Abstract: Method of analyzing data from an online social network having a set of network users. The method includes obtaining topic-specific messages sent by the network users. The messages have social content provided by the networks users, wherein the messages include a marker of interest in the social content. The marker of interest is associated with a topic of the social network. The method also includes identifying the network users that sent the messages having the marker of interest in the social content as interested users of the topic. The interested users are a subset of the set of network users. The method also includes determining a topic-specific influence (TSI) value of a designated user from the interested users in the subset. The TSI value of the designated user is based on a number of the interested users that are registered to receive the messages from the designated user.

Abstract: A method including obtaining a plurality of user reviews of different commercial products or services. The user reviews include statements about features of the products or services. The method also includes assigning a sentiment orientation to each of a plurality of the statements. The sentiment orientation indicates whether the statement reflects a positive sentiment or a negative sentiment. At least one of the features is a common feature that is shared by a plurality of the products or services. The method also includes ranking the products or services having the common feature relative to one another based on the sentiment orientations of the common feature.

Abstract: Method of analyzing data from an online social network having a set of network users. The method includes obtaining topic-specific messages sent by the network users. The messages have social content provided by the networks users, wherein the messages include a marker of interest in the social content. The marker of interest is associated with a topic of the social network. The method also includes identifying the network users that sent the messages having the marker of interest in the social content as interested users of the topic. The interested users are a subset of the set of network users. The method also includes determining a topic-specific influence (TSI) value of a designated user from the interested users in the subset. The TSI value of the designated user is based on a number of the interested users that are registered to receive the messages from the designated user.