onefiveseven is up and running for the Punggol East by-election. We’re using the same methodology as before – an algorithm to track the heat of the candidates -  and will be updating the site daily. We’re also experimenting with a new feature. We are tracking the reporting on mainstream media and will compare this to the sentiment that we are pulling from the social media data. That comparative analysis will be completed after polling day.

Some observations about this election: As you can see from the heat grid, not all the candidates have the full range of social media platforms. The most active is Kenneth Jeyaratnam, from the Reform Party, who is active on Facebook, Twitter and his blog.  Lee Li Lian, the Worker’s Party candidate, also has Facebook, Twitter and a blog, though her Facebook settings are set to private.  Koh Poh Koon has focused his efforts on Facebook, which was set up on January 9. He already has close to 2500 fans, more than any of the other candidates. Desmond Lim, the candidate from SDA, has a private Facebook page, but no other social media platforms.

The algorithm kicks in after a day, so watch out for our first heat grid update tomorrow.