Sentiment analysis is often thought of as some remote business tool that the average person could barely understand, much less be affected by. Too bad. Sentiment analysis tools find their best immediate expression in the hands of business entities, the potential and inevitable long-term effects on a world where sentiment analysis is common place are significant to say the least.
Ok, yes — let’s start with the obvious one, the arena that’s already being reshaped by investments in sentiment analysis. The benefits to business are nothing short of extraordinary and whatever changes business changes consumers. While more is expected of businesses these days, sentiment analysis is the tool that helps them catch up and keep up. Even a relatively small business can easily have a global audience of customers that expect brands to be accessible, responsive and aware. Sentiment analysis helps meet all three of those criteria, giving a company detailed information of public opinion that tells them what works and what doesn’t. This enhances a company’s ability to provide a product that meets their customers’’ needs and desires, but it also blows every old model of customer service out of the water. A company using sentiment analysis doesn’t have to wait for disgruntled customers to reach out with a major complaint that will damage brand perception. Sentiment analysis will lead them directly to the cases that need attention and can be addressed, improving public sentiment and avoiding PR catastrophes. Meanwhile customers have a far more reliable way of being heard.
Though sentiment analysis couldn’t affect you? What if it saved your life? Some health providers are starting to use this technology to track outbreaks and symptoms across communities, staying out in front of health issues rather than constantly trying to play catch up. Researchers have even been able to predict rates of coronary heart disease by running sentiment analysis engines on Twitter. In another case, a creative team was able to predict the number of asthmatic emergency room visits at a hospital based on sentiment analysis that picked up words like asthma, inhaler and wheezing. That kind of insight into the health of broad communities is a gem to medical staff, helping them shuffle resources where needed and plan ahead for anything that might come.
Every promising technology has its “with great power comes great responsibility” moment. For sentiment analysis, that’s politics. As we’ve seen in recent years, big data and social media can be manipulated in various ways to sway public opinion. But, used correctly, sentiment analysis would change the way campaigns are run and how legislators go about their business. Just as consumers have their voices heard by brands through sentiment analysis, voters could be equally empowered before their elected officials. Social media would become a more powerful venue through which to voice your opinion and contribute to the greater narrative. Every post online would be a vote for what you believe in — and elected officials hoping to keep their seats and legitimately want to address the needs of their constituents would have unparalleled abilities to do so.
Here’s another controversial area for the use of sentiment analysis, but introducing the technology into law enforcement would be a game changer at the very least. No, Minority Report isn’t quite ready to become reality, but law enforcement officials could use sentiment analysis to identify and address crime trends overtime by type, district and countless other parameters. If nothing else, this would offer valuable understanding of crime in general, where it appears and what forms it takes under certain conditions. On a deeper level, though preferable accompanied by strong legislation, sentiment analysis could help prevent certain crimes. This thought of course is like diving into an ocean that came pouring out of Pandora’s Box that may be infested with sharks. But the usefulness of sentiment analysis in this region is still worth considering.
Ok, back to something we can all agree on: money. With stocks often depending on political currents and public opinion, entities that are able to stay ahead or at least on top of those developments with clarity will be able to make some quick decisions that will save or even earn lots of money. And who doesn’t want a new tool to help make money?
These are just a few of the ways sentiment analysis is on the verge of reshaping the way we live. This is becoming more and more of a reality with the emergence of Senno, a sentiment analysis platform built on blockchain technology. Sentiment analysis has started to find its way into various fields and markets, but its high financial and computational costs have limited it to being used by only the largest entities that have those resources at their disposal. Senno is a platform that’s accessible to everyone using any hardware, even individuals excited to test out the future for themselves. Why wait to find out how others will use it when you can get in the driver’s seat yourself?
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