Word 'bursts' may reveal online trends according to the New Scientist: Searching for sudden ‘bursts’ in the usage of particular words could be used to rapidly identify new trends and sort information more efficiently, says a US computer scientist.
The interesting part of the algorithm is that it does not just count words, but calculates how the rate of usage of certain words has changed. And certainly, this algorithm has interesting implications for web logs and search engines and trends. True enough. But is it identifying a trend or the point at which writing and life intersect? Case in point: ‘depression’ soon becomes a popular word in the 1930s. Well, yes. The interesting question is when did ‘depression’ suddenly burst upon the scene? When did people think of themselves as being in a depression?
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