative

Baby Blue Ice

@BabyBlueIce2

stay out of syria because USA does not need another WAR. this will become a WAR& cost too much money & lives. #takingsides #syria @cspanwj
6 Sep
Negative

R.M. Crawford III

@BlueIce6102

we should stay out of syria because USA does not need another WAR. this will become a WAR& cost too much money & lives. #takingsides #syria
3 Sep
Positive

Skrealand i(nkt)n!

@skrealand

@aimesxx start with one, please, now!!! #undecided #takingsides #growup #young #catsdontsmile
1 Sep
Positive

Craig Jahnke

@CraigsAndBacon

Well I guess I know who my real friends are now #takingsides
31 Aug
Positive

Joe Pags - Official

@JoeTalkShow

Time to start using our brains before taking action – https://t.co/UOc7ZQqoAX #Syria #Obama #TakingSides

Tweets

Learning Curves from Twitter Sentiment Analysis

primaryobjects — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 15:22:00 -0400

by Kory Becker

Introduction

After a couple of weeks of chomping on data, I’ve successfully arrived at a sentiment analysis model for Twitter posts that achieves an accuracy of about 80%. The learning chart actually shows projection converging towards 82%. Human sentiment analysis is said to be around 80% itself *, so the rate that the model achieved isn’t half bad.

Now, that level of accuracy didn’t just magically appear. Since it actually took 1 day, 12 hours, and 11 minutes to run the model, just to process several tens of thousands of tweets, it’s important to verify the results with learning charts before spending more time. Learning charts show you what’s working, what’s starting to work, and what will probably never work.

The Learning Curve

A learning curve displays the rate of learning over some dimension. The most common form is to plot an error rate over training set size. As the training set size increases, you would expect the training error rate to increase and the cross-validation error rate (and test set) to decrease, hence the algorithm is learning.

A Baseline Learning Chart

The first learning chart was for a baseline of sentiment analysis on the Twitter data set. I implemented a simple algorithm that used a fixed set of positive and negative keywords. If a tweet contained more of the positive vs the negative keywords, it was deemed as having positive sentiment. Likewise, for the reverse.

The keywords used in the manual baseline Twitter sentiment analysis came from two sources. The first baseline used the keywords from the historical twitrratr data set. The second baseline used the AFINN list (a manually labeled list of words, ranked by valence). As both manual keyword lists achieved roughly the same accuracy for sentiment analysis against tweets, they can both be visualized in the learning chart below.

The baseline manual algorithm achieves a consistent accuracy of about 62%. The important part to note about this learning chart is that it stays steady at an error rate of 38. You can tell from this graph that no matter how many training examples you feed the algorithm or how long you run it, you’ll always have an error rate of about 38. That’s actually not bad. But, we can do better with machine learning.

Learning Chart - Algorithm 1

The first machine learning algorithm worked by converting each word in the target phrase into a corresponding dictionary index. As the above machine learning graph shows, this achieved a higher accuracy rate than the manual algorithm - right off the bat. However, as can be in the spikes and dips, it suffers from inconsistency, not to mention, high bias. An average was drawn across the data points to show the general direction of learning.

On the cross validation set (displayed as a red line), the accuracy was hardly better than the manual algorithm. Something’s just not right.

Learning Chart - Algorithm 2

The second machine learning algorithm worked by mapping the dictionary into values of 0 or 1 with regard to the target phrase. As this algorithm resulted in a consistent number of inputs being fed into the machine learning model, it resulted in a more uniform learning curve, and much lower bias.

While the above curve still shows some potential variance, the cross-validation curve is certainly lowering in error as the training set size increases.

As further validation of the increasing accuracy, the algorithm was ran on a much larger training set example, and indeed, the accuracy rate continued to climb. The CV curve projected to converge around an error rate of 18 (82% accuracy).

A more in-depth run against training, cross-validation, and test data supported this projection. You can take a look through the Twitter sentiment examples to see how the model performs.