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Social Science Computer Review
http://ssc.sagepub.com/content/31/2/229
The online version of this article can be found at:
DOI: 10.1177/0894439312448037
2013 31: 229 originally published online 26 June 2012 Social Science Computer Review
Arthur J. O'Connor
Media Fan Counts and Brand Company Stock Prices
The Power of Popularity : An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between Social
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234
at Uni Babes-Bolyai on March 26, 2013 ssc.sagepub.com Downloaded from
Finally, the relatively high correlation between predicted and observed stock prices in the correlations
and regressions suggest linear strengthbut not necessarily appropriatenessof the models.
This is an early, preliminary study, with a small sample (n 30) and limited time frame (1 year),
exploring the potential of a new measure (fan counts). Future research should include semantic
analysis of user-generated content as well as more sophisticated statistical tests with a broader
sample to help establish direction of effect. While the results were inconclusivegiven the
studys many limitations, and that it focused on exploring the relationship of social media popu-
larity to stock prices, not the underlying mechanisms that drive themit is hoped that this pioneer-
ing study will inspire further investigation into the potential predictive or indicative value of fan
counts and/or social media popularity with social economic behavior.
Acknowledgment
Daniel Dearlove, founder of Famecount.coma website that tracks brands receiving the greatest number of
Facebook fans, the number of Twitter followers, and the number of YouTube viewswas instrumental in pro-
viding fan count data for this study.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Notes
1. In June of 2010, Become a Fan on Facebook brand pages was changed to Like.
2. http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/06/facebook-or-twitter-which-are-you-using-more.html
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Author Biography
Arthur J. OConnor is risk management and information technology consultant serving the financial services
industry. He is currently enrolled in the executive doctoral of professional studies (DPS) program at the Lubin
School of Business at Pace University.
OConnor 235
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