By Shane Axtell on
3/14/2011 6:39 AM
Humans are emotional beings. We make decisions based on our emotions all the time. For example, I love Entenmann’s doughnuts. My decision of which dessert to buy is almost always hijacked by my memories (most of them recent memories) of that cakey doughnut deliciousness every time I pass by the Entenmann’s stand at the grocery store. The chocolatey flavor, the texture of the cake-style doughnut, the sweetness sometimes covered in milk dominate my thoughts as I almost instinctively reach out for that next box. Sound like an addict? Well, not that extreme, but quite illustrative of very many decisions that all of us make on a daily basis. And in the age of the Internet, more and more customers are expressing their opinions to a worldwide audience. In enters sentiment analysis, which provides the tools needed to mine customers’ opinions for more insightful feedback.