Can Search Usage Predict Election Outcomes?

I don’t think that search usage shows an accurate depiction of what people’s interests are at all. For instance. I recently searched for Barack Obama. I have no interest in voting for Barack Obama. I just needed to find an article that I could site that talks about how he made sure that the Born Alive Infant Protection Act did not pass in IL. For those who don’t know, sometimes aborted babies survive the actual abortion, so doctors would leave them to die.

Anyway… in short, not all searches are reflecting a positive image.

think it can definitely predict election outcomes, except that it will not count the older population, who is not that savvy with the Internet for search, but usually vote.

I think it can only predict election outcomes to some extent. Search usage will never be able to grasp a full sample of the total population. With other words the picture it shows is never complete. But is an indicator for sure!

Since search queries are undoubtedly an indication of searchers’ interests or preferences I think that to some extent, search usage would provide a relatively accurate prediction of election outcomes. If we rely on search queries as a means of effective online advertising then why wouldn’t it also allow us to gauge political preferences?

Thanks for a very informative article……who knows…..it may very well predict the election outcome !

The swing vote is always by the people who cant make up their minds till the last minute so I would say no for a real accurate gauge

Definitely something to take into consideration. Helps to see who is being researched the most.

good article, but i think it can not predict election outcomes, there are too many other better ways to do it

I think it can only predict election outcomes to some extent.

Sure, to a certain extent search history can provide information about the thoughts of people, however without more data relative to the context of the search the study would be flawed.

Definitely something to take into consideration. Helps to see who is being researched the most.

I think it is important to consider the pool of searchers when considering the results of any research. Clearly the findings can be flawed by abuse and faulty science.

I don’t know whether search engine usage really represents the interests of people.There are countless reason behind that but the most important one is that there are very few people who take part in online surveys (voying) so,it can only depict the opinion of a few not a mass.

If the survey is measured re clicks then it maybe more effective.

I think it is important to consider the pool of searchers when considering the results of any research. Clearly the findings can be flawed by abuse and faulty science.

I don’t know whether search engine usage really represents the interests of people

Heating up the election atmosphere. Yahoo! is most innovative.

Check out http://www.predictify.com/ You can make all sorts of cool predictions on politics, sports, pop culture, etc.

good article, but i think it can not predict election outcomes, there are too many other better ways to do it

Of course. That may be a bit of a stretch, but there’s no doubt that online search behavior can be an insightful window in the minds of consumers and voters.

It stands to reason that search engine usage can predict election outcomes. If 90% of search engine enquiries are for one particular candidate, then chances are that candidate is going to win.