Opinion Radars: a quick and easy way to aggregate bloggers' opinions ?

How can we easily gather bloggers' opinions about specific topics?
How can someone get the blogosphere's view about "Iraq" or "Michael Jackson"?
Or at least, of those bloggers who want to clearly state their opinions on such issues?

Now there are some cool tools around (Blogpulse, Technorati, Feedster, etc.), but they are not accurate enough about any given  topic.
And even if we carefully select and verticalize the RSS feeds, we risk to have in the same RSS flow both stories about software patents and posts on "Sex Gandam" images.

Maybe a mixing of Folksonomy approach (Folksonomy is "a practice of  collaborative categorization using simple tags") and the Technorati TAG could do the trick.

Here is my idea -- for now, let's call it "Opinion Radars":

1. We could use a universal common tag associated with the blogger's statement (I propose <opinionradar>, but other suggestions are welcome).
2. To have your post listed in the Opinion Radar, just embed the universal Technorati tag <opinionradar + specific topic>. If, for example, the issue is "Iraq", add this code to your post: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/opinionradar+Iraq" rel="tag">opinionradar Iraq</a>.
3. In case of pictures about these screenshots, upload them to Flickr by tagging as <opinionradar + specific topic>.
4. Any links related to your opinion on a given topic should be collected to "opinionradar" in del.icio.us.
5. That's it!
   Now a simple search of those tags in the Technorati TAG could quickly find specific opinion of those bloggers who cared to use those tags.

Even if not bug-free, I believe this approach could be useful in creating a better distributed information.
For example a TV show like this one, SkyTG24 Pianeta Internet (but obviously all journalist and Media can benefit)  will  immediately get the blogosphere's view about a given topic, without filtering tons of  not pertinent stories.

As for Folksonomy, maybe  the major problem will be the spam abuse -- which can be  prevented by developing and adopting the right tools [*].

I'd love to hear from you about this idea -- please post any comments and suggestions in the comment area.

Marco Montemagno

[*] "The NewsMasters Toolkit" is an  excellent resource.
[**] Thanks to: Robin, who suggested "Opinion Radars" name and gave me great inputs; Bernardo, for help and ideas; Luca, Massimo and Giuseppe for their expert opinions and helpful critics.

opinionradar

Comments

[Scritto da: gino]

If you try to achieve the gol of a robust cathegorization in presence of large number of users you constantly have problems, and the risk of failure is high. Even if the cathegorization is imposed, sure when it's generated free by everyone.

Downsizing from the whole internet to small words, to a group of friends and collegues, to the personal knowledge space, you probably find the proper dimension where a dynamic classification makes sense to everybody (or it's easy to check and solve misunderstanding).

I know, this is not the dream all the bloggers have in mind. Depend on what you want, if dreaming or something working.

[Scritto da: Marco]

Hei Gino!
Thx for your comment.
Obviously I'm thinking about something working. Don't you?
Just I don't understand why you say "the risk of failure is high".
Tagging is a process "client side". There is no failure risk just different approaches, different views.
Surely, in this way is possible that we'll have 1.000 different tags "opinion_something" with many different meanings; but I consider it positive because it will give everybody a wide spectrum to choose from.
Just adopting an extra meta tag such as "opinionradar", will help users to organize better the RSS flows.
Also filtering, mixing and editing rss feeds it will become technically easier.
Ciao :)

[Scritto da: gino]

Marco, thank you for your answer.

Honestly, I'm costantly in trouble since I feel the urgence of having working solutions, and in the same time the importance of the utopia.

But, in your words, I read this: Social networks, blogosphere-wide debate, whole population collaboration are moving our generally deterministic/scientific/computed approach to the one where solutions are preferred following a collective feeling, when no scientific demonstration is already available, and ever leaving space to other solutions, ready to change preference when evidence rises

So, Is Technorati 'opinionradar' tag a partial solution ? That's not the point. Common feeling is telling it can be of some help, people may find this interesting to experiment, and no other solution is blocked with this choice: so let's go on! Blogosphere says.

[Scritto da: Marco]

You get it :)

[Scritto da: Stefano]

Marco, I strongly endorse your idea, and I'd give some opinions about categorization issues: tags (a kind of "metadata") permits to connect pieces of information. Metadata creation once was domain of professionals (cataloger or bibilioteconomists), then of authorer (after SGML, WWW e Dublin Core).
Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, but I perceive "scalability" as the most problematic.
How can the blogosphere cope with the unstoppable growing of documents all over the Internet?
Folksonomies, is the term to define the last approach to the categorization issue: distributed metadata, metadata for the masses, metadata for dummies.
But tags can suffer another issue: non standardization.
Look at the Technorati definition for tags: "Bloggers categorize their posts, photos, and links with any tag that makes sense."
This open the way to a plethora of different tags, that can be difficult to classify.
A standard hierarchical approach is needed, and I hope Technorati or somebody else is working on it: the process can't be completely client-side, it should be manage by a server-side strong effort and commitment.
Some days ago, I talked about this in my blog --> http://connexioni.blogspot.com/2005/02/tendenze-tagging-folksonomies-semantic.html
Regards

[Scritto da: Spataro]

Hey to all.
I've developed more than an year ago a toolbar for lawyers. It has simply links to laws, cases an so on, but it also has a function called: tagging.
In few words the idea is simple: every reader can tag everything he is reading on the web.
Clicking on "tag" the reader can take note of the url, spidering some datas from linked url, and adding it's owns tags.
Sorry, the toolbar is in italian, but in last few weeks i've made other expenses to let the toolbar grow in english.
There are many applications.
For example:
1) I tag a page: other users can read my tag and post to my tags, as a forum
2) I put all web pages on a search engine: i can look for my datas or datas of all users
3) I can put in my sites all web pages tagged by me (and i do it on www.civile.it).
In next weeks i'll work again on it on english version, please note, italian readers, there's a guide on www.iusvision.com/appunti and a working solution on www.iusvision.com/tagging . The toolbar is available on www.iusondemand.com/toolbar/toolbarbase.php
If you find it useful, I'm happy to listen to your ideas.
Spataro

[Scritto da: Nishshoulse]

Hello!
Nice site ;)
Bye

[Scritto da: Doodee]

Thanks for sharing