The Washington Women Technology Network gathered today to hear from two of the leading technology and media voices on the 2016 election. James Hohmann of the Washington Post’s Daily 202, and Josh Ginsberg of data analytics firm Zignal Labs headlined the gathering of media, politics, and technology insiders. The event was hosted by Connie Milstein, Hilary Rosen, Niki Christoff, and Tammy Haddad. Betsy Fischer Martin, co-host along with Tammy Haddad of Bloomberg: Masters in Politics podcast, interviewed Hohmann and Ginsberg to discuss the ways in which social media allows news stories to break in the most unexpected places.
Ginsberg finds that even the most obscure news sources can drive conversations that break out into the mainstream media. In the democratized world of Twitter and Facebook, an independent blogger in New Zealand with a relatively small following can be just as influential as the New York Times when it comes to making news go viral. When it comes to the presidential race and social media Ginsberg said, “Sanders & Trump are driving their own social media conversations. Others, not so much.”
Former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher addressed the issue of Twitter and Facebook users targeting superdelegates, “Messages targeting superdelegates are nasty. It’s harassment. Names & addresses are online. Mostly targeting women,” that are coming from fervent Sanders supporters.
James Hohmann finds that Zignal Labs’ technology can help separate the signal from the noise, “When following so many people, it’s hard to know what’s actually breaking through.”
Also on display off some of the latest technology coming out of Zignal Labs, including their groundbreaking analysis of emoji-use on Twitter. Zignal Labs has found a way to show which emojis Trump supporters use the most and which ones Hillary Clinton supporters use when discussing the candidate.
Subscribe to James Hohmann’s Daily 202 here.
Find out more about Zignal Labs here.
You can subscribe to Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin’s Bloomberg: Masters in Politics podcast here.
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