Thursday, November 1, 2012

What Does Your Food Say About Your Politics? These Two Charts Might Surprise You

What Does Your Food Say About Your Politics? These Two Charts Might Surprise You

The Blaze:

Have you ever wondered if certain brands attract certain political types? Thanks to Engage, a D.C.-based digital agency, and the folks at BuzzFeed, these two charts might have you covered:

BuzzFeed and Engage Presents the Politics of Food & Brand Choice

BuzzFeed and Engage Presents the Politics of Food & Brand Choice

But what are these charts based on?

“Using data from its Trendsetter app, which cross-references polling data with influence and page ‘likes’ from Facebook, Engage shows that politics is often determined by the cultural choices we make daily,” BuzzFeed’s Ruby Cramer explains.

Most of it seems pretty unsurprising (i.e. Chik-fil-a and Ben & Jerry’s)

“Whether you support Obama or Romney, that support is more often than not a manifestation of where you live, what you watch and where you fit in culturally,” Engage president Patrick Ruffini told BuzzFeed.

“This is where we think other attempts to ‘match’ you to candidates based on issue quizzes go wrong,” Ruffini added. “Voters don’t necessarily behave rationally. We think the subcultures you inhabit say an awful lot about your politics.”

And if you enjoyed the above charts, you’re in luck. Engage plans on releasing about a dozen more infographs based on the politics of social media.

“Americans have tended to associate more with like-minded people from across the country and the globe, and less with the person who lives right next door,” said Ruffini. “Nowhere is this tendency stronger than on Facebook.”

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