The presidential race has captured the eyes and ears of the general public. BuzzLogic has been watching blog conversations since July 1, and some interesting points have been made – by candidates and bloggers alike.
- The candidate with the most blogosphere buzz is Barack Obama, with 4,451 influencer sites and 49,634 posts that discuss him. (Influence is determined by factoring over a dozen criteria, including posting habits and linking activity.) In the conversations, 40% of the influencers mention, not Obama's opponent John McCain, but instead refer to the last name Clinton; 25% mention McCain in their Obama posts. The most influential blogs on Obama include TalkLeft, Powerline, Atlas Shrugs, and Tennessee Guerrilla Women. Six of the top ten influential posts around Obama focus on his campaign tactics.
- McCain's blog buzz rivals that of Obama, with 4,315 influencer sites and 42,430 posts that discuss the candidate. Thirty-five percent of the influential conversations about McCain also mention his rival Obama. McCain's influencers include Powerline, Americablog, and Political Radar. Five of the top ten influential posts related to McCain also mention his running mate, Sarah Palin, and three of those five posts portray her negatively. McCain's official blog comes in at number eight of the top 10 influential sites. No other candidate site or blog cracks the top 50 influencer list for either query.
- Between the vice presidential candidates, Sarah Palin has the most buzz with 2,772 influencer sites and 14,477 posts talking about the candidate. Among influencers, 38% of those talking about Palin mention McCain, while 18% mention Obama and Alaska. Palin's buzz is not all politically focused, as she's garnered the attention of celebrity gossip blogs like Just Jared and Gawker. The most influential blog post is from Katie Couric's blog on September 24 around her one-on-one interview – Palin's first with CBS News.
- Joe Biden has the least number of sites writing about him, but the data indicates that these sites are posting at a higher frequency than the sites driving the conversation around Sarah Palin - 1,508 sites and 15,845 posts. Among the influencers discussing Biden, 35% mention Obama and 13% mention Palin. Influential blogs related to the Democratic VP candidate include Huffington Post, Slate, and Wonkette.
- Thanks to the election, late night comedy has had endless fodder. We looked at conversations pertaining to Tina Fey and Sarah Palin, and blogs are buzzing about the comedy sketches with 743 influencer sites and 9,012 posts discussing the spots. Defamer has taken to Fey's comedic portrayal of the VP candidate, and is responsible for the top three influential posts, one of which, published on September 28, reports that Fey wants to stop playing Palin in November after the election. Blogosphere buzz around Letterman and McCain rivals that of Tina Fey, with 851 influencer sites and 4,753 posts. Dependable Renegade owns the most influential post on the Letterman/McCain saga, which features a YouTube clip of his rant and a lesson learned about working with Dave.
Evaluation and analysis by BuzzLogic's Insights. Insights determines blog influence by factoring over a dozen criteria, including posting habits and linking activity. Based on the analysis of 136,192 blog postings from July 1 – October 27, 2008.
- The candidate with the most blogosphere buzz is Barack Obama, with 4,451 influencer sites and 49,634 posts that discuss him. (Influence is determined by factoring over a dozen criteria, including posting habits and linking activity.) In the conversations, 40% of the influencers mention, not Obama's opponent John McCain, but instead refer to the last name Clinton; 25% mention McCain in their Obama posts. The most influential blogs on Obama include TalkLeft, Powerline, Atlas Shrugs, and Tennessee Guerrilla Women. Six of the top ten influential posts around Obama focus on his campaign tactics.
- McCain's blog buzz rivals that of Obama, with 4,315 influencer sites and 42,430 posts that discuss the candidate. Thirty-five percent of the influential conversations about McCain also mention his rival Obama. McCain's influencers include Powerline, Americablog, and Political Radar. Five of the top ten influential posts related to McCain also mention his running mate, Sarah Palin, and three of those five posts portray her negatively. McCain's official blog comes in at number eight of the top 10 influential sites. No other candidate site or blog cracks the top 50 influencer list for either query.
- Between the vice presidential candidates, Sarah Palin has the most buzz with 2,772 influencer sites and 14,477 posts talking about the candidate. Among influencers, 38% of those talking about Palin mention McCain, while 18% mention Obama and Alaska. Palin's buzz is not all politically focused, as she's garnered the attention of celebrity gossip blogs like Just Jared and Gawker. The most influential blog post is from Katie Couric's blog on September 24 around her one-on-one interview – Palin's first with CBS News.
- Joe Biden has the least number of sites writing about him, but the data indicates that these sites are posting at a higher frequency than the sites driving the conversation around Sarah Palin - 1,508 sites and 15,845 posts. Among the influencers discussing Biden, 35% mention Obama and 13% mention Palin. Influential blogs related to the Democratic VP candidate include Huffington Post, Slate, and Wonkette.
- Thanks to the election, late night comedy has had endless fodder. We looked at conversations pertaining to Tina Fey and Sarah Palin, and blogs are buzzing about the comedy sketches with 743 influencer sites and 9,012 posts discussing the spots. Defamer has taken to Fey's comedic portrayal of the VP candidate, and is responsible for the top three influential posts, one of which, published on September 28, reports that Fey wants to stop playing Palin in November after the election. Blogosphere buzz around Letterman and McCain rivals that of Tina Fey, with 851 influencer sites and 4,753 posts. Dependable Renegade owns the most influential post on the Letterman/McCain saga, which features a YouTube clip of his rant and a lesson learned about working with Dave.
Evaluation and analysis by BuzzLogic's Insights. Insights determines blog influence by factoring over a dozen criteria, including posting habits and linking activity. Based on the analysis of 136,192 blog postings from July 1 – October 27, 2008.
