How is the SIPP Index Calculated?

The Spartan Internet Political Performance (SIPP) Index is comprised of over 650 quantitative factors that measure the level of support candidates are receiving online and evaluate how well each candidate is connecting with individuals across the Internet. Factors used include the level of involvement on the candidate’s official website, utilization of and activity on social networking sites, use of search engines and search engine marketing, presence in online news, and blogs.

The score derived by these factors represents the Internet “market share” owned by each candidate. Those with the greatest reach will have a higher share of the online market because they are connecting with the most potential voters across the entire spectrum of the Internet. Individual factors are weighted based on their importance in connecting with users, such as the degree to which the technology is immersive and action oriented. Weighting also includes the reach of the site/tool as determined by site traffic and page rankings.

For example, a user who takes action by posting an image on a highly trafficked networking site or writing a blog that receives a large number of comments is weighted higher than a user who engages with a candidate through a more passive means such as a search engine query on the candidate’s name. The activities in these 650 factors are combined each week. Candidates receive a score for their “share” of activity in each weighted factor. The total cumulative score for each candidate is then weighted against each competitor to derive the resulting percentage score of online market share.

Some factors that are measured in the SIPP Index include:

• Candidate official website statistics, including:
     o Reach
     o Page views per user
     o Google Page Rank
     o Indexed pages on a candidate’s site
     o Sites linking in
     o Search engine optimization
• Compete number of people
• Quantcast rank
• Quantcast number of visitors
• Myspace friends
• Myspace comments
• Comments on Myspace pictures
• Number of Myspace video plays
• Facebook supporters
• Facebook wall posts
• Facebook notes
• Facebook groups joined
• Youtube number of subscribers
• Youtube channel views
• Flickr members
• Meetup number of Meetups
• Eventful number of demands
• Eventful number of people
• Eventful number of events
• Presence in online news outlets such as:
     o Yahoo News
     o CNN
     o New York Times
     o Reuters
     o Fox News
     o Google News
• Candidate search engine volume/demand
• Candidate rankings for key issues in the top five search engines:
     o Google
     o Yahoo
     o MSN
     o AOL
     o Ask.com
• Technorati number of blogs
• Technorati number of blog posts

A candidate’s score changes based upon the relative weekly movement within the individual factors as compared to their competitors’ campaigns. The final SIPP Index represents the aggregate score of these quantitative factors relative to overall “market” behavior. The broad based set of factors provides an objective assessment of how each candidate is connecting with individuals through the Internet.