New Election App, RANQ, Ranks Candidates Based on Real Time Twitter Conversations Using IBM Technology

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Performance Marketing

Sep 16, 2015, 13:00 ET


Des Moines, IOWA (PRWEB) September 16, 2015 -- RANQ, created by Shift Interactive, is a different approach to straw polling that utilizes International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Bluemix development platform and IBM’s super-computer Watson to rank candidates based on real time Twitter conversations.

The app brings an innovative, new age approach into the political realm completely based on Twitter users’ comments regarding the 2016 presidential candidates. RANQ is set up to collectively rank the candidates of both the Republican and Democratic Party and can also be filtered to show a single party. Candidate rankings are based on a “sentiment rating”, which is calculated through Watson and a complex proprietary algorithm that analyzes positive, negative, and neutral tweets.

“We have already seen some interesting results with the sentiment trends of individual candidates that is reflected in polls a few days later,” said Gabriel Glynn of Shift Interactive. “For instance, we noticed a surge in one candidate’s sentiment rating two days before media outlets began reporting a sizable increase in their polling numbers.”

RANQ users will be able to click on candidates to see how they have been trending during that specific day as well as the month and all-time during the 2016 election process. Tweets regarding specific candidates can also be viewed through the app. The candidate sentiment ratings are available from a nationwide viewpoint or they can be filtered down to an individual state.    

“We also think this app will be a great indicator of who is leading the field for both parties during the first caucus in Iowa all the way through the primaries as well as debates,” Glynn added. “We believe that this app will have great interest not only to those interested in politics, but also will be of value to political journalists and the candidates themselves. We’ve seen political gaffes and great debate posture dramatically influence how a candidate trends in RANQ.”

Shift Interactive created the app as part of IBM’s Global Entrepreneur Program, which enables small businesses to harness the power of IBM Bluemix and their vast set of resources. This includes IBM’s global network of enterprise clients, consultants, and innovation centers.

“The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program allows small companies like ours to produce a major app like RANQ because of the application and human capital resources they provide us with. Without IBM, this application would not have been possible,” Glynn said. “Any time our team gets an opportunity to expand their reach into new technology everyone wins; our team, the development community, and our other clients.”

The RANQ app is now available for iOS and Android phones in the Google Play and iTunes stores.

For more information about RANQ:

About Shift Interactive
Based in West Des Moines, Shift Interactive, LLC is an interactive agency that specializes in the design and development of custom web solutions and iOS and Android applications. Shift Interactive partners with clients at a local and national level to implement both Business-To-Business and Business-To-Consumer solutions.

Media Contacts:
Sean Neugent, Performance Marketing: (515) 273-2483, seann(at)performancemarketing.com

Sean Neugent, Performance Marketing, +1 (515) 273-2483, [email protected]