The Nicole Seah Buzz on Facebook and Google

I’m not exactly into politics but the Nicole Seah buzz on Facebook and Google has really caught my attention.

Some background knowledge for our readers: The Singapore General Election 2011 is currently the hottest topic in our island country, largely thanks to the Internet. The Marine Parade GRC has never been contested by the Opposition since 1992.

Well, for this election, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) has decided to change things. It will contest the Marine Parade GRC, putting the limelight on Nicole Seah from NSP and Tin Pei Ling from PAP; Both who are young candidates at age 24 and 27 respectively. It is game on and the battle has already started on the Internet.

Google search queries for “Nicole Seah has surged strongly in the last 2 days. While it doesn’t tell us if the sentiment is positive or negative, it does reflect the curiosity of Singaporeans at least. Search term “Tin Pei Ling” remains steady.

YouTube is flooded with videos which are mostly supportive for Nicole Seah On the other hand, Tin Pei Ling made several remarks which angered the online community, typically on the cost of living in Singapore. Perhaps Facebook could be a better indicator to judge support. Nicole Seah has over 12,000 likes on Facebook while Tin Pei Ling has about 2,000.

The Internet has somehow become a good indicator to judge citizens’ support and sentiments. We’ll see if it turns out accurate. My gut feel says a no, though. Let us know what you think.