The census, published quarterly, will track online conversation about energy through Polecat’s virtual analyst platform MeaningMine. The international, national and individual influencer findings will serve as a barometer of public and industry opinion to inform executive-level decision making in the energy sector.
Polecat says its virtual analyst platform MeaningMine has already identified the following about the world’s conversation online about energy in 2012:
- In the last quarter alone, the energy debate has contributed to 60 percent of conversation referencing one of seven major industries around capitalism and financial security in the US and Canada
- During that same period, discussions around energy and human rights have increased by 135 percent on the previous quarter
- In the past three months 337,000 postings have cited natural gas and shale gas related topics alone with significantly different tone and public perception attached to these two sub-topics
Bronwyn Kunhardt, managing director & co-founder, Polecat, said: “The topic of energy is one of the busiest subjects online worldwide as people discuss its impact on our daily lives and the wellbeing of Planet Earth. While the role of energy in the global economy is clear and growing in importance, protests and activism also continue to increase quarter on quarter. Our Energy Census will investigate and inform how policy makers and energy companies understand public sentiment online while dealing with the growth and security of a country’s energy supplies amidst concerns over corruption and protests.
“Energy is a topic never far from the headlines and invoke passionate and informed discussions from those in the industry, government and public at large. This census, the first of its kind, aims to provide a detailed picture of the entire global energy debate across online articles and social media and serve as the most complete source of information for the industry.”
The first phase of Polecat’s Energy Census is due to be released this summer and will lead with the topic of gas. Subsequent topics will include nuclear, renewables, energy efficiency and NGOs.