Could Twitter replace the time-honored tradition of network political polling?
Today CBS News announced it will partner with Twitter for its upcoming Democratic debate–a partnership that Twitter says will provide CBS with “real-time data and insights…and live reactions and questions from voters around the country.”
On CNBC Monday, (the network will host a Republican presidential debate Wednesday evening) Adam Sharp, head of Twitter for News, told Squawk Alley the service won’t entirely replace polls, but Twitter does do one thing very well: demonstrate which candidates are getting voters talking. “If no one’s talking about you, no one’s voting for you,” he said.
Sharp noted that not all conversation is positive, and it’s important to look beyond the simple metric of “overall volume.”