Punters can watch how the controversial campaign to put Taylor Swift into the Triple J Hottest 100 is playing out on social media - in real time.
In the world's biggest musical democracy, every year music lovers vote for their favourite songs from 2014, with the top 100 aired by Triple J on Australia Day.
QUT social media experts Katie Prowd and Dr Darryl Woodford have developed the Hottest 100 Hypometer, which tracks Twitter and Instagram chatter around the 20 songs for which betting companies have given the best odds.
The Hypometer draws on cutting-edge social media analytics technologies to rank artists or songs mentioned in posts that also contain the phrase 'hottest 100' so punters can clearly see, in real time, which are being talked about the most.
"While our Hypometer isn't a crystal ball for predicting the top 20 tracks on Australia Day, it accurately measures the hype around them, giving fans a comprehensive view of the depth of conversation around those favourites," said Ms Prowd, the Hypometer's Lead Data Analyst and a member of the Social Media Research Group within QUT's Creative Industries Faculty.
"You can click on various parts of the Hypometer's tally, like a song title or artist, and see all related posts and images.
"Some people are trying unique ways to find out for whom listeners have voted in order to predict the winner but the Hypometer is the only tool ranking the top songs using proven, academically rigorous methodologies and algorithms."
The QUT researchers have already applied the Hypometer's advanced analytics technology to the 2014 Big Brother series, Brisbane G20 Leaders' Summit, Queensland election and Australian Tennis Open, building real-time visualisations of how these events were - or are - being talked about on social media.
Ms Prowd said Taylor Swift's Shake It Off was still dominating the Hottest 100 Hypometer's current rankings.
Fast food giant KFC recently launched a social media campaign encouraging punters to vote for Taylor Swift, even though Triple J has never aired Shake It Off.
That has sparked widespread debate on social media between Triple J listeners and Taylor Swift fans.
The Hottest 100 Hypometer has logged more than 7000 posts about Shake It Off over the past month The closest competitor is The GRiswolds' Beware the Dog, with around 200 posts.
"The debate has certainly skewed the top ranking as the number of negative posts about Taylor Swift is quite high," Ms Prowd said.
"Posts about artists other than Taylor Swift will no doubt ramp up as we get closer to the countdown on Monday, and throughout the countdown itself."
"Regardless of the outcome on Monday, in social media terms the controversy has proved a marketing boom for Triple J.
"I'd be interested to see if the campaign has translated into a spike in the number of people voting this year, or a spike in listeners on the day."
Punters can view Hottest 100 Hypometer in the lead up to and during Australia Day.
Media contacts:
Kate Haggman, QUT Media, 07 3138 0358, kate.haggman@qut.edu.au
After hours Rose Trapnell, QUT Media team leader, 0407 585 901.
