Which candidates are most visible on the web?

At the moment, the news and internet in Ireland is of course currently dominated by discussion of the upcoming election. Now there is a way to tell exactly who is receiving the most coverage.

David Dolphin, a graduate of both the University of Limerick and NUIG graduate created the site http://td2011.com/, which measures how much of a presence individual candidates have on the web. Updated daily, the website tracks how often candidates are mentioned on online news articles, blog posts, and websites. As well as detailing a candidates overall ranking and stats, the website also lists a candidates current standing compared to others in the same constituency.

Unsurprisingly, the five most prevalent candidates are the leaders of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour, Sinn Féin and Green Party respectively, with Dylan Haskins currently the highest ranked Independent, at 14th. While obviously news coverage can be either positive or negative, and is in no way a guarantee of election, it still makes for an interesting read.

The top 10 are as follows:

1^st Enda Kenny (Fine Gael) 

2^nd Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil) 

3^rd Eamon Gilmore (The Labour Party) 

4^th Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 

5^th John Gormley (Green Party / Comhaontas Glas) 

6^th Brian Lenihan (Fianna Fáil)

7^th Michael Noonan (Fine Gael) 

8^th Mary Hanafin (Fianna Fáil) 

9^th Willie O'Dea (Fianna Fáil) 

10^th Joan Burton (The Labour Party)