Even if you don’t download movies to your TV, or rent DVDs through the mail, you’ll still like this analysis of comments to Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings’ post of a change in Netflix service. Huffington Post used ViralHeat to analyze 23,000 comments, see the story here: “Netflix Users' Qwikster Response: Here's How People Really Feel About The Change.”

And, yes, before all you measurement geeks start going off on how automated sentiment analysis can’t be trusted, (and it pretty much can’t), be sure to check the Methodology section at the bottom of the post. There is a nice discussion of the difficulties. (For instance, they had to throw out over half the comments.)
In my own publishing experience, I have found that, in both letters to the editor and blog comments, people are far, far more likely to complain than to praise. So my guess is that this sort of analysis overstates the negative. Hard to tell by how much, though. Would be nice to have this analysis repeated as the Netflix changes rollout and people use their new arrangement.
--WTP (Thanks to Katie Paine for the tip.)
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Bill Paarlberg is editor of Measure What Matters and The Measurement Standard. The Measurement Standard is a publication of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement.
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many… Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders... But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
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