Tweet Can Guess the Gender Tweeps

A group of researchers claims to have developed an algorithm that allows them to guess the sex of a person using Twitter.

Digital Trends reported, researchers from the Mitre Corporation are suggested ways to guess the gender correctly by separating certain words on the tweets are posted.

Twitter itself does not collect information on the profile of gender-tweeps designation for Twitter users. So microblogging site has become a good media to test algorithm.

First, they gather location information, a description, profile name and real name tweeps who become participants of this study. Most Twitter users are prompted only once nge-tweet.

The primary test is used to find algorithms that can detect a person's gender from the name. And the result, the accuracy rate reached 89 percent.

Punctuation is also involved to determine gender. The use of emoticons smiley face or an exclamation point, for example, shows tweeps are usually women.

The words are often used tweeps women - the research done on tweeps English speakers - among them the love, cute, happy, mommy, sleep, school, baby, bed, chocolate and hate. These words are in the category of Internet terms most frequently used women, just like LOL and OMG.

Interestingly, as quoted from TG Daily, Friday (07/29/2011), tweeps men are usually connected with a few phrases such as http and google.

This analysis also shows a gender lines for words that are closer to 'maleness' or 'feminine', the phrase that begins with my or our. Phrases that are often expressed the male is usually my wife, my gf and my beer. While women usually call their boyfriends or husbands as my yogurt, my hubby and my husband.

Then what is the purpose of this study? These researchers assume that the algorithm they created could be used to target specific groups more tweeps. Such a method would be useful to help business and branding projects to market their services or products to the Twitter community.