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Business School News: Twitter Reveals Underlying Emotion

Celeb Tweets help Researchers and Jocks Return to School

By  Sarah Halls

Fri Apr 23 2010

BusinessBecause
A technique used to gauge emotion in celebrity Tweets could be applied to reveal public health issues, according to researchers from Edinburgh University Business School, Scotland.

A computerised processor was used to examine the word patterns of 13 celebrities including Shaquille O’ Neal, a star basketball player; Russell Brand, a shaggy-haired comic and Snoop Dogg, the rapper. The researchers then analyzed the tweets on the micro-blogging site to “pinpoint the underlying emotions and determine their relative happiness.”

According to the study, O’Neal was the happiest Tweeter while Snoop Dogg was the least happiest Tweeter.

The glamorous lives of celebrities are a far cry from the everyday routine of Scots, but analysts intend to use the technology to explain the links between emotion and serious social issues such as obesity and alcoholism on online networking sites.

Back to school for star football players

If you follow American movies, you’ll know that Jocks are favoured for their brawn and not their brains. However, NFL players are getting the chance to flex their grey matter.

Professors at Harvard Business School (HBS), the NFL and NFL Players Association have teamed up to offer a tailor-made Executive Education program.

Now in its sixth year, more than 35 NFL players from various teams have signed up to the one week course which explores, “unique business opportunities and challenges faced by current and retired NFL players,” says the university. The players will analyze case studies, learn about business operations, negotiation, business plan analysis and attend workshops with the intention of maximizing their entrepreneurial opportunities and business management skills.

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